Algarve Wednesday Walkers

Sparrowsfart - The Big Breakfast

2006-08-03T15:41:00.000Z

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.

Out of Season Training

2006-06-25T10:08:00.000Z

Ready for Take-Off

The blog has been a bit quiet since the concensus was that it was getting a bit too hot for most WW's. The disappointment was almost tangible, so I have undertaken to rouse myself from a bout of Lyme Disease, (see http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/lyme/index.htm ) and the ongoing World Cup, to regale you with an account of our personal activities in the field.

Myriam and I have entered, nay, rushed into the field of Geocaching during the off season. There is a link to the site on the left, which is most informative. We are proudly known as "Team Caracache" - slow - but a bit tasty!, and have to date located 9 caches, and we hope to lay out one or two of our own in the near future. There are around 50 caches in the Algarve and Baixo Alentejo, and more almost every week. Mike and Jyll have also entered the fray, and may be found scrabbling around under rocks and in gorse bushes in the neighbourhood. I hope Terry will join in when he gets his GPS.

Most caches are located in imaginative and scenic spots, and can be reached either by a decent walk if you are energetic (and don't have a 4X4), or approached much more closely by vehicle. Then you have to read the owner of the caches' mind as they devise some ingenious hiding places.

There have been a lot of ticks about this year, the weather conditions seem to have favoured their breeding programme. At least two (Xana and Nathan) of the WW dogs have had tick fever, and I, much to my chagrin, have joined them. It was, I suspect, on a cache hunt in a valley near Sargaçal, where we saw the local shepherd and a large flock of raggedy looking sheep, and a few mangy dogs leaving the area as we arrived. I didn? even see the little blighter that got me, but I woke up on Monday morning with a small itchy bite, which I assumed was from a mosquito. By evening it had grown to about 4 cm across, and by the next morning it was a fierce red looking patch with a black centre, about 12 cm in diameter. At this point I went off to the doctor, and was diagnosed as an infected tick bite and possibly the start of Lyme Disease. The rest of the gory details and photo are below.

Beware of Ticks!!

2006-06-25T09:26:00.000Z

Taken on the third day after the tick bite, this is typical of early stages of an infection which could lead to Lyme Disease. See http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/lyme/index.htm The first day was just an itch with a small raised red patch, the second day, the centre of the bite went black and the red circle expanded to about 10 cm. The whole area was very hot and I had muscular aches and pains. I then went to the doctor, and was prescribed antibiotics, but the red area kept expanding until day 6 when it started to become paler, and I began to feel better. The worse part, of course is that the minimum 10-day course of antibiotics is meant to be undertaken without the benefits of fine wines to enhance morale!! On a threat to change doctor for a second opinion, she relented and conceded that one glass a day would be good for the patient. And have I got a good glass!!!

For those that missed it!! Sunrise on the Summer Solstice

2006-06-25T08:48:00.000Z

"And gentlemen in England, now a-bed
Shall think themselves accursed they were not here,"
So said Henry V according to Shakespeare, and it was well worth getting up for it!!
Myriam's smile was brighter than the sun, and even Xana and Maio raised a grin!

Summer Solstice 21st June 2006

2006-06-25T08:42:00.000Z

It was a Wednesday after all, so Myriam, I and the dogs were off to Ponte de Piedade at an unearthly hour to watch the sun come up. If you click on the pic to enlarge it, you can just make out Myriam in silhouette between the trees.

Seven stroll by the Sea, WW 07.06.2006

2006-06-08T15:55:00.000Z

Leader: Paul
Present: Myriam, Janet, John, Rod, Lindsey, Andrew
NO DOGS!!!
Walk: Ponte de Piedade and past Luz and return (22 km)
Time: 5 hrs 15 minutes walking (Total time 6 hrs)

Before Mike pulls me up on the discrepancy between the Title and the lead photo, ace cameraperson, Myriam has not mastered the time delay shot yet!
In anticipation of a very hot day, I decided that it would be a good opportunity to avail ourselves of the Atlantic onshore breezes, at least on the way back, and try to get out and back without returning on the same path. The overall result was not too bad; except for the section through Luz, and the back way down to Porte de Mos, it was achieved. Had the tide been anything other than at it's highest, mid walk, we could have crossed round the headland between Ponte de Piedade and Porte de Mos in one of the directions.
This was the first walk in living memory in which we were not accompanied by any of our dogs! Regrettably Maio is not up to it any more, and Xana was recovering from a mild bout of tick fever, so they were out. Of Rod's pair, Purdey is in the same boat as Maio, and Pooky was left to keep her company, as it looked a hot day with little opportunity for dog drinking water.
Janet turned up sans socks and had to cadge Andrew's second pair (brave woman!). Fortunately for the assembled team, she seemed to have remembered everything else, and The Magnificent Seven set off soon after 9 am with a tour round the lighthouse and north up the coast for a warm-up on the undulating coastal path. Hardly had we left when Andrew suffered a 'senior' moment, and couldn't remember if he had locked the car, so jogged back to confirm that he had! The route progressed inland after we had confirmed that the tide was too high to get round to Porte de Mos via the beach, and from there again inland through the soon to be completely urbanised area between Porte de Mos and Atalaia. A slight navigational error, during which we discovered the DIY House (photo below) resulted in howls of anguish from shorts wearers as we took a direct route through some overgrown pastures to regain the track. Fortunately the absent Mike was on his way to London for a quick coffee with his brother, so no blood was spilled.
Arriving on the escarpment near the Trig point with the panoramic view of Luz, Janet opined that she didn't care for walking through the town (the temptation of too many tourist shops!!) and would turn back. Bravely she descended from the top to the lower plateau before turning round, thus burning an extra 568 calories according to my pedometer!
We stuck with the coastal path towards Burgau, and admired the newly redecorated 'Arab House', which has lost some of it's kudos with a pale grey colour scheme and a hand-painted floral tile frieze below the eaves. We didn't see Osama at a window, but it is pretty obvious that he is camouflaging his Algarve HQ.
Lunch from a commanding viewpoint gave us a different aspect of the huge orange house
pictured below. We returned to Luz through a mix of earthen paths and undeveloped plots, and the rapidly growing urban sprawl inland, to be faced with the prospect of the scramble up to the trigpoint. I announced to the disbelievers that it was actually only a 4 minute climb and about 60 vertical metres to the Trig point. Andrew, Rod and myself went for two variations of Route One straight up to the top, and the others took a slightly longer and less steep path. The point was proved as I broke my record to reach the Obelisk in 3min. 32 secs followed by Andrew (4 min. 02 sec), Rod, (5 min. 09 secs), Myriam and Lindsey in 6 min. and 20secs, and then John strolled up from another direction looking remarkably cool in 7 min. and 10 secs.
The reason for all this macho posturing came when we reached the Cafe at Ponte de Piedade, and Myriam innocently revealed that she was supplying cashew nuts and Japanese crackers with our drinks, because I had managed to survive another full year on God's Earth, and I had been trying to prove I can still cut the mustard although I must be almost into my Fifties now!! Lindsey made it an even more auspicious occasion by gifting us some Kumquats (for Myriam's Marmalade Factory) and some French beans for dinner! Thanks Lindsey.

Lunch and Running Repairs

2006-06-08T15:47:00.000Z

Lunch above a modest dwelling between Luz and Burgau. Andrew took the opportunity to carry out some running repairs, as he had sacrificed one of his pairs of socks to Janet who had had yet another senior moment and left the house minus some items of clothing - that is her socks!! Although we had no shade, a pleasant breeze from the cool Atlantic made it reasonably comfortable.

Hasn't she grown!!

2006-06-08T15:40:00.000Z

View of Luz from the 'obelisk' Trig point (110 m). The town seems to have grown by about 20% since I last looked! Much speculation from the assembled experts as to whether Luz could be self sufficient power-wise if the energy from its' human waste, chip and hamburger fat and bullshit uttered in the bars, could be harnessed!

"Des. Res"

2006-06-08T15:33:00.000Z

This edifice between Atalaia and Luz looked to have been 'modified' by an enthusiastic amateur DIY exponent!! Rod picked up a few tips for his own construction!

Terry's Tor Tour - WW 31.05.2006

2006-06-01T16:16:00.000Z

A Welcome break - after 20 minutes!!

Leader: Terry 1
Present: Lindsey;Mike; Chris; Antje;Thyl;Myriam;Paul.
Oscar; Tiggy
Length: 16.7 km
Total time (including stops) 5 hrs 20 minutes.

You can always tell a good Leader - if the Cafe at the meeting place isn't open - he leads you to another before the caffeine levels get dangerously low!! And so it was. We gathered on a gloomy overcast and humid morning at the Cafe Soc. Rec. Torense which was deserted apart from a few forlornly empty bottles left from the night before. Thyl arrived in a cloud of dust just seconds before the scheduled 'Off', and sensitive to the rising tide of mutterings, Terry reversed his planned walk and we set off into the heart of the surprisingly large metropolis of Tor. Twenty minutes later, and technically out of Tor, we found an open Cafe Funchais, (pictured above) where morale was restored.
This was another of Terry's largely new walks, and it proved to be a 'Walk of Two Halves'. Another 6 minutes after the coffee, and 2 kilometres into the walk, we finally left the urban area into the countryside. The morning was fairly level on decent tracks, with a little bit of paddling as we negotiated a couple of streams which were still flowing quite well. One highlight was meeting a group of workmen repairing the branch road that led from Loule to Tor, one of whom was clutching a 'v'-shaped twig and professed to be identifying the route of a spring under the road. Whether he had just hastily snatched the twig, which twitched in his hands, just to impress the 'estrangeiros' I couldn't possibly comment, but suddenly Lindsey loudly claimed to be an experienced water diviner, and took the twig from him to test it herself. Regrettably it didn't work, but she excused herself saying that she normally used metal rods for the purpose! (See photo below).
I didn't have many firm memories of having been in this part of the Algarve before, until we arrived at a large deserted Quinta after about an hour and a half. Others recalled having been there before, possibly with Maurice, though Thyl thought it was with Ian Cooper.
We pressed on past a quarry and up towards a well signposted 'Cesteiros' (basket maker) which duly appeared complete with three senior practitioners of the art.

Soon we had to negotiate some high stepping stones (Blondin eat your heart out!) and arrived at one of the most luxurious locations we have had for lunch this season. A spirited conversation on the merits of various headgear ensued, and Mike proposed that we set up another sub-committee to advise walkers worldwide on how to select and customise their hats.

After lunch the walk changed - first we crossed the river and returned to the stepping stones via some muddy reed beds, and Antje managed to get a wet boot. Then, the Master of the Bamboo Diagrams was severely tested as Terry cut off uphill on a narrow gorse-infested path to the top of the valley side. To be fair, he was wearing shorts himself, but blood was spilt!! Thyl dredged up a memory of having been on this path some years previously on a famous walk led by David (now moved to Andorra) on which my daughters, Tanya and Oriana had come, fashionably wearing short shorts and tank tops, and had been irredeemably scarred, and also accompanied by the Canadian Ambassador to Washington and his son, who was not amused by the hostile terrain (the son that is).
We emerged to better paths at the top, and continued through a few small hamlets, with pretty houses, and along some narrow but well-preserved caminhos to arrive back at the Tor Recreational Club, which was now open for a well deserved apres-walk Bohemia. Alas and Alack - Terry's good leadership score suffered a mighty blow, when our hostess revealed that not only did she have no Sagres, but she only had 'boys' size' Superbock!! As I write, the Chief Blogger is still suffering from the effects of having to substitute a couple of bottles of Cristal for his preferred tipple.
Despite this, it was an excellent walk - we were lucky for the overcast which kept us cooler, and we completed the 16.7 km in a total of 5 hours 20 minutes, of which some 3 hours 50 minutes was actually walking. With my new GPS the stats keep coming!!! Average Moving Speed - 4.3 km/hr.

2006-06-01T16:00:00.000Z

Terry provided comfortable facilities for lunch!

2006-06-01T15:51:00.000Z

A Test of Balance - Seven High Stepping Stones.

2006-06-01T15:44:00.000Z

The Divine(r) Lindsey - and new best friends!

Ian's Foia Flirtation - WW 24th May 2006

2006-05-29T18:36:00.000Z

Don't tread on the daisies!

Leader: Ian S.
Present: Rod, Paul, Myriam, Terry, Lindsey, Andrew, Chris, Antje, John, Hazel, Simone, Thyl
Xana, Tiggy, Pooky

Ian had chosen a sensational day for the assault on Foia, an unnamed peak and Madrinha, and not only did we have the essential cooling breeze, but also we had wonderful visisbility when we had struggled up high enough. The news was leaked early on that the recce for this 6+ hour walk had only taken two and a half hours the previous Thursday, but Ian bluffed his way through it enormously well, only leading the group down one grassy cul-de-sac (well they do all look alike!) on the way up from the Monchique helipad to Foia. The Chief Blogger had a slight S.O.H.F. when Xana arrived at dog heaven - a small farm with loose chickens, which had mysteriously not been spotted on the recce!! Luckily she appears to be either slowing up or has joined the Animal Rights Movement, and no damage was done either to the chickens or my wallet!
It was a seminal day in the history of Bamboo Diagrams as I had recently taken possession of some new technology - a Garmin Foretrex 101 Wrist mounted GPS - which lent a hitherto lacking degree of accuracy to the distance measurements. The crosscheck with my own pedometer proved that the pedometer was wildly optimistic, but Lindsey's proved to be slightly more accurate.
We welcomed Simone back after an absence of some two years. She is as fit as ever, and hopes to join us next week too.
On the higher slopes we visited, there are still plenty of flowers, while the area below is becoming increasingly brown. The views were fabulous and lunch was taken on the rocks at Madrinha.
The round trip took 6 hrs 40 min, elapsed time being 20.8 kilometers and a walking time of 5 hrs 11 mins. (Thankyou Garmin). Yet again no Sagres Bohemia at the end in the appropriately named Cafe Descansa Pernas, but we were thirsty enough to make do with the less sophisticated offering without too much whimpering.

Geocaching: As the walking season comes to an end, and consequent to the acquisition of our new GPS, Myriam and I have taken up the 'sport' of Geocaching. We have found our first cache - at Ponte de Piedade, and are keen to rack up a good score as well as plant our own caches in the near future. You can read all about it at http://www.geocaching.com and it is fairly easy to get a list of the caches in the Algarve. Try http://www.geocaching.com/seek/nearest.aspx?lat=37.105683&lon=-8.679967 All you need is a computer, a GPS, some tough gloves and a lot of patience.There is a whole new vocabulary of 'muggles' and 'Travel Bugs' to be explored. Good hunting!!

'Twas a very clear day.

2006-05-29T18:29:00.000Z

View from the top nearFoia.

Madrinha - and blue sky.

2006-05-29T18:25:00.000Z

Someday my son - this will be all yours!!

Caption Competition!!

2006-05-29T18:19:00.000Z

What did Lindsey say - and at what was she pointing!!

Mike's "Pilgwimps Way" 17th May 2006

2006-05-18T16:26:00.001Z

The Cistus Flower has been adopted as the emblem

for waypoints on Via Algarviana.

Here is a fine example flowering this April.

Mike's fair and balanced reporting of his walk below!

Date: 17th May 2006
Walk Name: Pilgwimps Way
Distance: 15.7 km overall (including diversion – see below)
Time (including stops): 4 hours, 45 minutes

Present:

Leader: Mike
Bloggers: Rod, Stan, Chris, Paul,
Blogerinhas: Elaine, Myriam
Blogs: Xana, Pookie. Apologies for absence were received from: Oscar (septic foot) and Tiggy (poorly)

The start, at Pereira, was somewhat delayed whilst a friendly passing motorist helped extricate the Mitsubishi 4 WD car of an unnamed walker from the ditch into which it had disappeared. This was not one of the intended ‘steep downhills’ noted in the pre-walk blurb. Regrettably, the official Blog Photographer’s lens shutter was not open at this time of day. So, no record was taken for posterity. (the official photographer was rather more concerned in helping the distressed driver, specifically by loaning his Lidl Nylon Tow-Rope and directing the rescue operation, rather than taking embarrassing snaps, which could have been used for lampoonery later. The opportunity to take part in a live re-enactment later was churlishly refused by theerrant driver! C.B.)

B’nas Elaine and Myriam graciously undertook to lead the group, regrettably not astray, but following the bamboo direction chart provided by Mike. They did so with excellent effect. However, some ‘Triad’ quibbles were registered regarding the precise placement of the little dots on the chart.(ie Where are we Mike?? C.B.) As intended, some adjustments were identified for later correction. This practice should ensure the production of a reasonably foolproof final bamboo direction chart. Paul has now produced a Mk IV template and, hopefully, this will be the final version for all subsequent use.

The day was hot and airless so tiring for brisk walking. Fortunately, the majority of the route was on ridge tops or with wide valley bottoms where what little air there was could be found. We reached the trig point at Barranco do Milho (509 ft) in approximately 2 hours. From here and onwards excellent views were to be had northwards over the NE finger of the Barragem Bravura, the small hamlet of Guena, the uniquely shaped Table-Top Mountain and northwards to the hills of Monchique and Foia as they pass westwards and seawards. To the south, excellent views could be had, for much of the route looking towards, Mexilhoeira Grande, Alvor and Portimão. A diversion of some 20 minutes resulted from a search for paddling water for Xana and Pooky.(and also to locate the path we should have been on were it not for a momentary lapse of concentration! C.B.) Lunch was taken in a eucalyptus grove close to the trig point at Penascoso (712 ft). Two steep downhills were negotiated successfully but only with great care. Uphills were taxing in the conditions but were not excessive.

The following calculations may be of interest to AWW mathematicians, physicists and collectors of scientific ambulatory trivia. Prior to the walk it was determined that Myriam takes 67 paces to walk a measured 50m level section of tarmac. Mike, with more ostrich-like strides, covered the same distance in 56 paces. By extrapolation, it was determined that Myriam takes 1,340 paces to cover 1km as against Mike’s 1,120 paces. But, allowance should be made for ups and downs, that are arbitrarily taken at 30%. Incorporating this factor into the equation, and assuming an average AWW 15 km walk, it is likely that Myriam takes some 26,163 paces against Mike’s 21,840. This might encourage the makers of ladies boot wear. However, Myriam daintily dances over the ground with butterfly-like steps compared to the galumphing infantryman-like tread of Mike. The conclusion is, therefore, that whilst Myriam, as somewhat representative of the fair and gentle sex, may take more strides this is unlikely to constitute a heavier usage of hiking boot soles. Q.E.D.

Comment: Yes, high drama from the start with the "Incident of the car in the ditch"! As far as "Pilgwimps Way is concerned, we had the Pilgrims, but the Wimps stayed at home, lounging by their pools with crystal glasses of cold rehydrating fluid in their hands. Even, as mentioned, two of the dogs came up with convenient excuses! It was rather hot and humid, for mid-May, and it reinforces the need to start earlier as summer approaches. This was Stan and Elaine's last walk before they head back to UK via the Rioja Region, and with a walk in the Hebrides planned. I am awaiting confirmation from Lindsey that Elaine has handed over the considerable WW drinks fund, before I stand down Border Security on the Spanish Crossings. As is often the case, today was much cooler and with a stiff breeze, at least in Lagos, so we may have a good few more weeks to go before it becomes unbearable.

Steeper than it looks!

2006-05-18T16:19:00.000Z

WW equivalent of the stocks!!

2006-05-18T16:13:00.000Z

Couldn't find a corner to make Rod sit in!! At least he's upright this time.
This chair was not marked on Mike's Bamboo Diagrams

2006-05-18T16:10:00.000Z

Amending the Bamboo Diagrams

Rod's Out-Back walk 10th May 2006

2006-05-14T06:24:00.000Z

The heat was such that most of the party required sticks for support!!

(Rod's report below)

Leader: Rod

Present; Janet, Gack, Ian S, Paul & Myriam, Terry A, Terry M, Monica, Kevin, Hazel & John, Dina & Vitor, Chris & Antje (and Jill A for the start)

Xana, Pooky, Archie, Tiggy (and Nathan for the start)

Area; Serra de Silves / R. de Odelouca

Weather: Mostly sunny, very warm...mid to upper 20’s and little wind.

Time; 5 hrs.

A 0900 start from Silves Cemetery with a 10 k drive up the S.Marcos road saw this unexpectedly large group, with a few new faces, set off from a point just below the Louro trig point. Of course we had to ascend to the trig point for the view as well as simply because it was there. Having taken that in we continued along a eucalyptus clad track heading south west. From it we had splendid views of the Odelouca valley, Picota and Foia in the background. We could still benefit from the recent fires in that much of the tree growth had been burnt allowing uninterrupted views. What was most evident however was the speed of recovery of the undergrowth and shrubs; particularly noticeable was the recovery of the arbutus which will doubtless be good news for the medronho drinkers.
After an hour or so we started descending to the valley floor. Despite a few reminders that every step down meant a step up on the return, nobody backed out! Towards the bottom, arrival at a ruined farmhouse reminded some folk that we had been around these parts before but from the opposite direction. It is a beautiful valley but soon to disappear for ever beneath the waters of the Odelouca Barragem construction of which is apparently about to recommence.
We had a few apprehensive moments teetering along a few tree trunks to cross the Odelouca but nobody got more than a wet foot. We wandered further along the banks of the river until we came to a verdant, shady patch where we opted for an early lunch. Better make the most of this lovely spot for in a year or two it will be under 30 m of water!

At this point it was decision time! Either to continue SW along a very long contour path to the new dam and then scramble up the west side back up to the ridge; or continue north on the east of the river and up that side before descending, crossing the river again and ascending back up again towards the start point; or , rather unimaginatively retracing our steps…..the easiest way back. A look round a few red and perspiring faces and considering it was a hot afternoon and we were on the lee side of the hill, we opted for the easiest choice, or some might say the wimpiest! …..in the event probably the right one!

Bridgebuilder Brunel Scott set off early from lunch, announcing that in the public interest he was going to improve the log bridge. Nobody even got their feet wet this time so he must have achieved something!

So we slowly plodded back up to the ridge, with one has to say quite a few recovery stops! ….. those with any energy left skipped up to the trig point again for a final look at the view, others took the less demanding contour route round the hill….and back to the cars. We repaired to the bar on the road back to Silves for a fairly welcome drink.

Comment: The hottest walk of the season so far - even the mild zephyrs along the ridges failed to alleviate the mid twenties heat. We had the pleasure, for the first time, of the company of John and Hazel, friends of Ian's who had recently immigrated full time from Dubai (no problem with the heat then!), Terry M's wife Monica, and Kevin who was over from UK to assist with painting Terry's house - and this was his reward on his day off! I measured the walk at 11 miles/17.5 km, and it seemed it, but it was probably less. Rod's decision to turn back and retrace our footsteps was applauded by most, and only partly because of a rare show of compassion for those less match-hardened, but also because he had attracted a larger number of walkers by advertising it as "gentle undulations 4-5 hours!" I think the original intention had been to cross over to the new Odelouca Reservoir, and link up with a previous walk. That we will have to leave for a cooler day.

Lunch on the river banks

2006-05-14T06:12:00.000Z

Prefabricated Bridge - later improved!

Hazel, John and Ian among the greenery

Terry tries a spot of fishing.

Rod chewing on the problem of whether to go on or back!!

First Aid!!

2006-05-14T06:07:00.000Z

The Horse Flies were out in force, perhaps angry at being fooled by the preponderance of horse-dung puffballs that had grown up on all the tracks in the area after the rains. Ian bore his pain stoically and enjoyed the attentions of Nurse Janet!!

How to spend €600,000 !

2006-05-13T10:58:00.000Z

The news that €600,000 was available for creating and marking an official version of the Algarve Way was met with some cynicism by certain members of the Wednesday Walkers. After several years of little or no contact since Maurice, Rod, Myriam and others attended meetings on the way forward with Almargem, Terry and David devised, marked and wrote up their own route based on the one previously walked by the WW in both directions, but attempting to stay away from roads and tarmac. This attracted a small amount of publicity, and a query arrived asking for details of the route. This was dealt with separately by David, but when Myriam and I visited Cape St. Vincent in late April with Tanya, to take in the view and also to see the Cistus waymark of the unofficial end of Via Algarviana, which Maurice had stencilled on February 22nd (see previous blog of February 24th) we found the Grand Marker (pictured above) of Kilometer 0.0 of the EcoVia. Presumably this has been funded by part of the amount granted, and I would be grateful if any readers can find any more of the markers, and photograph and contribute them. I suspect they will mainly be found near main roads, if there are to be more, but it will be most interesting to see how the official Route develops and is marked. Comments on this are welcomed.

Frolic in the Forest - and Floral Grandeur. WW 3rd May 2006

2006-05-05T17:24:00.000Z

Mata Nacional - Barao Sao Joao.

Leader: Paul
Present: Myriam, Rod, Janet, Ian S, Chris.
Xana, Tiggy
Length: 15.6 miles/ 25 km

I don't know whether it was because I mentioned that this walk traditionally created rain (it was a close thing) or because nobody likes me, but we had a multiplicity of weak excuses for not turning up this week: We had three Gardeners in Granada; two on the Airport run; one supervising a bathroom renovation; one exhausted from completing 41km of GR23 on Sunday, two engaged in house-moving admin; one allegedly in Paris; one allegedly in Germany re-enacting Thelma and Louise; and several winter birds who had the bad grace to fly north for the summer.
And so it was that the Magnificent Six (+2) RV'd at the Barao Sao Joao Cultural Centre on an unseasonally grey morning.
Ian S. had been cruelly deprived of his oats this morning and had tucked into a traditional Algarve breakfast of a bica and a sticky bun filled with gooey yellow stuff in the Cafe Centro before the start. The spring flowers gladdened our passage (photo above) even more so when the sun eventually broke through. I had promised 'four abreast conversations' and we made it, even though there were only two bloggerinas present!!
Conversation was lively, and once we had covered the usual niceties, and maligned the WW's who were not there, we had an in depth discussion on Wayne's foot, and the potential candidates for England manager. I, of course, was too busy concentrating on the Bamboo Diagrams to be able to contribute much penetrating analysis of current World Affairs, but inspired by Rod's production of his North Face (one size fits all) Chinese-made hat, I did manage to brief him, and Ian S. who had been absent from the two previous walks, on the state of play with Technical Walking Equipment. They appeared to be enthralled by my road test report on the Tilley Underpant (Round the World with only two pairs) and the cutting edge Royal Robbins Dot Matrix Technology trousers. Ian S. had obviously read, marked and digested previous blogs, and was sporting an antique Tilley Hat, somewhat travel stained, but still under guarantee. I suspect he plans to enhance his standing in the group by putting a deposit down on a Berlingo, and moving much closer to Lagos.
Chris, recently back from a lucrative trip to Japan, spoke at length about the latest Hi-Tech sanitary ware and dangerous Japanese cuisine. We reached the appointed lunch spot at the 22.5 km house rather later than anticipated, owing to the frequent propensity of certain members of the party (Janet) to stop and admire and even photograph the profuse wild flowers. The cistus in particular were taller, bigger and more sticky than I have ever seen before.
The homeward leg was largely downhill and swift walking, until the proverbial sting, Sculpture Hill, the cultural highspot of any Barao Sao Joao walk, and a new frog sculpture was noted, staring impassively into the man-made lake on the left hand side. We reached the end in almost exactly 5 hours, and repaired, of necessity, to the Bar with the Palm Tree, unsmilingly presided over by Big Maria. Ian failed to get a caneca, Rod's request for a lemon tea was triumphantly met by "so tem pessego' and my own desperate plea for a Sagres Bohemia resulted in a sneer and a standard Super Bock shoved towards me. Later Ian claimed that he had made her smile, but I put this down to a fevered imagination nurtured through years of Boys Only schooling. Still the sun was shining, Myriam had enjoyed her hot chocolate, and I did have a couple of bottles of Bohemia at home to take the taste away!!

On a point of order, a rather callous (I thought) remark by Janet, (reported to me by a 'mole'), that she thought that Myriam must be very good for me, as my central regions had matured to a hitherto unseen grandeur, has prompted me to offer a rational explanation. As Janet only sees me on the WW's, my everyday sylph-like appearance has perhaps escaped her. I can only refer to a conversation on that very walk, in which Rod, who had unexpectedly come across a treasure trove of old book tokens, had invested in an instructional manual on walking techniques and tips. In this highly regarded book, there was the advice that while walking, breathing correctly was of the utmost importance - and the most efficient way of getting oxygen to the parts of the body that it would not otherwise reach, was to practice ABDOMINAL breathing, ie to use the stomach and diaphragm to compress the lungs rather than the largely ineffective upper chest muscles. I had to point out that this was my mantra, and I invariably expanded my abdominals during WW's to sustain my endurance and pace. Don't take my word for it - ask Rod!!

It was noted on this walk, that every walker was using a stick - perhaps not the first time this has happened, but the first that has been noted. And no-one left their stick behind - almost another first! There is a recent article, quite amusing, on the 'Nordic stick phenomenon' which for your edification is at:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/global/main.jhtml?xml=/global/2006/05/05/elivnordic.xml&DCMP=EMC-exp_05052006

Lunch at the "22.5 km House"

2006-05-05T17:20:00.000Z

One Size fits All - Made in China (the hat too!)

2006-05-05T17:16:00.000Z

A rare sighting!!

2006-05-05T17:14:00.000Z

"The Brave" at Cafe Bravo!

2006-04-29T16:55:00.000Z

What's the matos?

2006-04-29T15:57:00.000Z

Ian's Carrapateira Walk:

Leader: Ian C-S

Present: Paul; Myriam; Mike; Hedley; Chris; Gack; Tanya; Maria.

Xana; Oscar; Archie; Tiggy.

Again a smallish group on a promising day, weatherwise apart from the early fog which appeared near the coast. I am glad to have had the chance to record this walk with the Bamboo Diagrams , as it is likely that Ian and Pam will be moving on soon, and I have only a couple of their favourite walks recorded. Tanya and Maria had partially recovered from their acute blistering, won on last week's walk, and proved game enough to give it another go! They also had a collection of other aches and pains from horse-riding and tennis, but were determined to have an Action-Adventure stay rather than spend all their time shopping and lounging on the beach.

As we headed inland and uphill from Cafe Bravo, the fog did lift, and the first 4 miles was very pleasant with the riotous colours of the spring flowers in all their glory, and a warm sunshine. We passed a cottage which had a rather unique frontage bearing it's name, which I for one had not seen before. (Top photo above)

On previous occasions on this walk, Ian and Pam have been out on the route a few days before, clearing the secondary jungle which festoons the minor paths when they are only visited once or twice a year. However, the preoccupation with selling their house and planning their next moves had on this occasion, precluded the pre-emptive machete and scythe expedition, and we entered the narrow valley to be faced with extensive 'matos' - brambles, cistus, and young saplings across the path! This continued on the steep uphill to the Trig Point (photo) where we emerged bloody (Mike and Chris) but unbowed - and posed for the obligatory shot. Mike reclined behind Oscar, Gack thought it safe to unzip the lower legs of her trousers, and Myriam held her bandaged finger aloft to prevent the throbbing. However all was not yet over as the downhill proved just as difficult, despite Ian's best efforts in the lead with his Lidl Secateurs!

After crossing the main road towards the sea, the fog made a determined effort to return, and spoilt our sea views during lunch, so we soon pressed on down to the beach, which was alive with surfers, clad in wetsuits. And so we returned to Carrapateira, and the Cafe Bravo, which happily had a good stock of cold Bohemia, after a walk of 12.25 miles(19.71km), which had taken us almost 5 hours. It was Hedley's last walk until after the summer as he drives back to UK at the weekend. Thanks to Ian and Pam for their repertoire of pleasant west coast walks, and I am sure they will be back to lead some more, when France's shortcomings prove to be even greater than those we have to deal with here!!

Terry's Besteiros Bonanza - 19th April 2006

2006-04-21T03:14:00.000Z

Leader: Terry
Supported by: Paul, Hedley, Mike, Chris, Antje, Gack, Andrew, Lindsey, Stan, Elaine, Janet, Tanya, Maria.
Xana, Nathan, Archie, Oscar, Tiggy

An encouraging turnout of 14 (+ 5) for an all new walk created by Terry in his own backyard, starting from Besteiros, despite being towards the outer limits of known walking areas, to the east of Salir. It could have been 15, but Myriam was nursing a newly operated finger (no not the one used for prodding me - that still works perfectly well!), and claimed she would be unable to grasp her walking stick sufficiently well. Photo of motley crew (above) at the start, mostly paying attention to the appeals of the leader and cameraman to say "Queijo", except for a certain senior walker, who apparently had used his new batteries in his GPS this time, instead of in his hearing aid!!
Numbers were boosted,(and average age considerably lowered) by the voluntary participation of my daughter, Tanya, and her friend Maria, both trainee nurses, on a short break from studies in London.
This was to be an extremely agreeable walk, not only because we were favoured with a clear sunny day, with just enough cooling breeze to keep things comfortable, but also because the combination of ridges and valleys gave wonderful views, and the spring flowers were out in all their abundant beauty. Enough of the poetic appreciation of nature - now to the incident packed inside story!!
Less than 500 metres from the start, Janet had a senior moment, when she could barely be restrained from jogging back to her car for her fleece, only to have it pointed out that it was dangling from the bottom of her rucksack, invisible only to her!! Terry's navigation was almost impeccable for the first section, as he led us at the 2.5 mile (4 km) point down a valley through an original woodland of cork oaks to the building site of a new and impressive Country Club. The access paths in the area had been graded, and this perhaps forebode the dreaded tarmac, as Terry had spoken to the manager previously who had intimated that he would be laying out and marking walking trails for guests at the Club. Wouldn't do to get pieces of the Algarve countryside adhering to their Gucci loafers!!
We had been promised a climb or two, and we were not disappointed, as shortly we started up from the valley floor, without climbing aids nor oxygen towards a dauntingly high ridge. Gack surprised us all, by moving up through the field to reach top of climb in about 5th place. All was revealed when she extracted from her cavernous rucksack, a Hospital Strength Sphygmomanometer, and proceeded to check her blood pressure - apparently on Doctor's orders! The type of Doctor who would instruct a client to carry such an enormous piece of medical equipment up a hill should be struck off - the extra weight alone would give most people a much increased heart rate! Anyway, the readings were evidently most encouraging, and Gack leapt to her feet and strode on with renewed vigour.
Hedley made a bid for "The Earliest Query for Lunch" with a "Please Sir - is it lunchtime yet?" at only 10 minutes to 11. Fortunately, Terry had already picked out a superb spot near a windmill with panoramic views, and stone walls to sit upon, but we were still one hour and forty minutes away from that, according to my Bamboo Diagrams, compiled with a newly adjusted pedometer giving readings surprisingly similar to Mike's rejuvenated GPS.
During a short rest on the next uphill stretch, Andrew surprised us all by spitting out one of his front teeth, and stamping on it to demonstrate it's durability. He then replaced it, explaining that he needed it in place when he was talking to 'the girls'!! Apparently he had been a client of a dodgy Albufeira dentist in the past, but now flew to London for all his dental requirements.
Lunch was before 1 o'clock at the magnificent windmill (photo below), and here our visiting junior pedestrians removed their boots to find large gouts of skin hanging from the backs of their heels. I have to confess that I had ordered them to wear their boots out of fear of censure from the Senior Walker present, for contravening Bye Law 8.3 ss.7 'Failing to ensure that guest walkers are properly shod'! Had they been able to wear their preferred Designer Trainers, their heels might have yet been intact. If they are sufficiently recovered by next Wednesday, they may again join us, and I make a plea for dispensation in their case. Between us, Terry and I had sufficient 'Second Skin' to effect repairs and enable the two girls to continue.
The latter part of the walk was pleasant and highlighted by again converging on the Via Algarviana and we commented on the discovery of several Cistus Way Marks, which were only matched in beauty by the abundant 'real thing' which was blooming in all it's glory.
All in all a great walk - only 16-17 km altogether, but Terry did drop a few points as the Taberna do Bica at the end failed to come up with the preferred Sagres Bohemia, and Tanya naively fetched the Chief Blogger two of the miniature beers preferred by the local 'Old Boys' rather than his third of a litre usual model. So much for an expensive education!

I did mention the new Shakespeare Way to several walkers during this walk. Info can be found at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/global/main.jhtml?xml=/global/2006/04/19/nwalk19.xml&DCMP=EMC-exp_19042006 and

http://www.shakespeare-country.co.uk/swt.aspx?&cp=../swt/&id=649&pagetype=1&sim=&cg=

And another thing: It has been proposed that at our Annual End of Season extravaganza, when we blow all the accumulated funds, that there be a 'Blog of the Year' Award. As I am encouraging walk leaders to contribute pieces on their own walks (to save me thinking too much) I am all in favour, and would be grateful for comments and suggestions for criteria if the general opinion is favourable.

A great spot for lunch

2006-04-20T21:33:00.000Z

Walking repairs!

Points of View 1

2006-04-18T05:30:00.000Z

Following received from a Probationary Blogger posing under a pseudonym. I am willing to stretch the publishing rules in this case because (a) You know who he is; and (b) he makes a sound argument. We are to a certain extent "wimps", but then we are wimps with an average age of around 55-60, which is considerably higher than that of a Roman Legionary, whose life expectancy was probably in the mid-twenties!! Now when I was a lad......

Dear Chief Blogger,

In the course of some research on another matter I used the Internet to check on Roman Army marching speeds. Herewith a summary of what I found.
"The Roman Army was constantly on the march, sometimes going at unheard of speeds. Could you imagine marching all day carrying over 50 pounds of extra weight on your back?
Keep up! You might want to stop walking and start jogging, the Roman Army was expecting its soldiers to march 25 miles a day. An example of this would be the Magna Iterna. This marching mode set a pace that forced entire legions to travel 25 miles a day. While marching, each soldier had to carry his own sarcina, a soldier's pack carried over the shoulder, along with other baggage. Fast moving groups like scouts would be considered Expeditus, because they are light armed soldiers that can move quickly."

Cor, what a lot of wimps we must be! We are knackered after two days Round-the-Corner (bend) when we only walk about 17 miles (27 km) each day. At least we do carry 'sarcinas', even if by another name. And you can bet that the Roman sandals weren't made by Gortex.

Micus Aurelius

Spooky!

2006-04-17T13:32:00.000Z

As I said in the comment to Rod's walk of 12th April, Myriam
and I went to Compton Verney to see a van Gogh Exhibition. Not only were there some very fine van Gogh originals, but in an adjoining room I saw a painting by Francis Bacon inspired by van Gogh's own (self-portrait) 'Painter on the road to Tarascon' (1888). I was immediately struck by how similar this was to my Profile photo on this blog. I Googled and found that it was one of a series of six studies, painted in 1956-7, and I have reproduced two of them above. Do you see it? The one at the top, (study ii) is not only the spitten image of me in my poncho taken by David L on the VA, but "The painter" is also wearing what appears to be a Tilley Hat!! It does not stop there. The second one, (study iv) bears a remarkable similarity to the photo I took of "Terry arriving at Marmelete", published in this blog last February 21st!! Of course Terry ruined the occasion by not wearing a Tilley Hat, but I am sure he will put that right when the sub-committee rules on the motion that I proposed and Stan seconded, that to be a Senior Blogger and above of the WW, it will be compulsory to wear a Tilley Hat AND drive a Berlingo.

Wednesday 12th April - Rod's Walk

2006-04-16T20:41:00.000Z

Leader; Rod

Present: Mike, Terry A, Stan and Elaine, Gack, Janet, Peter S,
Archie, Pookie, Oscar, (Peter’s hound?)

Rod writes:-
Fantastic day, blue skies but a cool breeze. Set off point was Jinny Harman’s Riding Establishment in Bensafrim. Rod’s intention, he still being uncomfortably plump after a gourmet week in France, was to take his mare (horse not wife) but a threatened uprising put short shrift to that idea. So off we set, all on foot, in a north easterly direction towards the Barragem de Bravura. To his excitement Terry found some rare orchids…so rare that nobody knew what variety they were, indeed, Lindsay being absent, really if they were orchids at all!
Shortly before getting to the Barragem, somewhat unusually since we rarely seem meet anyone on walks, an American explorer suddenly emerged from behind a gorse bush….’ Say…aren’t there any birds around here?’ he ventured. We all looked at Elaine, Janet and Gack to see they were going to take up the challenge, but a large pair of binoculars round is neck suggested he was a mere ornithologist. He wandered off towards his car muttering that the only way he could stop it was by stalling it! Fortunately we never came across him in the car.
After the Barragem, which was encouragingly full, the going got a little more strenuous…but not enough to cause any abnormal complaints. We skirted around the ridge behind Peter S’ s house and at an appropriate point (where the luckless Peter is going to have to watch the erection of a string of Wind Generators) there was a pause for discussion as to whether anyone wanted to opt out and drop down to Peter’s house for coffee and a lift. Right then nobody did so on we went towards the Espinhaco do Cao trigpoint (Guerreiros). The ascent to this was enlivened by a meeting with a herd of cows and calves. One protective mother showed signs of getting over excited, snorting and pawing the ground, but Terry’s impeccable bull fighting technique quickly discouraged it and left us in peace to have lunch at a viewpoint from which we could survey most of the western Algarve.
Lunch must have caused a rethink for, after further rearguard discussions, Peter and Janet decided to return to Peter’s house…….never to be seen again!
The rest soldiered on but it was downhill from there on or at least flat.
The estimated distance for this walk was +/- 25kms. In fact, according to Mike’s debatably accurate GPS it turned out to be 25.8. This quite remarkably accurate estimate would have been spot on (probably indeed an unbeatable record) if Mike had not insisted on making lengthy river crossing detours to keep his feet dry!
We returned, 6 ¾ hrs after setting, out to Jinny’s house where some cold beers had thoughtfully been left.

Comment: Sounds like a good one - and a select crew!! Sorry to have missed it, but Myriam and I were in UK, and on that very day we had chickened out of a walk with The Stratford upon Avon Ramblers, because of an inclement weather forecast, and cold, wet and muddy conditions!
We did go to a van Gogh exhibition at Compton Verney, where I discovered a remarkable coincidence - perhaps more about that on another occasion - if the research pans out, and we also managed a half decent walk on Good Friday down the spine of the Malverns, finishing at The brewers Arms in West Malvern with a steak, onion and mushroom sandwich (with chips) and a couple of pints of good Pedigree. I promise to walk the pies off next week!!

2006-04-16T20:40:00.000Z

One man and his dog - went to cross a river!

Show Me the Way to Amorosa!!

2006-04-06T16:41:00.000Z

Leader: David
Present: Paul, Caroline, Stan, Elaine, Terry, Hedley.
Dina, Vitor (DNS)
Xana, Nathan

Alas and alack! The walk could have been sub-titled "Halfway to Paraiso" . David's last walk before returning to UK for the summer with the avian flu-carriers,- and the Fates were not kind! Originally the intention was for an 18km or so perambulation in the area to the north of Amorosa to take about 6 hours, and to return flushed and with knees slightly browned for a beer at the cafe at the start point.
Things didn't look good when I arrived, spot on time, to find several of the walkers huddled under the rear porch of Stan's gleaming newly acquired Berlingo, in a semi-tropical rain shower.
Further, the cafe was not yet open, and Dina and Vitor were sitting under the roof over the terrace, looking glum!
An executive decision was made to find a cafe which was open and give it half an hour to see if things improved. We negotiated the roadworks on the Messines-Silves road, and ordered our meias de leite and bicas. Vitor popped in to hand me a very interesting booklet, entitled 'Tours', produced by Silves Camara in English, with some excellent photos and ideas for things to do and see in the Silves area. He then left with Dina, evidently thinking that we would call it a day!
Not so - within half an hour the skies had cleared and though cool and breezy, David led us off on a walk that could be terminated in the event of further inclement weather.
Miraculously, apart from the ladies trips to the bushes during a remarkably early lunch (1205 pm), forced by the decision to abbreviate the walk, as several people had 'things to do', the only sprinkle we had was when we were about 500 metres from the cars on the way back.
In the excitement, and potential wet weather, I aborted the 'bamboo diagrams before the start, and so forgot to reset the optimistic trip meter I carry. Concensus was we walked 10-12 km and took about 3 hrs 30 minutes.
The cafe where we had originally met was open by this point, and to rub salt in, did not supply Sagres Bohemia!! We sat under the leaky roof and enjoyed a standard Sagres, while we waited for the rain to end!! Bon Voyage David and Dinah, and take the rain with you - England needs it.!

The meaning of Blog

2006-03-31T07:34:00.000Z

Received by email yesterday a rather disturbing note from "Worried" of Asparagus House, questioning the meaning of 'blog' as we enter our third blogging month. It is reproduced below uncensored and in all it's grisly syntax. Please stop here and DO NOT READ IT if you are sensitive, easily influenced or of a nervous disposition!! I hope this seditious undermining of the principles of Blogdom can be nipped in the bud. Oh and BTW, I feel that female bloggers should be referred to as "Blogarinas" !! The doubter in question appears above in bamboo stick form in Empire Builder shorts and holding hands with his new best friend!!

Dear Chief Blogger,

I have spent a disturbed night, not attributable to indigestion or to Wine Mine’s latest brew, considering the implications of the Path of Blogs down which you have set us.

Is our august body of walkers now no more than a bunch of Bloggers? I fear that, if so, we may be distanced by our friends.

In this regard you could perhaps clarify whether it is polite or politically correct to address someone as ‘A Blogger’. What is the female version – A Bloggeress, Blogerette or what? And how can we expect our lovely and charming lady companions to view such titles?

In the case of Thyl and myself, do we suffer from being somewhat blogged beneath our walking hats?

Again, I have to think how I may appear to Oscar in my new role. I am not sure whether he will regard me with the same sense of respect as hitherto if he becomes aware that I have ceased to be a humble Algarve Wednesday Walker and am now no more than just another Blogger. In any event, how should I now address him? Is he a brown woolly blog?

Perhaps, in reply, you could supply a suitable 'bamboo stick' drawing as to how you envisage a male or female walker-blogger should appear.

Yours, in bloggedness,

Mike the Blog

Any offers of counselling to cope with Mike's identity crisis would be gratefully received.

Ian's Bordeira inland walk; 29th March 2006

2006-03-30T07:28:00.000Z

Is this a forgery!!
A rare find on this week's walk, was this poor copy of one of David's V.A. Cistus waymarks. Not only badly stencilled but sporting a pair of contradictory arrows. Is there a V.A. rural terrorist out there - or could there be a rational explanation. Comment awaited!!

Ian's report below:

Leader: Ian.
Present: Caroline, Caro, Thyl, Paul & Myriam, Mike, Tim & Shirley, Hedley.
Muffin, Oscar, Xana.

A group of 10 arrived at Bordeira for the walk to start at 9.45am. This was more than I anticipated as quite a few of our members were away. It was a beautiful clear blue sky and we set off on time. Within half a kilometre I unfortunately led everyone up the wrong path, but we quickly recovered the situation by finding the correct path and then set off to what turned out to be a very good walk. We walked initially over some high ground with good views towards the sea and then we very quickly dropped down into a valley along which we travelled east for 10 kilometres. This turned out to be very pleasant as the sun was quite warm and we were in the shade. We then climbed out of this valley out onto the high ground again, then travelled south, then west where at 1pm we sat down for lunch and Thyl made friends with a local dog which seemed to take a great interest in him. We then headed west again from the lunchspot and I decided to take a recommendation that Rod had given me last time we did the walk to head west along the track, instead of going north along the original valley. This turned out to be part of the Algarve Way and we saw a couple of the cistus waymarks. After about an hour we descended into a valley with a crystal clear river running. We then headed north again to, hopefully pick up the original westward track back to Bordeira. This we eventually found and arrived at Bordeira at 3.30pm. I think generally everyone knew they had done a walk.

Comment: A splendid green walk, with Algarve at it's finest, sunny, a cooling breeze, and green hills and valleys - wonderful while it lasts. Once again recorded in 'bamboo diagrams' in case Ian and Pam desert us in the future, and a true accolade, Shirley and Tim delaying their return to Dublin to participate in the walk! Still some issues with recorded distances, my pedometer being very optimistic according to learned guesses at how far we had actually walked, and Mike's GPS suffering from narcolepsy! Conclusion was that the walk was 20km +. The Bamboo diagrams recorded a distance of 24.7 km and exactly 5 hours walking time, not including lunch, rests and navigational uncertainties!!

After espying the V.A. waymarks, there was a spirited discussion led by Mike who recalled a capella near Vila de Bispo which was dedicated to a saint, whose name he could not remember (patron saint of walkers?) and which was visited by pilgrims before (or after) they crossed the Algarve. I opined that it should be Saint Paul, who reputedly was on a long walk to Damascus when converted. Another option, Saint Michael was thought to be the patron saint of undergarments, but conceivably walking socks were within his brief too! There didn't appear to be any claims from Saints Ian, Hedley or Thyl, and Saint Timothy was merely a convert of Saint Paul, who at one stage, because of his frail health was urged by his mentor to "take a little wine" for his digestion! What a compassionate person Paul was - and still is!

Late news: Check http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/patron00.htm No one specifically for walkers, but 'wandering musicians' is close!!

2006-03-29T16:54:00.000Z

Green Spring day - the cast!

2006-03-29T16:53:00.000Z

A portable 'Cistus V.A. Waymark'!

2006-03-29T16:52:00.000Z

Thyl meditating on the sandwich Xana wants!

2006-03-29T16:51:00.000Z

Apres Walk - the best bit?

Hedley's Walk; Wednesday 22nd March 2006

2006-03-27T16:03:00.000Z

Walk from Rasmalho on the Monchique Rd
Approximately 17 Km - about 5 hours

(Report delayed as roving reporter Hedley had trouble with his 3G Satellite link!)

Leader : Hedley

Present : Paul, Myriam, Stan, Elaine, Vitor, Dina, David, Terry, Pam, Ian, Caroline, Tim & Shirley McGuire (guests).
Xana, Muffin, Nathan

Met at café "Casa do Pasto Riba e Serra" in Rasmalho to take caffeine on board followed by a short drive to the start point north of the village.
A flattish stride out for about 4 Km (heading north) round the lake and up to the village of Casas Velhas. A long haul up to the edge of the eucalyptus plantation, past the ruined house where Myriam lost her dog lead about 60 years ago! A lot of the terrain very wet underfoot after the recent rains : the water table should be really high by now which bodes well for the summer. Continued along the eucalyptus (much of which has now been cut) before swinging north again down a long descent featuring a solitary blue blob from the first walk ever set by Hedley (reputedly thought to be in 1996). At about the 8Km point a vicious downhill to the river which was crossed with only one wet foot,(apart from the 12 used by the dogs between them)! Lunch followed by a scenic stretch along an old shepherd's track, in single file, with steep drops to the river below. This path featured a profusion of wild flowers with spectacular displays of gladioli. (particularly in the steep rock garden cultivated by a family of German's who had appropriated Hedley's original path!!) Joined up with the main track along the Ribera das Canas and after about 15 Km decided that the approach of a cloud front made it desirable to shorten the original plan by walking throught the water meadows where it was revealed in conversation that our resident technogeek (S**n) was not au fait with the term "phishing" (don’t ask me either). Shortly after, the natural history lovers were rewarded by a very rare sight - a view of a bare leg displayed by Myriam as she applied medication after falling (gracefully) off a wall. A final burst through the Aloe Vera plantation to reach the cars and back to the pub.

Comment: I could be accused of getting rather 'anal' about estimated distances and times (see last week), possibly because of my frenetic dealings with Builders, Quantity Surveyors and Architects on our forthcoming (hopefully) rebuilding project. This time I took issue with Hedley re his reported kilometrage from the Silves junction to the start Cafe (He said 3.2 and the G-Wagon made it 2.7), and his estimated walk distance (16/17km) when my pedometer made it 13.3 MILES. In view of the fact that the G-Wagon is on oversize winter tyres, and I found that my pedometer had reset itself to an inch further than my current stride, I feel that I maybe slightly out in my figures, so I unreservedly apologise and promise not to comment on distances again - until someone else gets it wrong!!
Another thought - why did Hedley asterisk the two middle letters of "our resident technogeek"s name. Most of us would have deduced who it was from the cast list at the top of this blog!! Asterisks are usually used to faintly disguise a profanity - or something unpleasant. Surely it couldn't be because S**n was a Lawyer in a former life, and Hedley had a subconscious reaction while penning his piece! I will leave you to decide!

2006-03-24T22:12:00.001Z

Myriam shows a leg!!

2006-03-24T22:12:00.000Z

A relatively dry crossing

2006-03-24T22:11:00.000Z

Top of the "Undulation"

WW 15th March 2006

2006-03-16T13:03:00.000Z

(Note: Below please find verbatim contribution by Walk Leader, MP,)

Walk Name: Sancho Panza (i.e. the clockwise version of the Don Quixote version that we walked about a year ago)
Leader: Mike;
In attendance: Pam, Ian, Rod, Mike, Gack, Blackie (Guest of Gack), Peter, Stan, Elaine, Paul and Myriam
Dogs: Archie, Oscar, Pookie, Muffin, Xana and Brontes.
Total: 46 legs.

Distance: 16 miles according to Paul but disputed by Mike whose GPS gave up en route. Notified distance was “say 16 kms”. If the standard factor of 1.609344 is applied to the word “say” the distance actually covered conforms precisely with Paul’s calculation.
Time: Stated in the notice advertising the walk as 5+ hours. Using the formula below for calculating ‘+’ when MP is walk leader actual time was spot on.
Conditions: cloudy to start but sunny later.

The following simple formula should be used for the purpose of calculating “+” to arrive at actual walk time

+ = y - [r+F+c+x+b+a+w2] ¸Ê*À

Where:
r = Pine Processionary Caterpillars (Thaumetopea pityocampa) of the family Thaumelopopeidae. Sight of these cause total panic and require Red Alert Action Stations preparatory to possible walk abandonment.
F = Enforced walk stoppage whilst satisfactory rest room facilities are found in the nearby undergrowth
y = Notified length of walk in hours
c = Prolonged lunch break to allow vista gazing
x = Time taken for PAdeV to draw four black pigs on his bamboo chart
a = Time taken to extract walkers from bar at start
w = Time taken in disciplining whingers and whiners
Ê= Time taken for RF to calculate the speed of a windmill blade to complete one revolution
À = Time take to reach group unanimity on the spelling of ‘Brontes’
b = Time taken to agree on whether Sir Alan Sugar is a ‘Schmuck’ and whether he fired the appropriate Apprentice on the previous week’s BBC programme

Comment: Regrettably the onerous duty of correcting the reasoned argument above, to forestall a welter of complaints from pedantic readers, falls to the honourable Chief Blogger. Fact: The correct reported (by me) distance for the walk, measured scientifically by an Oregon Scientific Pedometer set precisely at 32" per pace to conform with the owners anatomy, weight and vigour, was actually 15 miles (including the distance to the bar and back to the terrace). Then if the "standard" factor for correction to Peaseometers was applied, the Walkers were in fact cheated out of almost exactly one mile of the advertised walk . Those especially disappointed should apply to M.P. for a refund.
I cannot argue with the '+' correction formula for the time of walk, but it may be significant to take into account the writer's tendency to inaccuracy, of which an example occurs in his attendance list. I am sure all readers have performed the calculation, and arrived at the sum of 48 legs (12 human and 6 dogs) - against a stated total of 46. I resignedly await the arrival of yet another 'correction' factor, or an argument that Myriam and a.n.other have such short legs that they only count as one each!!
I have been urged by certain participants to refer this walk AND MP's first walk of the season to the Sub-committee for Accuracy in Descriptions (S.A.D.)

Other Highlights: The sight of a small 'chain' of processionary caterpillars crossing our path caused a minor flap, (Xana getting rather a lot of time on lead through pine groves), but it is probably getting towards the end of the season, and although there were numerous nests, no other caterpillars were seen on the ground. Further info can be found at:
http://web.cortland.edu/fitzgerald/PineProcessionary.html

Conversation of the day was between Stan and Ian trying to calculate the tip velocity for the larger wind turbines, using half -forgotten GCE maths, and concluding that 'it was nowhere near the speed of sound'!!

The 'Bamboo diagrams' for this walk were compiled in real time by both Paul & Mike, and as soon as the means can be found to upload them, then they will be available so that any of the WW's can use them, should they wish.

WW 8th March 2006 - Go East!

2006-03-10T06:49:00.000Z

Regrettably, Myriam and I were embroiled with our ongoing building saga, and missed this walk, But David has very kindly submitted the following notes which have passed the Censor!

WW Weblog. Wednesday Walk, 8th March 2006.
Walkers:-
Twolegs:- Terry A, Rod, Stan, Elaine, Hedley, Mike, David L.
Fourlegs:- Pookie, Oscar, Nathan.
Walk:- Mainly Tavira Camara Route PR4, with additions and subtractions to avoid tarmac. About 14k, taking in the villages of Feiteira, Castelao and Parizes, to the east and north-east of Barranco do Velho. The general feeling seemed to be that this is a very attractive circular, well worth repeating. There is a case for a working party to clear a lane at the end of the walk, avoiding the need for a clamber up a ploughed field. The walk is available in a leaflet published by C.M. Tavira. Terry, Rod and David L have copies. It involves two testing ascents and two stream crossings plus a 30m stream-bed plodge, but is otherwise free of obstacles other than the aforementioned blocked lane . There are two bars at Parizes, but the one actually on the route does not seem to open very often.
The Day
The small but perfectly formed band gathered at the Tia Bia for a 9.30 rendezvous, and went on to Feiteira in two vehicles. We walked out along the Castelao road, which was the first error, since the walk proper starts some 200m further into Feiteira, and joins the road a little further on. The day began under cloud, but cleared steadily to leave us walking very warmly under blue skies for the bulk of the time. At Castelao we left the prescribed route to avoid more road-walking, and ventured onto a section of the Via Algarviana from there to Parizes. Here the two walks coincide for the descent to the Odeleite, and then divide once more as the PR4 turns steeply back towards the N124. At the road, the bold decision was taken to rely on the OS map for a couple of k in order to cut off more blacktop - and it worked! In fact the valley we discovered was one of the highlights of the day, with a very attractive ‘green road’ running through it and back up to Feiteira. It was here, on the last 300m, that we met the blocked lane. Back at Feiteira we saw, but did not go up to, the old school which is now one of the three bunkhouses in the area, on the route of the 45k GR23. The group returned to the Tia Bia and sat for a rather longer than usual apres-walk in the sunshine - partly, it has to be said, because the detour had shortened the route somewhat.
Highlights:-
The leader’s suggestion that lunch be taken ‘because we’ve cracked this hill’, when, true to form, we were only halfway up it.
Rod’s innocent question - ‘ Whose stick is that?’ (pointing back the way we had come) just as we were all safely across the second stream and had donned our boots. Had the energy been available, harm could have been done.
Sadly, no photos this week, as no cameras were carried.
Our best wishes to those walkers unavoidably absent through irrness, summit confelences and tiring ellols. DR.

Farewell to Esme & Maurice - WW 1st March 2006

2006-03-04T11:38:00.000Z

Wednesday 1st March - The first day of Spring, St David's Day, and a wonderful clear, cool but sunny Algarve Walking Day.

Leader: Rod
Present: Myriam; Paul; Mike; Terry; Stan; Elaine; Hedley; Pam; Ian C.S.; Gack; Ian W.; David; Ian S.
Xana; Oscar; Muffin; Archie; Pookie.

Walk from Casa Casinha, Silves area approx 20km - 5 hours

Assembled in good order, caffeine applied and set off after a short wait for 'Terry the Navigator' to find the RV. Susan having done Rod's recce for him on horseback the previous day had alerted us to some free range piglets, with their mother sows, on the early part of the walk, so the potential pig-hounds were leashed as we walked past the damp valley where the aforementioned were as proverbially happy as reputed! A bit 'hilly' as is usual with Rod, but some fine ridges and clear views all round, until the climb to the Trig Point for the lunch break, which proved a hill too far for Ian S. and Gack who lunched at the lower altitude of base camp. Archie however did make it to the top only to be whistled down by Gack. He didn't appear to mind!
Downhill from there, Rod went to round up the 'Lost Sheep' and Archie, and the rest of us descended the West Face with caution.
We arrived back at Casa Casinha shortly after 1430 hrs. to meet Maurice and Esme, Dinah, Diane, Jyll P., Susan, Joy, Anna and Maria. No-one had thought to lay in the beers for our arrival, but this was swiftly done, and a table and chairs moved into the road in the sun for Maurice's comfort. A very convivial session, - Rod said a few words, paying tribute to the enormous contribution of Maurice and Esme in the formative days of the WW's, and a special presentation of a portion of Picota rock, adorned with an exact replica of one of Maurice's notorious 'Blue Blobs' and a small plaque inscribed to 'Esme and Maurice from the AWW's - "Amigos Para Sempre". The presentation was from an original idea by Ian S. who personally harvested the rock from the top of Picota, with words by Myriam, and the execution and finishing arranged with amazing speed and accuracy by Maria.
I think I can safely say that both Esme and Maurice were touched by the occasion, (although it didn't stop Maurice from luring a rather attractive lady to his car window and propositioning her at length), and it is with regret but with all our best wishes, that we see them return to UK at the beginning of April, after a long and rewarding stint in the Algarve.

2006-03-04T11:32:00.001Z

Maurice doing some 'Kerb Crawling'!!

2006-03-04T11:32:00.000Z

Friends, WW's Countrymen......

2006-03-04T11:30:00.000Z

The Lost Sheep being rounded up!

2006-03-04T11:29:00.000Z

Obligatory Trig Point Pic

2006-02-24T16:50:00.000Z

David, Maurice and Terry in Sagres

2006-02-24T16:47:00.000Z

Ready for the Off

2006-02-24T16:44:00.000Z

Before St.Vincent's Door

Mission Accomplished -Terry reaches the end!

2006-02-24T16:38:00.000Z

Wednesday 22nd February 2006
Walk: Praia de Castelejo to Cape St. Vincent.

Leader: Terry and David;
Present: Paul; Myriam; Rod; Ian C-S.;Ian S.; Ian W.;Hedley;Antje;Janet;
Tiggy; Muffin

Unfavourable tides on the West Coast beaches had forced Terry to do a long leg on Day 8 - from Aljezur to Castelejo Beach, so that the supporting WW's would have a relatively easy day from Castelejo to the end of Via Algarviana at Cape St. Vincent.
The climb to the Customs House from Castelejo Beach was a real heart starter, the majority led by Terry and David taking Route 1, and coming to the Customs House directly, and a Gang of Three opting for the Middle Path, and cutting across towards Torre D'Aspe without the kudos of admiring the beach views from the top.
From there it was a fairly uneventful stroll along good paths and towards the end, a very rocky heath. There was a cutting wind, which happily was behind us, and we completed the trip in a little over three hours (wind assisted).
At the finish we met Jill and Dinah, and then a little later Maurice and Esme arrived.

Maurice was very pleased to show off his Graffiti skills by stencilling the last Cistus waymark on the wall of the Cape St Vincent Fort, and the whole group then got out of the wind and went to Pastelaria Baia in Sagres for some light refreshment.

Terry was remarkably fresh after his accomplishment, and with a little minor tweaking it looks as if they have achieved the aim of establishing and recording a very special route across the Algarve from East to West. Maurice did bring proceedings down to earth by remarking that now it needed to be done from West to East to make it a proper long distance path, - and I am sure it will be - Amanha!!

Eureka - the 'Cistus' Waymark (referred to below)

2006-02-21T22:25:00.000Z

Terry's Via Algarviana. Day 7 - Monchique to Aljezur

2006-02-21T09:38:00.000Z

After a herculean walk on Day 6, Silves to Monchique, which involved climbing Picota in a hailstorm, Terry met similarly adverse conditions on day 7. From his lodging in Monchique, he set off at 9 am, after a splendid breakfast, up Foia where he faced driving rain and thick cloud. Despite this he made the descent in good order, by 1130 am, to Marmelete, where he met David, Myriam and myself for a welcome coffee, before continuing in our company towards Aljezur.
Navigation so far had been excellent, thanks to David's comprehensive pamplets and the regular 'Cistus' design waymarks. This didn't last. Perhaps over excited (or appalled) by the thought of having Myriam and myself for company, we missed a crucial turn and waymark just north of the Marmelete-Aljezur road, and carried on for several miles, practically following the whole of Mike's last walk, before we stopped trying to make the topography match the description. It was then I realised that there had been a warp in the space-time continuum, that had resulted in our being rather a long distance to the north of our desired track! We were getting caught in annoyingly regular bands of heavy rain, which just gave us the time to dry off and remove raingear before the next onslaught. Undaunted we selected a more southerly route, hoping to bisect the path we wanted, and struggled to the top of a large hill which gave us excellent views, as it was in the early stages of recovering from the forest fires of last year.
Aljezur was on the far horizon, and we spotted a likely path far below. Unfortunately, we would have needed hang gliders of a chair lift to get down from this particular hill, so we retreated and found a more user-friendly ridge descending in the right direction.
At the valley floor was the inevitable river crossing, swollen by the recent rains into a raging torrent (by Algarve standards). After searching in vain for nearby stepping stones or a handy fallen tree, we mounted a three-pronged attack on the crossing problem. I took Route One, as I was wearing my Gore-Tex gaiters over my boots, and danced across lightly at what I perceived to be the shallowest section. I made it with only one bootfull of cold water. Terry took a practical approach, removing boots and socks and experiencing a refreshing foot wash as a bonus, and Myriam brought out the hi-tech drawstring equipped Lagos Camara bin liners, and despite a puncture from a sharp rock, reported a safe and dry arrival on the far bank.
Minutes later, amid cries of 'Eureka' we located one of David's 'Cistus' Waymarks on a large rock (picture) near the path. Consulting the song-sheets we concurred that this was in fact Waymark '7', and continued on our way rejoicing.
From here it was easy, although a long stretch of surfaced road seemed to go on forever, and we arrived in Aljezur about 5 pm having done about 22km since Marmelete, which had made it another long day for Terry. He settled into his lodgings in Aljezur with another tough day in prospect, with hopefully drier conditions, from Aljezur to Castelejo.

Myriam modelling the Mark VII River crossing equipment!

2006-02-21T09:36:00.000Z

Terry arriving at Marmelete (in the sun!)

2006-02-21T09:34:00.000Z

Terry's Via Algarviana Walk

2006-02-17T09:42:00.000Z

Wednesday 15th February 2006
Walk: Salir to Alte 15 km 3 hours

Leader: Terry
Walkers:
David;Paul;Myriam;Gack;Hedley;Stan; Elaine.+ Peter and Nan (visitors) (10)
Nathan; Archie (2)

Comment: A lateral walk in support of Terry on the Via Algarviana

David and Terry's long project to establish and mark a definitive version of Via Algarviana reached a point in February 2006 when Terry felt that he would like to attempt the whole route solo. Back up would be provided by Jill, Dinah and David in the main, and our hero set off on Sunday 12th February, accompanied by Peter and Nan, friends over from UK for a week.
Great progress was made, and a rendezvous was arranged with the regular WW's on Day 4, Wednesday 15th, for a section from Salir to Alte. It was a pleasant cool sunny day, and I had decided to use the opportunity to attempt to log the route using Bamboo Diagrams in real time.
Apart from a blip when my Kilometer pedometer refused to record anything except random strides, and I had to switch to the good old faithful mile pedometer, I largely managed to keep up, although I haven't yet attempted to translate my scrawled shorthand into a legible booklet. We all admired the stencilled cistus flower Waymarks, which taken in conjunction with David's written description, should enable anyone to follow the route with ease.
Maurice, whose original concept had been to lay out the path across the Algarve from Alcoutim to Cape St Vincent, was very excited about Terry's attempt, and had cajoled Esme into bringing him to Alte to meet us at lunchtime. The walk was shorter than usual because of the need to inform walkers and the logistics of a lateral walk, and we accomplished it in just over 3 hours despite a 20 minute break in the garden near the 'nora' in Benafim. This section is not typical of the Via Algarviana, as there are longish stretches of tarmac, but David and Terry, with an eye to the future decided that there was merit in the occasional tour through the pretty villages of Penina and Benafim.
Maurice and Esme duly arrived at our picnic site near the Fonte in Alte, which has much improved, to the extent of having slate topped tables and benches for public use, a small stage area with banked seating on the other side of the path, and not least, excellent toilet facilities, including a very hi-tech disabled toilet which won Maurice's hearty approval, not having to contain his lunchtime beer until Esme could get him home!!
After lunch, Terry, Nan and Peter continued on in the direction of Messines, while the rest of us availed ourselves of a ride in Jill's Big Blue Van back to the start and called it a day.

Update: Terry has made good progress and is taking Friday (today) and Saturday off. He will start again on Sunday, and hopes to reach Cape St. Vincent by Wednesday evening.

Velly Good Reader

2006-02-17T09:37:00.000Z

Terry's Support Crew - Via Algarviana Salir-Alte

2006-02-17T09:35:00.000Z

Maurice, Myriam and Stan

2006-02-14T09:13:00.000Z

The Top Table!!

2006-02-14T09:10:00.000Z

A selection of Xmas Lunchers

2006-02-14T09:06:00.000Z

2005 Christmas Walk and Lunch

2006-02-14T08:46:00.000Z

Practising loading pix to the blog - not as easy as you would hope!! This was the walking contingent at a trig point prior to the 2005 Xmas lunch at Patricia's Restaurant, Montes de Cima. Others made it to the lunch and made no pretence of walking to work up an appetite, and still others started the walk, and strolled back to the restaurant before confronting this 'undulation'!

Wednesday 8th February 2006

2006-02-13T12:19:00.000Z

Leader(s): Paul & Myriam
Walk: Romeiras area; 20 km; 5 hours;
hilly; streams to cross; EST 0930 EFT 1500
Present: Rod; Mike; Janet;Thyl;Ian ; Pam; Joe; Peter; Stan; Elaine; Hedley (13)
Xana; Oscar; Muffin; Pooky; Brontus (5)

Comments:
Second walk of Year of the Dog; Trial of 'Bamboo Diagrams'

Romeiras had (allegedly) had a power cut earlier in the morning, so when the walkers arrived, the air was not redolent with coffee. Dona Aldina was most apologetic, but managed to produce some good coffee, just as we were about to set off. Needless to say, we indulged and set off at about 0950 hrs
Janet was appointed 'virtual leader' and took a Bamboo Diagram booklet. leading the walk with conspicuous success, with Hedley, Pam and Elaine monitoring. Minor corrections were suggested en route, but trial was largely successful, with times being relatively easy to keep.
After lunch, either Stan or Elaine left a stick behind, and turned back at the 18 minute point to try and recover it. The rest waited, but as they were back - stickless - after only 25 minutes, it was possible they hadn't gone far enough!!
David and Terry were putting the finishing touches to their version of Via Algarviana and RV'd with us at Casa Pacheco at the end of the walk, with Dinah, who had been driving support. Rod, who had been in urgent comms. most of the walk, had to dash off, muttering something about 'picking up some hay', but the rest of us joined in a frenzy when Dona Aldina announced that she had some newly laid eggs at €1.40 a dozen, and cleared her stock.
The next walk will be in support of Terry's Via Algarviana attempt, and start and finish points will not be known until Tuesday 14th evening, Call Paul for details.

What for?

2006-02-13T11:15:00.000Z

Been thinking about something like this for some time, so decided to get in before someone else rouses from their winter torpor and beats me to it!
The Algarve Wednesday Walkers were founded back in the mists of time, by a loose collection of friends who had among others, two things in common. They liked walking and they lived in or spent a significant amount of time each year in the Algarve. By the time I came on the scene, there were two distinct sets of Algarve walkers, the Saturday Strollers and the Wednesday Striders, and to be fair there was an overlap between the members of each. Things evolved, and by 1998, there was a hardy and elite group of ramblers, who became known as the Algarve Wednesday Walkers, principals being Maurice Clyde, Rod Frew and a core of 6 or 7 leaders, (and Myriam who seemed to be in charge!), who were prepared to research and lead walks, on a rotational basis. Numbers fluctuated, but usually a dozen or so would turn out, and occasionally many more, when the "Winter Birds" arrived, or there was a meal or a celebration planned for after the walk.
Jump to the present day. Despite fears that age and infirmity would deplete the group, there has been a steady influx of new blood, and a willingness to lead and discover new walks. The present standard is that winter, ie October to May, walks will be of around 4-6 hours and 12 to 24 km. Occasionally longer, but rarely shorter, except for special reasons. Occasionally there are special events;- an annual Round The Corner Walk, two days of 30 km per day from Carrapateira to Sagres and Sagres to Luz(photo is of the 2006 crew!); the Trans Algarve Via Algarviana, ca. 240 km and walked in sections; and random trips to Spain or other parts of Portugal as the whim takes us.
I have just realised how boring this is becoming, so I will cut to the chase: What is this blog for?
It has long been appreciated that owing to the lack of good accurate walking maps, our collection of walks has largely remained in the heads of those that lead them. Obviously there is a danger that should one of the key leaders become incapacitated, or leave the Algarve, or boycott the group in a huff because of a real or perceived disagreement, then his/her collection of walks will be lost to posterity. All of the three previous examples have happened.
We have been lucky that Maurice had recorded a collection of his favourite shorter walks for publishing, before his incapacity, but we sorely miss his knowledge of the Algarve, and enthusiasm for the Via Algarviana project, which was to create a route across the Algarve from Alcoutim on the Spanish border to Cape St Vincent, the most southwesterly point in Europe. The baton has been taken up most recently by David Littlewood and Terry Ames, who are recording and walking the route as I write. I will leave it to either of them to contribute on their project.
Last Wednesday, was the second walk of The Year of the Dog, and we are fortunate enough to count a number of dogs among our most enthusiastic members. It fell to my lot to lead the walk on February 8th 2006 and this was for me a new walk among untrodden ways. My MO for researching a walk has, hitherto been to think of an area, to take a drive around as much of the area as I could in the G- Wagen, and then to walk the walk leaving clues as to which path to take, or handwritten notes. This was not always satisfactory, and MISTAKES HAD BEEN MADE!! When helping Maurice with his notes for his published walks, it was easy to see the problems of a written description of a walk. Mike Pease compensates for his failing memory by producing 'Thumbnail notes' of his walks, which are typed in a minute font on a plasticised card hanging round his neck, and which work for him, but he has the eyes of an 18 year old!
One of my other hobbies is Classic car Rallying, and although we mostly keep to metalled roads, the accepted form of directing the participants is to use a 'Tulip' Road book, apparently so named because it was first used in The Tulip Rally in Holland many years ago. This, in its simplest form, gives the distance to a feature or turning, and combines with a pictogram of the said point, to enable the navigator to tell the driver where to go!! All you need is a reasonably accurate distance measurement in your car, and away you go.
I determined to trial this method for walking, although the distances I could measure with my pedometer were known to be at variance with official Euro km and metres. As this was open to argument, I decided also to add another indication - the TIME it took me to reach each of the features, and also an accurate pictogram of the feature and a short one or two word remark to aid in identification. I decided to call these "Bamboo Diagrams" with the fanciful notion that as the original diagrams looked nothing like Tulips, these could be imagined to look like a bamboo branch with various arrangements of leaves leading off!
Advantages proved obvious - the 20 km walk I planned was recorded on about 40 lines of instructions, in fairly large type on A6 size pages which could be handled as a booklet by the leader. Janet Somerfield undertook to 'lead' the walk using the Bamboo diagrams, and with due modesty, and a few gentle nudges from other walkers who had also been furnished with the booklets, we arrived back at our start point in fairly good order, and almost on time.
I intend to try and record most of our future walks using this method, and if practical publishing them on this blog. The blog will also serve as a short memorandum of each walk with regard to those attending, and any items of interest that occur or are raised during the walk. The list of those present will put paid to any contentious issues on who qualifies for the end of season blow out, as a subsidised contributor! Worth it for that alone!
Now all I have to do, having opened this work without knowing how to present or lay it out, is to familiarise myself with the proceedings and make it happen!!!