AWW 26.12.2007 The Tale of the Killer Hill,or Terry in a Tiswas

Christmas Survivors:
Mick, Hazel and John, Elaine and Stan, Jill and Terry, David
Chef: Dinah
Plus Shorty in a starring role.

Whether the proposal to walk on Boxing Day was the highest wisdom or the deepest folly remained to be proved as the band of brave souls assembled at around 10.30 at Casa Benjamin. Stan and Elaine performed a variant on the Lost in Loulé theme by losing Boliquieme altogether and having to find their way through the former. Mick arrived looking as if he had been up all night, which indeed he had.
Fortified by a shot of mulled wine spirits rose, and almost all managed a smile before departure:

Stan Tries to be Inconspicuous

Terry had agreed to lead, as David’s planned walk had turned out to include too much undergrowth for a gentle stroll. The route took us from Covões along the track to Portela da Nave before heading up onto the side of the ridge leading towards Montes de Cima, (according to the OS map) or, as the village sign would have it, Nave das Sobreiras. (insert Portuguese shrug). At this point Terry, as they say, must have lost his presence of mind, as a track up and over the ridge inconveniently disappeared, and it took a couple of ritual comings and goings and a variety of muttered oaths to coax it back into this universe from whichever parallel one had claimed it.

Stan Succeeds in Being Inconspicuous

It was here last week

The Doctor has found it in the Galaxy of Omega 6

A blessedly short traverse of the ridge top finally brought us out onto the aforesaid lost highway and the descent to the valley, where the Algarve Way was joined for a short time as we walked through Almarginho and Fonte das Figueiras. A very short but memorable old donkey track was one of the highlights of the day.

I'll give him 'I know it backwards'

They've Stopped Again!

The Gateway to Omega 6?

The track along the valley back to Ponte de Salir was pleasantly even and flat, and only Terry and David knew what awaited them at the end of it. The climb back to Covões is, to say the least, taxing, especially on the day after Christmas Dinner. David had pressed on ahead to give the chef warning of the approach of empty stomachs, and so was spared the sight of the group tackling that particular obstacle.

Killer hill
On reaching the yard at Casa Benjamin, a transformation was effected from scruffy walking group to elegant luncheon party, with John undertaking what looked unnervingly like a strip-tease. Sadly David was unable to retrieve his camera from the house in time to record this for posterity. (Thanks for small mercies:not a sight for sore eyes. Sub-Ed)
There followed more mulled wine and an excellent lunch, selflessly prepared by Dinah while the rest were enjoying themselves (it says in the notes she gave me). As a reward, Dinah was allowed to tell her side of the saga of the Visit to Frankfurt and the Disappearing Airport, (It’s all lies, I tell you!!) as well as the heroics of Terry and Jill in carrying out a rescue involving a mercy dash of some 700k to Jerez.

'Off went the plane, without us in it'

Mick felt his soul leaving his body

So embarrassed was David that he took himself off to play with his new coffee machine, which only compounded his anguish, as the shiny object at first refused to deliver more than a few drops and then sprayed coffee over a small area of the kitchen worktop.

Waiting for a Fair Trade.

After a relaxing hour or so of coffee and conversation, the party dispersed, most to their firesides, Mick to his bed, from which, rumour has it, he did not stir for at least twelve hours. He was, however, sufficiently awake to record the distance walked as 11.9k. No further statistics are available. Christmas waistline expansion was not considered appropriate for this blog.

'God Bless Us, Every One, said Tiny Terry'

(I think that's what he said)

AWW 19.12.2007 The walk that wasn't; the Christmas lunch that was.

No walk, no leader's report. I suppose it therefore once more falls to the D.C.B.- cum-Snaparazzo to record something of what happened.

Part one: The walk.
As the national Bards almost put it, the to-and-fro conflicting rains cast all the plans of mice and men agley; cataracts and hurricanes did spout, raged and blew. However, thanks to Stan and Elaine's prescience and internet skills, the walk was cancelled in timely fashion at 8am, mais ou menos, and gentlemen (and gentlewomen too no doubt) in Algarve then abed, did not
think themselves accursed they were not there........but gratified that they could enjoy a couple of hours' more snooze, before a general and convivial assembly at half-past noon at Solar Do Farelo. And no lady, elegantly arrayed in this season's must-have shades of claret, burgundy and rose, found that she had to sit in close proximity to a muddy and unkempt male, his dampness drying steamily in the indoor warmth.

Part Two: The lunch.
Indoors, safe from the storms, all was indeed warmth and elegance, as 34 walkers, relatives and friends enjoyed mulled wine, refreshing beers and fine fare, the fish cataplana being especially praised. Main meal over, Rod Frew paid appropriate thanks to the organisers and thoughtfully recalled to mind absent friends; David Littlewood made an eloquent plea for volunteers to maintain sections of the Algarve Way; and Alec Whittle, skillfully overcoming the lack of powerpoint presentation, explained his criteria for selecting the various category winners in the RTC photocompetition before displaying the stunning picture, epitomising for him the Spirit of the Walk, taken by the overall winner, Myriam Lo.

Part Three: The winners
For the record, these were Alec's pic picks.
Foliage
1st: Paul "Sea Saws"
2nd: Terry "Need a Rest?"
Hon. mention: Dinah "Golden Nectar"

Sartorial Elegance
1st: Paul "Art Imitates Life"
2nd: Dinah "It's the Thought that Counts"
Hon. mention: Dinah "Dressed for It"

Athleticism/Spirit
1st: Dinah "The Bulldog Spirit"
2nd: Terry "Pressing On"
Hon. mention: Myriam "Gordon's Gully"

Overall winner
(entry in the Athleticism category)
Myriam "The Next Climb"

Now for some less artistic pictures:


Could I persuade you to have the second half?


I think he fell for it

No such persuasion needed

The one that got away

John O' is the one with the glass

I hope there's more than just spuds

Now, good digestion wait on appetite, And health on both

The sauce to meat is ceremony

Stirring things up (as usual)

"You might well think that: I couldn't possibly comment" (Francis Urquhart)

Uma mais, por favor!

David solos with "The Happy Wanderer"

....... while Maestro Fernando conducts

Well, I think that went OK

What the barman saw

And the winner is..........

"The Next Climb"


Finis

AWW 12.12.2007 South-west of Caldas, or Medronho Madness

The Leader has not written his report so far. So Deputy Chief Blogger-cum-Paparrazzo posts this summary with some pictures. Further text and further photos will be gratefully received for insertion from anybody who wants to send them in.

Present: Ian Wilson (the Leader),
Ian S.,Tina and Andrew F.,David C.,Dina,Vitor,Alfredo, Stan, Elaine, Caroline, Andrew and Lindsey H.W., Alex, Hilke, John H.

Dogs: only one, Maddy.

Statistics:

Distance 12.54 km according to my plastic Taiwanese gadget.

Time: about four hours including stops for lunch and medronho.

16 walkers assembled at the Foz de Banho for the civilised starting hour of 9.30am. Ian S. was for some reason seen carrying a ballgown over his arm but was persuaded by Lindsey not to put it on.

The starters, with Stan carrying the red umbrella

A very prompt start, downhill to the river, then a climb or two. At one stage the Leader, despite all his past expertise and knowledge of the area, lost the way causing a mass pile up of bodies on a steep downward slope, but no casualties were reported.
Blast it! The Leader realises he's left the map at home.

Several undulations and an occasional updulation followed. For those interested in the technical differentiations of such geographical features, here are acouple of illustrations.

This is an undulation ...........

and this.......... ............. is an updulation.

During lunch, Ian S's idiosyncratic sartorial equipment once more attracted attention, this time that of the sharp-eyed Dina.

If I pull the chain, does an alarm go off? (Click on picture to enlarge)

Lunch over, the Leader regained our esteem by most successfully marshalling us over the second river crossing of the day which entailed a scramble down a crumbling and very steep bank which required much cooperative effort and brought the AWW rope into use for the first time.

The second river crossing

Then the group graciously paused awhile to let John H, ably abetted by Vitor and Alfredo, select his season's ration of medronho from a local hostelry into which they disappeared.

Said Simple Simon to the pieman "Let me taste your ware"

Twenty minutes later, the three enthusiasts emerged.

After a couple of shots, the knees tend to go a wee bit rubbery

The walk concluded with an ascent of a veritable Rumdoodle of a hill by 13 stalwarts; but the 3 aforementioned medronho afficionados ducked that particular challenge and opted to make their own leisurely way back to the Foz, probably stopping to have a sip or two as they went, and David C. rocketted past them on the final slopes, to be, yet again, first to the bar.

First of the day.

Elaine demonstrates her own particular angle on beer drinking.

Inline comment from the Mysterious East by CB:-

"Man who stand on hill with mouth open will wait long time for roast duck to drop in."
Confucius on 'Inaction'

Of course the modern interpretation of this could be loosely paraphrased as:-

"Deputy Chief Blogger who stand by computer with fingers poised will wait long time for Leader's draft Blog to arrive"

Deputy Chief Blogger reopens the blog partly to draw the attention of readers (particularly that of Andrew H W) to the Chief Blogger's comments, and partly to add three atmospheric photos provided by Alfredo.

Dina practising her Nordic walking techniques

Down and down..........

...........into the depths