AWW 28.05.2008 Vascão Variations, or The Updulator Has Left the Country.

A turn-out of double that of the previous week, for a walk equally delightful.
However, most of us, especially me, had expected that the Chief Blogger, aka Paulo a Pe, would be keen to join us after his lengthy sojourn in Blighty, anxious to introduce a breath of fresh air into the blog. But no, he wasn't there, so you're going to have to put up with my stuff one more week. Apparently, CB has found the strain of being a first-time grandfather greater than he had bargained for and he needed to rest. Well, we can sympathise with him; it is really tough choosing a suitable Tilley for a baby when the selection is limited to pink or blue offerings in BabyGro, tastefully appliquéd with little elks, maple leaves and chipmunks. However, take heart, Paul, the manufacturers' promise is that next season's Tilleys for Toddlers catalogue will bring you a much wider choice. Various other surmises as to the reasons for his absence were voiced, but tact prevails as always and they won't be published.


But back to the walk.

Late on Tuesday, David was still not sure if anyone was going to turn up but then he switched into true Recruiting Officer mode, and cajoled or otherwise persuaded 7 other people to join him. Finally, having shown quite remarkable and charitable forbearance when half of his party swanned off on their own midway through the day -a deplorable lapse of discipline some would no doubt say, but which led JohnO to entitle Part 2 of the walk as Indiana Littlewood and the Raiders of the Lost Path - he signed off his season with the following masterful Report.

Statistics:
Start: 10.am
Finish: about 2.55 pm
Distance covered: The longer bit, something like 17.5kms
Walking time: 3hrs 29 mins
Resting time: 1 hr 29 mins

The Starters

The Leader's Report:

Present:- Terry A, Jill A, Andrew, John H, John O’, Tina, Matthew (visitor), David (corporeally). Not forgetting…..RUSTY!!!!

It turned out to be a really pleasant day weather-wise, thank heavens. Had it rained, things could have taken a very ugly turn. Billed as a short walk – which it was - it could have been even shorter, but for some ended up longer than intended – am I making sense? Probably about as much as I made out on the trail Wednesday. We met more or less as arranged, the faithful few arriving complete with vertigo after the Monaco of a drive into the hills. Andrew was a little en retard, Lindsey having phoned just about everyone she knew to get the message to us. But I had cleverly left my mobile on charge at home, and no-one else seemed to have theirs turned on, so it was fortunate that we were still imbibing coffee at the bar when he arrived. John O’ had interpreted my reference to ‘a longer than usual lunch at the Vascão’ as an intention to lunch at a restaurant, and had therefore neglected to bring sandwiches. This was neatly rectified as the combined forced of the Ladies of Ameixial set to work to produce the necessary in a little under ten minutes – not bad going for (almost) the Alentejo. All present and prepared, we drove the short distance towards Revezes to the start-point. I will not describe the first half of the walk in detail, save to say that I missed the way once near the start, necessitating a climb up a steep slope that had been prepared for re-planting.

(Not all reactions to this climb were as polite as Tina's.)

(Shortly after this, we were diverted by a botanical lesson on the subject of lichens conducted by Andrew and Terry, plus a wee bit of worldly wisdom from John O')

The Nature Lesson

(Copyright: John O')

And then I managed to descend to the river too soon, so we arrived at a crossing point, rather than the one I was intending to reach. Lunch was nevertheless taken here, still in rather cloudy conditions, but not cold.

Idyllic lunch spot

We then proceeded to walk eastwards to the water-mill crossing-point, but I’m afraid my memory and sense of direction had entirely forsaken me, and had it not been for Terry’s better recall, I’m not sure we would ever have found it. And then the fun really began. Someone who shall remain nameless – but we know where you live – suggested that we cross the river into the Alentejo and find a way back to the lunchtime crossing point, rather than retrace our steps (not one of my better suggestions, I have to admit. ACB). OK, I should have said no, but you don’t like to discourage enterprise, now do you?

So off we went up a good track that clearly went in the wrong direction after about 200 metres. Andrew and I cut across a meadow to get a better look at a possible route, and Andrew’s wanderlust quickly got the better of him. Finding a track, he went up and over the hill like a hound on the scent, the rest trailing in his wake. Terry decided that he needed support, so set off in pursuit with John H and Matthew for company, whilst I tracked back down to the river with John O’, Tina and Jill. The High Level Gang can perhaps tell their own tale. We lowlanders crossed the Vascão at a convenient place – though we did have to paddle – and made our way back to the lunch-time point without further ado. Now, were the others ahead or behind? Leaving a cryptic message under a stone on the stepping-stones, we decided they were probably ahead, and trekked off back to the cars. In fact they arrived about five minutes after us, having covered almost 4k more than the official upper limit of the walk – not allowed, guys – penalty points will be awarded, and you’ll start at the back of the grid next season.

The High Level Gang's Report:

Andrew having long disappeared high up into the badlands of Alentejo, Terry and two others volunteered to go rescue him. In fact, we soon caught up with him, not in any trouble at all but resting under an oak tree, admiring the view. We decided to remain on higb ground and swung north and westwards, in Terry's terminology protecting David's flank as he made his tactical withdrawal to the south-west down in the river valley. Winding our way eventually back down to the stepping-stones, we managed to decipher the Leader's message deposited some 15 minutes earlier, and then we knocked off the final hour's stretch at a cracking pace, covering it in 40 minutes flat. One doubts, however, if this detour was quite what Matthew had been led to expect.

We returned to the bar in Ameixial (I shall remember the second ‘i’ from now on) and enjoyed the flavour of the ‘real Algarve’ for a short time. People still hang their washing out along the main road here. In the absence of an obvious purse-bearer, the normal payment procedure was ignored. Please address all complaints to Andrew, who started the rot by paying for his own on receipt. I make that three strikes in a day, not good. All this apart, the area once again did not disappoint. It is beautiful and peaceful and full of wildlife. Storks nesting, a hare, multifarious birds, including a golden oriole. The mill crossing of the Vascão is the prettiest place I have found in the whole region. The inaccessibility of the place is it's guarantee to remain unspoiled for a long time, I suppose, but it would be nice if it were nearer to us. A good end to the season (if it is) in spite of the glitches. Oh, and when the Boys come round to get me, I’ll be long gone. Thanks to all for your company again this year, and I’ll see you in September.


(To conclude, a few pictures of the Algarve -Alentejo border and Rio Vascão countryside: not as rugged as CB's Picos de Europa terrain, but most pleasant all the same.)

Peaking in the Picos: 17-24.05.2008

While waiting with anticipation of the next magnum opus from David re his walk last Wednesday, I thought it would be not too inappropriate to publish some 'holiday snaps' from our recent hiking trip in the Picos de Europa. One reason was that it is wonderful walking country after the relatively minor undulations of the Algarve, and second it may whet some enthusiasm for an AWW International Walking trip at a similar time next year if there is enough interest and committment.

The National Park Information Centre.

A good place to start would be the National Parque de los Picos de Europa information centre situated in Potes. From the outside this is an architectural curiosity, but inside is a beautifully laid out series of rooms and exhibitions which tell you everything and more. A Park Ranger meets you at the door and gives a comprehensive brief (in Spanish) on the geological and geophysical layout of the Park, and will advise on the best and most interesting routes and walks within your capabilities.

Luis and the Park Ranger discuss routes.

We were on this expedition with a group of Portuguese walkers, members of Caminhos e Veredas and led by Luis Alves, a prolific ultra long distance walker who has not only circumnavigated and diagonally-crossed Portugal on foot, but also done most of the perimeter of Iberia. We met him several years ago when we accompanied him on his Algarve leg of the route round Portugal. He has an encyclopaedic knowledge of the footpaths in Portugal, and has regularly led expeditions of his club members in the Picos.

Traditional Team Photo
Luis, 'Çao, Lurdes, Carlos, Jorge, Myriam, Paul

We were only 7 on this trip, a comfortable number, and happily on this day, we could all fit in the Toyota Landcruiser, that we booked to take us on a spectacular cross country drive from our base at Espinama to Posada de Valdeon for the start of a walk along the beautiful Cares Gorge. If we hadn't taken this off-roader, which is specially licensed by the Park Authority, we would have had to do a circuitous route of about 100km rather than the shorter but infinitely more exciting paths across the mountains.

The start of the Cares Gorge

Further along the Gorge

The weather turned after halfway - it is raining heavily here.

We entered the gorge in beautiful sunlight, although it did not reach to the depths, but the views were truly spectacular. However, halfway the mountain weather took over and we had a storm and some heavy rain. Out came the wet-weather gear, and I managed to snap this odd-looking troll on the path!!

Green Goddess!!

On another day, Luis announced that we were 'going to buy some cheese'. He omitted to mention that the village where the cheese factory was, Treviso, was almost 900 vertical metres above the start point Urdon in the Desfiladero de Hermida, which is another spectacular gorge.

The routes are marked and described.

We had a very good day for this walk, and on the way up, whenever we stopped for a breather - which was often, the views were wonderful. The path looked extremely precarious from a distance, but was not too bad if you had a good head for heights.

On and Up!

Looking back 'from whence we came!

We even saw a Polar Bear....

One little bird (and one fat buzzard) sitting on a wall!!

While in England, my daughter Tanya had thoughtfully sent me a new gadget - a Gorilla Pod (search Amazon) which in effect allows you to set your camera on almost any uneven surface or tree branch, fence, whatever and take a timer photo. For this one the camera was propped on a cliff face. It really is one of the most useful gadgets one can have!
Also, during the trip, she presented me with a first grandson on May 24th in Shanghai, which was cue for a celebration with a decent Rioja.

Luis and Paul on the final run in to Tresviso.

Until about 20 years ago, this precipitous path was the ONLY way in to the village of Tresviso. However now a road reaches it from the back, and it is in process of being smartened up for tourism. There is a nice little bar/cafe there , and a taxi service can be booked for those that weaken. We were not allowed to and descended the 900 metres, Myriam's knees protesting, and my thighs joining in the chorus!
For those avid statisticians among you, the figures for this walk were:-
Total Distance 14 km; Moving Time 3 hrs 20 min; Total time 7 hrs 42 min. Moving Average 4.2 km/hr; Overall Average 1.8 km/hr Total Ascent 905 metres.

On other days, we took the cable car to the top of Fuente De, and walked a circuit round and back to Espinama, but were in cloud at the top and didn't see too much for about 10 km.

The easy way up - and down!

We had a splendid week overall, although as usual the weather was very variable in the mountains. Our Hostal was already at 900 metres. The only downside was the food. We were on half board so ate the bulk of our meals in the restaurant attached to the Hostal. It could do with a visit from Gordon Ramsey!! The upside was that my starving frame consumed the fat that I had built from all the pies, pasties and curries I had enjoyed in UK, and I arrived back in the Algarve at a similar poundage to when I left back in March, - another first!!
I was elated that our altitude training, rigorous diet! and buns of steel would stand us in good stead to rejoin the AWW at an unprecedented level of fitness, but alas we were unable to join David's walk on the 28th, and will have to enjoy it vicariously when the blog arrives.

If anyone would like to spend a week in the Picos next May, please express an interest to me as soon as you can, and we can start to organise something.


"People have a natural tendency to flee to the mountains when things get tough."
Briscoe, Stuart

AWW 21.05.2008 A Carrapateira Exclusive

This week's walk, in complete contrast to the low ribaldry characterising the previous one, was an exclusive, extremely decorous and civilised affair, the Leader even allowing us to remain seated for the Starter photograph. And, what's more, her walk was very much as advertised, unlike some we have known!

The starters

Leader: Antje.

Followers: Janet, Hazel, and JohnH.

Canine: Tiggie

Statistics:
Distance: 14.50 km approx.
Overall time: 4hrs 20min
Tilley Hats: 50% ratio!!

The Leader's report.

A very select few met in Carrapateira and I leave it to the reader to decide if the reason for the low turn-out was - a walk too short, a walk too far, the fallout from last week's walk, a rival Gardening Club attraction, or what? Feel free to comment.
The weather was perfect for walking, cloudy with the occasional breakthrough of sun.
Going inland from Carrapateira, a gentle climb took us to the first and only trig point of the walk. There the same unfortunate dog as in October last year was still tied up near the rusting car, but he had acquired a couple of mates, untied.

(Here the Leader modestly forbears to mention her act of kindness in freeing up the unforunate dog's lengthy chain which had become trapped round some scrub, which she uprooted)

Act of kindness

After following the ridge for 20 minutes or so, we descended into the valley and continued there intending to turn off right uphill again. But what used to be a broad path for the long climb upto Monte Velho was now a wide, deep and unappealing ditch of uncertain purpose. And so the rule of always re-recceing a known walk was yet again confirmed.

However, it did not prove very difficult to find another path, a little further along past Herdade de Beicao where, in the best imperial explorers' tradition, we also acquired the help of a native guide (in the guise of a large brown dog) who led us in the right direction, uphill and then skirting Monte Velho and back towards the sea.

(The fields were colourful with flowers and the birds were singing; well, two of them were, at any rate.)


Dawn chorus

Having crossed the Carrapateira road, we then encountered a large field of oats where we used to walk alongside a ridge. After unsuccessfully trying to skirt this field, because the adjoining brush was far too prickly, your leader was encouraged to go through it and so we did, very carefully.

Prickly stuff

The oat field

The rest of the walk ran smoothly; lunch was enjoyed with a splendid view out to sea.

Antje's guide dog

The ladies who lunch

We returned to start after just over 4 hours, and having covered a distance of 14.5kms.

Post-mortem

Aftere the walk, Antje's native guide dog, who had been with us for some 11 kms, did not seem to want to go home. So, rather than abandon him to the fleshpots of Carrapateira, Antje in a second act of kindness ferried him 3kms back along the valley to Herdade de Beicao.

AWW 14.05.2008 Westward Ho! or Algarve/Alentejo Border Patrol

Pre-amble: Segueing effortlessly from the previous week's walk, Terry A. reminds viewers that the Masked Man IdentiQuiz competition remains open.

Now this walk had, of course, been advertised as being "mostly downhill " . The penny dropped , of course, right at the starting point which was a steep upward-facing slope and when Dina told us that Vitor, refusing to come out, had said that we were all "louco". Mostly downhill it was not. The Leader's report follows without too much ado; but I shall leave it to the reader to derive the truth of the matter from the fact that his own official statistics are silent about metres ascended, from the way in which he rides roughshod over all the provisions of the Trades Descriptions Act, blaming all the hills on recent shifts of tectonic plates as well as on the Chinese, and then, showing a masterly touch of diversionary tactics, worthy of von Clausewitz himself, shifting the focus of his report completely away from the walk itself and instead to a previous totally unrelated, albeit esoteric, conversational topic which, gentle reader be warned, is not for the eyes of those of a modest of disposition.

Thanks to Dina for photographic contributions, and to Terry A. who, having had the opening words, also gives the closing ones.

The Leader's Report: "Warning: Portions of this blog are XXX rated and should be viewed only by broad-minded AWWs. News Flash: Shares in Western England Breweries tumbled on news that Ian S would not be attending the planned rugby thrash. However, AWW Futures rose sharply in compensation. With Rod regrettably still suffering from his ailment we were fortunate that Ian S. took up his slot, thus making two taxi-loads for the return journey, to whit: Johns O’Neill and Hope, Dina (Interpreter with taxi drivers), Hilke, David, Terry A, Ian S and Mike (Leader, or, if you were one of those who fell for all his pre-walk publicity, mis-Leader).

The Starters

Statistics: Total distance. 26.1 km; moving average 4.4 kph; moving time 5 hours 59 minutes. We met up at the Monchique Helipad at 08.00 and, following the drive northwards to the Algarve/Alentejo boundary in 2 cars, we were able to start the walk briskly uphill westwards (“downhill all the way” said the leader) at 08.35 hours. The mild, somewhat cloudy conditions made for perfect walking and the views northwards to the Alentejo and southwards towards Serra de Monchique were superb.

Views north

Serra de Monchique
We reached the trig point ‘Algares’ (455 m) at 12.00 noon right on schedule. There are now two fire watching towers but no one was in residence. The Leader proclaimed that, since his last undertaking this walk, there must have been some seismic shift in the tectonic plates resulting in a number of significant un- and up-dulations that he swore were not there last time. He held the Chinese responsible and, no doubt, Myriam will be able to offer some explanation on her return.

Without injury, we managed one such rather steep and rocky un-dulation (now known as The Leader's Revenge - "They want downhill; I'll give them downhill!) down from the trig point to join the road into Relva Grande where we ate a late lunch at Café Portela at 13.30 hours. At this point JohnH, who had not been feeling well for some time but who had stoically continued, gallantly escorted by IanS, took a taxi driven by a winsome Anabela to Odeceixe. There they endured the hardships of sipping ale whilst awaiting the arrival of the foot sloggers. This proved a suitable pick-me-up and aided John’s recovery.

Transport of delight

(It is not clear to your Editor whether IanS.'s selflessness in depriving himself of a further 9 kms walking was motivated more by concern about JohnH's health or more by doubts as to the wisdom of his being allowed to go off alone with the aforesaid winsome Anabela; but let IanS. speak for himself).

"The walk then continued through superb meadows of cereals and wild flowers – a delight to the eye but bad news for the Leader’s hay fever. Dina maintained regular telemovel contact with the taxi drivers due to meet us at the end which worked well as we only had to walk for 10 minutes up the tarmac, parallel to the Seixe River, before they appeared. The cost per head for the considerable journey back to the Monchique Helipad was €12. "An interesting discussion had been held during the preceding week’s walk on May 7th as to whether jihadist suicide bombers were rewarded in Paradise with 70 virgins or 70 black olives. Clarification is to hand through an article by Ibn Warraq dated 26/01/07. "Firstly, it is only in the ‘Islamic Traditions’ that the number of virgins is stated and, in any event it should be 72 not 70, though whether the additional 2 makes a material difference is a moot point. Nowhere in the Koran is the actual number of virgins in paradise specified. Secondly these heavenly delights await specifically martyrs, not those committing suicide which is expressly forbidden in the Koran. There are several Koranic references but sura vv 12-39 is apposite. “They shall recline on jeweled couches face to face, and there shall wait on them immortal youths with bowls and ewers and a cup of purest wine that will neither pain their heads nor take away their reason . [Wine Mine to advise, Ed] ….” "It does seem that the Arabic (pl) ‘Abkarun’ is correctly translated as virgins, though some Muslims claim the word should be more correctly translated as ‘angels’. The word ‘hur’ occurs four times in the Koran and is usually translated as a “maiden with dark eyes”. The Koranic commentator and polymath Al-Suyuti (d.1505) elaborated on the matter: “Each time we sleep with a houri we find her a virgin. Besides, the penis of the Elected never softens. The erection is eternal; the sensation that you feel each time you make love is utterly delicious and out of this world and were you to experience it in this world you would faint. …….” "Now, as to the AW Walker who asserted that it was juicy black olives rather than virgins that awaited the suicide bomber in Paradise this appears to be without foundation. From Luxenberg’s assessment (as yet unassessed), it does appear that there could be a mis-translation between the Syriac word ‘hur’ meaning white with ‘raisin’ implied. Ibn Warraq perhaps has the last word to say in the matter: “…prospective martyrs would do well to abandon their culture of death, and instead concentrate on getting laid 72 times in this world, unless of course they would prefer chilled or white raisins, according to their taste, in the next.”

End of Report

Well, last week, the theme was "Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme." This week, it seems to have been "Raisins, olives and Black-Eyed .............Peas."

The end of a long day

Terry A. has the last word, or Orogenisis.

AWW 7.05.2008 Messing about Messines or A Dance to the Music of Thyme.

Your correspondent, just back - jet-lagged and disorientated after a trip to Remotest Thule - had scarcely managed to drag himself out of bed and to the starting line at Torre when he was confronted by HWMBO with the news that the Chief Blogger, still ensconced in his sybaritic fastness in the middle regions of Gorrrdon Brrroon's Brrritain and apparently content to manipulate his puppet strings and hurl his insults, as Jove his thunderbolts, from there, expected me to do both the snapography and the blog for the day's proceedings. If any of the details of what follows are inaccurate or incomplete, blame the aforesaid disorientation; corrigenda will be gratefully received. And was it only me, or did other people see strange visions passing before them even before the walk started?

Who he? Answers, on a postcard please, to Terry Ames.

The Leaders: Elaine and Stan Webb.
The Followers:David L.,Terry A., Terry M., Vitor and Dina, Tina, Janet, Ian W., Lindsey, Hilke, Mike P., Brian H., John H., and 4 newcomers, namely Eva, John, Julie and David.

Track Sniffers: Nandi and Rusty.

Tilley Hat Count: who knows? (sotto voce -or cares?).

And various statistics, courtesy, first, of Vitor:
Distance 15.1 km

Moving time 3.49 hrs/mins

Resting time 39 mins

Total time 4.28 hrs/mins

Moving Average 3.95 km per hr

Overall speed 3.38 km per hr

and, second, of Brian:

Distance 15.2 km

Moving time 3.31 hrs/mins

Resting time 54 mins

Total time 4.25 hrs/mins

Moving average 4.32 km per hr

Overall speed 3.44 km per hr

Total ascents 337 metres

Max elevation 242 metres.

The starters' photo was attended to with commendable alacrity by the participants, egged on by an admiring but noisy gallery of pugs, poodles, lapdogs, long-haired mini-spaniels or whatever in an upper window across the road.. And the trek began reasonably promptly at 9.35am.

The starters.......(Stan and Vitor being modest and camera-shy as usual).....

... and their admiring fans.

Now the Leaders'Report

The walk was one we had put together several years ago and derives from 2 walks from Maurice's Silves Walks book, so thanks to Maurice. When we reccied it first we did it with Pam and Ian, so the walk holds fond memories of Ian and keeps Maurice's walks going - we saw several blue blobs - so they may be low tech but they certainly last!
The walk has been changed as the hill down from Torre to the nora is now too prickly to pass through - ironic in view of what happened later - and the trig point we used to go up to on the way back from Amorosa to Torre is so overgrown that you can't find the trig point and so we do a contour walk along the side of the hill with views to the south.

19 of us and the 2 dogs Nandi and Rusty set off from Torre down a track and then along the road a few hundred metres to join a track down through a farm across the river and up on to the ridge leading to Amorosa. We stopped to admire the menhir and to get some tips about them from Mike Pease. (Mike alluded to their prehistoric phallic fertility symbolism while Terry A. sensed the mysterious underground power of Ley Lines.)

And did the earth move for you too?

We then continued to the well-restored nora on the path out of Amorosa village.

The nora at Amorosa

We crossed the EN124 to start the other side of this figure of 8 walk. Some road walking took us to a track up the hill and all was going well on a pleasant track until I decided that we should try to avoid more tarmac and get views of Messines at the same time -bad idea- hunters trails seemed to disappear and we didn't find the ploughed field which leads to the relevant pylon - so many prickles and scratched legs later and very few moans (much appreciated), we arrived at the path which led to the road past the cemetery anyway -won't do that again. (While we were thrashing around in the thorn bushes, Mike kept our spirits up with a dissertation on the somewhat controversial achievements of the Chindits as they thrashed around in the Burmese jungle during WWII. Stan then led us in circles for a while as some of the elderly hippies present sang snatches of Scarborough Fair..."Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme".)

We then followed the railway line from Messines, provoking a passing goods train into a burst of frantic hooting, (well, it's not often a long-distance train driver has an audience of 19 enthusiasts).

Hilke leading the Trainspotters' Brigade

and their visual reward


We then climbed up the slope for a scenic lunch spot with 'seating' for lots at the top.

12 Green Bottles

After a leisurely lunch, we meandered through a couple of hamlets and along a track which led us back to the EN124. The final section went through a couple of farms at low level and then we went through some low scrub for our 'walk back in thyme' and joined another farm track to bring us out in Torre, shortly before 2pm.

Some Local Colour


In a lengthy article about the Chindits, Wikipedia has this to say about how they moved: "Since there were often no established paths in the jungle along their routes, many times they had to clear their own with machetes and kukris." Maybe the Chief Blogger will consider a revision to our equipment specifications for next season's walking; Tilley Hats and GPSs are all very well in their place, but are they of much use when the going gets really tough?.

AWW 30.04.2008 Paderne Premiere

Again there were unfortunately less bloggers than Tilley hats for Lindsey and Andrew's Premiere of their exhaustively researched walk, meeting at Paderne.
Lindsey rose to the challenge and by Thursday evening I had a script and a dozen photos in my Inbox . We were to be staying with friends in London, not only to cheer on Boris and enjoy Red Ken's discomfiture, but also to break through the 300 Geocache barrier accompanied by Oriana, in Richmond Park. There is a whole blog in that, I thought, if Andrew's pix, and Lindsey's prose get lost in cyberspace! As you will read, that didn't happen, and as my friend has a fine and fast computer, I am taking advantage of some time before he drags me out to the pub, and what he claims to be the finest Vietnamese restaurant this side of the Mekong Delta.
And so, with no more ado, here is Lindsey's account of the last walk in April.

Not quite the start, but most of the walkers.

Leaders: Andrew and Lindsey

Walkers: Mike Pease, Dina & Vitor, Janet, Stan & Elaine, Tina, John O´Neill, Ian Wilson.

Dogs: Nandi.

Stats: Total Distance - 17.6kms, Average Moving Speed - 3.7km/hr, Overall Moving Speed 3.0km/hr, Moving Time 4.46, Total Time 5.51 hours.

11 Wednesday Walkers and 13 sticks! (and one disembodied Tilley behind Tina!)

11 Walkers met at the Paderne Football Stadium and nobody lost their way thanks to the good directions! We drove in 3 4x4s through Paderne and left up a rather rocky track to a field and the start of the walk. Lindsey was driving one car when there was a request from the passenger in the back seat to go to the nearest cafe - request granted and Janet and Mike disappeared into the cafe supposedly to buy water but we think they needed their usual tipple of medronho.

Is that really a path?

It started cool and cloudy as we set off up a track and then off on rocky terrain to Monte Novo. The undergrowth was rather scratchy with lavender, thyme and prickly gorse but the WWs had been pre- warned.

Still life with clouds!

Mike undaunted didn't require gaiters, but the leader dressed himself for the imminent jungle in front.

We skirted up and around Cerro Grande looking across to the motorway and sea in the distance and continued around the south slope of Castanho. At this point John wasn't feeling too well so was given directions to follow the dirt road towards Alfontes where hopefully he'd come to a Taverna and possibly a taxi back to Paderne.

We spied this Agave and want to know from Myriam what made these holes. We think it was a WP.

(Myriam refuses to be drawn on whether it was a 'Wanted Person' that made the holes!)

We then crossed the Paderne Boliqueime road and headed up to the top of Cerro Samuel, where there were spectacular views towards Benafim.

Vitor of the Valley

We walked down into a valley and then up over Lombão and from a diverse and complicated route down to the river.

Lunch on the lawn

Here we relaxed to the sound of the water and had our lunch. At last Nandi could have a proper drink and swim in the clear river.

Nandi, 'A nadadora'

Andrew suddenly spied something in the bushes next him - a small bundle of Esc.20s had wedged itself between the rocks and the scrub.

We started back along the river path serenaded by nightingales. The river was still quite full and WW's were invited to trip down the steps for a swim. It was now getting quite warm.

After about 4kms we climbed up a rocky path and to the north of Cerro Samuel and over and down to the Boliqueime road and across the tarmac. Then on and up Castanha to the very top to more spectacular views from Lagos to Faro and Silves to Benafim.

A successful conclusion

Then back to Cerra Grande and the cars. John's car was not there so we presumed he and the taxi driver had discovered the rocky track and field where his car had been parked.

Back to Paderne and a well earned glass of beer.

Thanks Lindsey for the pix (I noticed you took more than Andrew!!) and the factual account. There seems to be a paucity of scandal and colour commentary recently, since Ian S. retired to his Lagos Penthouse! Hopefully a trained professional blogger will be back on next week's walk, but alas we ourselves will not be back in time for Mike's Odeceixe Odyssey on the 14th. I hope that he gets a few more entries for the walk, which after all is 90% downhill!!

"We will either find a way - or make one" Hannibal (aka Mike P.)

"One sees great things from the valley; only small things from the peak." Chesterton, Gilbert K.