"The walk this Wednesday will be basically a recce for one of the two walks we intend to do on our St Vincent's Commemoration on 22/23 January. If you need the exercise then meet at Cafe do Bairro behind our place in Lagos before 10am and we will sort out cars to go to Vila do Bispo. Hopefully it will be normal WAGS standard, but it may take a bit longer than usual, so don't expect to make early afternoon hairdressing, medical or romantic assignations, just in case!"
Of the two written replies received, both were apologies, Tony for having trouble with his walls (not a misprint) and Hilke having arranged to help a friend in the afternoon. Somehow all the Hopes were down with man flu, and so it was with great pleasure that the 3 of us, Rod, Myriam and Paul were surprised to see Peter turn up in his car at the appointed hour, at the Cafe de Bairro. Apparently having been faced with the option of a walk into the unknown, or to stay at home at the beck and call of a tyrannical female, he had made a break for it and left Inky at home.
A leisurely discussion of parameters ensued and we arrived at Vila do Bispo before 11 am to commence a recce in Rod's ATV. We drove out first to the Capela de Santo Antonio, as a possible waypoint en route and as a by product established that my cache there was missing. We carried on towards the coast by car and parked up to recce the section to Praia de Telheiro on foot. Lucky we did, as our local knowledge proved a bit rusty as we had parked about 2 km short of where we needed and we followed two dead end tracks towards the coast before we realised our error. However not all bad as on these two side trips I found two geocaches.
On the way we met an English couple, whose pace was a little faster than ours who claimed to be walking the same route as us, basically a section of the Rota Vicentina, but were aiming to get to Cape St Vincent and then walk back to Vila do Bispo. They passed us near the ladder section of the Praia de Telheiro and we wished them luck.
An overcast day at the coast
Studying technique............
........and applying the lesson
Shortly after this we turned back towards the car, reaching it at about 1330 hrs after walking 7.5 km. After some discussion and a look at the distances involved we decided it would be better to start the days walk outside Vila do Bispo at the sculptures on the way to Castelejo near the Trilho Ambiente. The proposed track for the real thing on 22nd January looks like this:-
Proposed Day 1 Track (right to left)
This, with the side trips to the Coastguard House and Torre d'Aspe works out at just over 16 km, ie more than half the RTC distance, but with only one real down and up at Praia de Telheiro, so should be doable in 4-5 hours which is a bit longer than our regular forays, but there will be options for those who need them. Transport will be worked out nearer the day. The start is not a problem, but the walkers will need to be met and picked up at Cape St Vincent in the afternoon. If you are attending but not walking, we are grateful for any volunteers., but are investigating a taxi option, just in case.
As is customary, and having worked up a healthy appetite in the West Coast air, we rechecked the excellent cooking at Cafe Correia, our intended venue for the Sunday evening meal, andwhich is just across the road from the Hotel Mira Sagres.
I can safely report that the food is excellent, and we dined well on pig's cheeks and stuffed squid Correia style. Rod and Myriam thrashed out the menu for Sunday 22nd with Dona Lilita and her son Sergio, of which those attending will hear further on Rods operational order for the event.
Next weeks WAGs walk will be part 2 of the recce for Day 2 which will possibly be a circular walk to the south via the Quinta on whose steps we invariably posed on the RTC walks. Aaah nostalgia. It will be around 13 km hopefully, so looking forward to seeing you all on the day.
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