Sparrowsfart - The Big Breakfast

Mine Host ingesting "Good" Cholesterol!

Our Hostess and breakfast Supremo

The shady corner

Still carbo-loading!


Mike's report on a well-attended off-season walk - the incentives were good!!


Eighteen insomniacs met at 06.45 hours at Café Cansado, Arão on Wednesday 2nd August to participate in SparrowFart 2006. All were surprisingly bright eyed and bushy tailed at the start with a very prompt move-off.

The 19 walkers were: Ian W, Paul & Myriam, Ian S, Mike, Heather, Rory and Anna Symons (Mike's daughter, son-in-law and grand daughter), Richard (Mike's son), Rod, Andrew & Lindsey, Janet, Chris & Antje, Jim, Terry & Jill and Caroline Bell.
Dogs that enjoyed the early morning scents were: Xana, Oscar, Nate and Tiggy. (There were later complaints when they realised they had NOT qualified for the bacon and sausages!)
Anna (aged 9) led the walk throughout using a bamboo diagram direction chart. This proves how effective and easy to operate these direction charts can be. (Even with sundry inaccuracies!)

After a short climb there was over an hour of beautiful rolling hill panoramic views looking at their best at sunrise. 'Grizzly Gulch' was negotiated with relatively little loss of blood (luckily only the Leader's) and no audible whingeing, apart from Paul who complained that the Bamboo Diagram differed by one or two minutes with his wrist mounted GPS, probably affected by his racing blood stream. (Leader's GPS had defaulted to Peaseometers again!)

Whilst rounding the abandoned cottage that overlooks the homeward valley a bee or hornet stung Antje on a sensitive and private part of her anatomy. Several gallant offers to apply antihistamine were firmly rejected and she disappeared round the back of the cottage to deal with the matter herself. (actually Ian S blundered into a wasps' nest, and Chris was savaged on his ankle as well! The fact that it was wasps and not bees robbed Myriam of the chance to demonstrate her suction bee sting extractor, which would have been well worth viewing given the location of Antje's sting!)

The walk was complete in 2 1/2 hours, nicely before the heat of the morning sun became significant. The total distance was just under 10 km.

The following family members joined the walkers for breakfast, chez Pease: Diane, Marguerite, Sue, Troth (Sue's Mum), Deidre, Jyll, Marguerite Pease (wife of Richard) + infant Olivia giving a total of 27.

This year we missed the presence of Maurice and Esmé who will be informed of the event and will receive our good wishes by Blog.

Yes an excellent walk - just about the right length for most, and we retired to Quinta d'Espargosas for a sumpuous breakfast of all the things we are usually not allowed to eat. Many thanks to Jyll, Marguerite, Maggs and the other workers who prepared it all.