AWW 07.11.2007 Madrinha Maddyness (or another bloody walk!)

A cracking day, sunny, blue and cool - just the job for a stroll up Foia and Madrinha with Ian S. intending to reacquaint Maddy with the location where she was rescued by Maurice a long time ago. Ian had adopted her and was determined to conduct a photo shoot to relay via this blog to Maurice and Esme, now in UK. The photo below has all the elements required: The subject (Maddy), her Best Friend, (not Oscar - the one with the scabby knees, trying to get down and hold a squat), Madrinha Trigpoint, blue skies. and even a disinterested CB looking the other way!

Maddy back at Madrinha!

All this was much later in the day, soon after the bramble-delayed lunch, and you can read a couple of versions below.
First the Official Leaders version. The Leaders always have their opportunity to open their defense in a reasonably uncensored manner in this Blog. Some grasp the nettle in both hands and make a good fist of it (to mix a metaphor or two), and others err on the factual side. Ian, in what may well be his debut contribution, has adopted the oft-repeated tenets of a Good Report:- A, B, C, - Accuracy, Brevity, and Clarity. Well one out of three was as much as I could expect. Here it is in English as she is wrote!:-

Present,paul, myriam, david, alex, ian w, hilke, mick, sylvia, vitor,dina, brian, lindsey, andrew, chris, antje, mike, yves, rod, ian s. Dogs, shortey, nandi, oscar, maddie, tiggy..On a sparkling autumnal morn we set a brisk pace up through the picturesque byways of Monchique, by the convent under the stately cork oaks & on up to Foia.Decending on a northwesterly track we skirted the small triangular barragem & headed west with the impressive terracing on our left hand side looking particularly enticing .We thus decended under sun dappled eucaliptus to a crystaline stream,a truly bucolic setting.A short contour along an impressive terrace followed by a sharp ascent & we arrived at a perfect lunch spot on a rocky outcrop with stunning views to the west. Here we were joined by Rod for a bravura cameo performance via Madrinha & back up the now barely discernable track under Foia, after which it was every man/woman for themselves for the rundown to refreshing iced tea at the ever inviting helepad. Please note my powers of recall are on the wain.

Now I would be derelict in my duty as CB if I left it there and didn't provide a colour commentary and meaningful analysis and insight into the actual events of the day. Are you sitting comfortably? Let's begin at the beginning....... Once Upon a Time ......

.......at about 0930 in fact, a group of unruly sheep met at Café Descansa Pernas near the helipad in Monchique, where their shepherd for the day (Ian S.) was charged with finding some good pasture on the hills above. The Good Shepherd was away meeting his wife at the airport, but had promised to find the flock towards lunchtime on the fertile slopes near Madrinha. Shepherd Ian S. had allegedly traversed this route before, and had conducted much R and R (Research and Reconnaissance) in the area, so the sheep were led contentedly up the hill through a shady wood, where some, feeling the heat, shed some of their wool. (No Hilke - not that photo!!!)

The newly shorn sheep (note the Shepherd has not cast a clout!)

The route to the summit of Foia was steadily up and fairly uneventful. A veritable forest of aerials have been built to replace or even supplement the profusion that were there already, and the sheep hurried past to avoid infertility or even worse! The sheep dogs were looking forward to their usual dip in the limpid pool near the top, and were disappointed to find it had nearly dried.

'.......Nothing quite like it for cooling the blood......'

but they made the most of what there was! It was soon after this point that the Shepherd decided to try for pastures new, and led the sheep on past the neat track that led to the verdant terraces on the other side of the valley.

The spectacular terraces, rivalling those at Machu Picchu

The flock continued down the north side of the valley, as it gradually became steeper and wider. The shepherd spotted a narrow path plunging into the woods, and with a cry of recognition said "This goes in the right direction!", and commenced the tortuous descent.

'.........Where Angels Fear to tread'

Never let it be said that the Leader sent his troops where he was not prepared to go himself. There are about 200 varieties of thorn in the Algarvian Flora and before we reached lunch, the Leader had had close encounters with about 177 of them, each of which had left their own distinctive mark on one or other of his carelessly exposed shins. Our Senior Member, having actually learned from his decades of experience, rolled his trouser legs down, and by pretending to tie a shoelace, achieved a position in the rearguard of the procession, thus ensuring that most of the thorns had been used up by those in the vanguard.
There was a temporary respite at the bottom of the valley, where a hardy farmer, surprised by our sudden emergence from a hitherto impenetrable thicket, greeted us, and confirmed the Leader's conviction that Madrinha was "Up there".

The Shepherd can be seen on the right of the above picture, carrying out another recce, while his flock wait nervously in the gully, waiting for the photographer to complete her descent!
By this point, the CB had been in comms with The Good Shepherd, who expressed surprise that the flock had been led into the Valley of Despair, and undertook to proceed by expressway to a suitable vantage point near Madrinha and above the Lost Patrol, where he could monitor the progress with a mildly amused smile on his face.

"They winced among Untrodden Ways"

By this time the lunch hour was upon us, and failing to quell a small rebellion when he suggested it be taken on the steps of an active piggery, the flock joined up with Rod, and took lunch and licked wounds on a rocky outcrop below our final objective, which had superb views of the DNA trail we had just left behind.

Lunch rocks



Bloody but Unbowed - the leader's legs. The front view was deemed Unsuitable in case sensitive people read this Blog (Unlikely I know but Rules are Rules)

Soon after lunch we made the summit of Madrinha, where the photo at the beginning of the blog was taken. It has changed somewhat since last year as it now has a splendid hi-tech watchtower erected beside the old one, whose demolition was clearly not included in the contract!

The Old and the New

Although it can't be seen in this photo, there is a machinery enclosure at the bottom of the enclosed column supporting the new watch tower, and it was speculated that there may be a lift inside the shaft.

Myriam climbed the old tower to get this great Obligatory Trig Point Photo.

Two of the new radar defence towers on Foia can be seen in the background. Our Defence Correspondent confirmed that they are part of a chain of Euro Defence Radar Installations that stretch across southern Europe, and are designed to give Early Warning against attacks from the Zimbabwean Air Force to the south.

From here it was a fairly easy hike back to Foia, except when we found that not only had the Defence Radar been built right across the path we traditionally took, but that the gorse on the western slope had recovered with a vengeance from the hill fire two years before, and again wreaked havoc with exposed flesh. A short stop was made where the final 23 varieties of thorn were extracted from calves and socks, and we bade farewell to Rod who returned to where he had left his car not wanting to risk the Leader throwing in a barbellate loop on the way back to Monchique.

Antje checks for bristles

The way back down was without much incident, being much the same as the way up, except when the leader and Mick threw in a spurt in an attempt to reach the bar first, and shook off all but 7 of the group, the rest being left to find their own route to the fold. I was just glad that I had the presence of mind to wear the Rohan Kevlar trousers, and so had emerged relatively unscathed. It just remains to include the route map:-

The track (click and wait to enlarge)

...which somehow fails to convey the essence of the walk, and the sense of achievement of the survivors. If only we could measure blood lost and skin flayed!

From the stats below, it can be discerned by the overall average speed and the total ascent that it was fairly tough, and definitely will have had a beneficial effect on the fitness of those participants that survive the Black Thorn fever and the gangrene. I did raise the point, as we sat in the café swilling our lager that if this was Day One of RTC we would still have another 12 km to go, but by then the group were in a merry mood, as survivors often are when the danger has passed.

Endgame in the balmy evening sun!

Stats: Total Distance: 18.3 km; Moving Time: 5 hrs.; Total Time;: 6 hrs 33 minutes;
Moving Average: 3.6 km/hr; Overall Average: 2.8 km/hr; Total Ascent: 821 m; Max Elev.:898 m.

"But, good my brother, do not, as some ungracious pastors do. Show me the steep and thorny way to heaven whilst like a puffed and reckless libertine himself the primrose path of dalliance treads and recks not his own rede."
William Shakespeare