A new WAGS experience. Pick a cafe to start, and walk, using only half-remembered ideas, a 9 year old blog track to fall back on if the going got too tough, and the pledge to keep it in the area of 10 km/ 3 hours. What could possibly go wrong?
Only the most experienced and able WAGS responded to this challenge, so we met at the secretive Cafe Snack Bar Goncalves, which is anonymous to the uninitiated passer-by.
Tallest on the Left; Shortest on the Right; In single rank 'SIZE'! (you never forget it when you have had it drummed in to you by a drill sergeant in your youth!!) ( and before you ask, directions are always given relative to the way in which the Squad is facing!)
Photos in the blog from 2007 and 2008 show the full name of the cafe in a different script above the entrance.
I hadn't remembered what a historic venue for commencing AWW walks this had been. The three previous occasions, I uncovered in my post-walk / pre-blog research ( a rare thing these days) were from May 18th 2006, Pilgwimps Way HERE: 28th February 2007, Pereira Perambulation, HERE: and 4th March 2009, Precipitation in Pereira, HERE
All are very well worth revisiting, if only to marvel at how much ground and climb we covered compared to our current WAGS efforts. All of course led by Mike in the days when the leader provided the Blogger with a decent report. I am not sure if we did this walk between 2009 and 2017, as Mike had retired from leading in the intervening years, but the good news was that some of the paths were still there. Some were not and some extra ones had been created, one of which unfortunately led to the Algarve Wednesday War, between the Bees and the WAGS, which on this occasion proved to be a rout of the WAGS, who sustained casualties to 5 of their 6 warriors. At least 8 bees made the final sacrifice to achieve this. More later.
This used to be a path.......
Arrival at the start revealed that the hillsides all around Pereira had blossomed with tall healthy cistus plants, many well over 2 m tall and innumerable flowers were out with clusters of buds to come.
After a quick route conference, and a glance at the Google Earth printout which had the 2007 track overlaid, we set off to the left from the cafe and then up the dirt track towards Quinta da Perdiz. It used to be possible in the good old days to forge our way through the farm, but the new owner has some ideas on rights of way that don't correspond to ours.
We could just about make out the path.
We turned back at Quinta da Perdiz gates and spotted a faint opening in the scrub going uphill. According to the map, this linked with a wider path at the top of the ridge, which we had walked before. The track we took here might be useful. Right click and open in new window to enlarge.
We started at Goncalves on the RHS and walked to Perdiz at the top of the map then back and up the hairpin path through the scrub, eventually joining the ridge path just N of a small reservoir.
Top of climb
Bush push to main path
Things got a little easier then as the track was relatively wide and clear....
Two lane highway.
Having attained the ridge which Mike had led us along before, I relaxed and took my eye off the GPS.
At the next junction we took the most obvious path and after about 800 m. we came across a cleared area well stocked with active beehives. Little did we realise that this was a new access solely to service the bees, and that the path ended after the hives. I led the dash past the hives, followed by Antje, and made it through with only furious buzzing around me. On reaching safety I found that there was an impenetrable wall of cistus and brambles, and the realisation came, that with no way through we would have to return past the bees, which of course were fully alert by this time and were outflanking us by attacking those at the rear, who wisely turned and fled. Antje and I crouched and ran, but this time two flew into my face under my Tilley and injected their venom just above my left eyebrow in a suicide bombing. Antje also sustained a sting or two but on her arm, and not on the usual place she attracts stings!!. Hilke was the only member of the party who remained unscathed. Some say she has mysterious ways of commanding animate species.
Regrettably as I was ducking and weaving there was no one to record the incident until we were well away again, and Rod, Chris and Myriam were also extracting barbs from their stings. No one appeared keen to return and re-enact it for the cameras.
Later having reported the incident on the WAGS Ultra-secure WhatsApp group, Lindsey volunteered the information that bees tend to swarm between 10 and 11 am which is also when the WAGS tend to swarm. Rod reported a lucky escape in that later :
" Apart from my hand (no ill effects), I had an amazingly lucky escape! In the evening I felt something curious inside my pants.... (CB's Note: English pants not US pants!) I grabbed it through my pocket and hastened to the loo to investigate within, whereupon out flew a bee. It fell to the floor, unsurprisingly mortally wounded, having failed to pierce any part of me with its venom..... but just think of the horrific damage it could have caused!"
We made our way back to the correct ridge path by a short cut through the undergrowth, culminating in a ditch in which there was enough water for Sasha to immerse herself.
Now the going was easier, we could get back to one of our most enjoyable pursuits - counting Cistus spots. Unfortunately there were few aberrations nor genetic modifications as we had found north of Silves in previous years. 95% were of the 5 spot variety, about 4% completely white and only a few 6 spot were confirmed. Chris claimed to have seen a 7 spot earlier but was not ratified at the time.
Genuine 6 spot/6 petals
Albino 5 petal variety
5 petal small pink spot variety
We carried on along the ridge, but at just after 12 noon came to the decision point - would we continue round the circuit with the doubts about how far we would need to go to circumnavigate Quinta da Perdiz, or declare WAGS honour satisfied and return back along the ridge and down by a different access point. The Pilgwimps won and we smartly turned about.
On the way back ( a visibly relieved Chris) we were afforded fine views and aural effects from the Autodromo, which hadn't been there for our earlier walks from Pereira.
We even found a nice strong bench in the middle of nowhere, with glorious views to Foia and Picota. No markings of any kind on the bench.
Just to prove I was really there, Myriam composed this shot of WAG in Rosmaninho. Please note that my girth is an illusion created by having my Scottevest Lightweight Gilet's 24 pockets stuffed with essentials.
I believe I can fly. I believe I can touch the sky, Spread my wings and fly away......
It was a steepish descent off the ridge which came out on a virtually indiscernible path near a ruin. It would have been impossible to spot if we had been going the other way.
Coming off the ridge......
....the path emerged from the bush.
From here it was a flat track to the road and a few hundred metres to Cafe Snack Bar Goncalves, where we split our loyalties between tostas mista and bifanas, neither of which would make the Lagos and District Top 10, but were in the top 2 in Pereira. On the way back along the road we passed a cheery bunch of locals lunching at Tasca de Ti Chica, which I believe appeared since our last visit. Could be promising for future excursions.
Rather dry and unglamorous bifana
The final stats were slightly exaggerated by my GPS.......
but nevertheless, in the early season heat, the climbs through the bundu and the rout by the bees, we felt honour was satisfied. Total climb showed as 273 metres. Myriam has promised to look out her snake and bee venom extractor, and I am looking for my beekeepers mesh hat cover.
If you haven't had enough excitement already, those of you who do not get tagged on Komoot can view the result HERE which includes a better map, and elevation and speed profiles.
"It is not enough that yearly, down this hill, April Comes like an idiot, babbling and strewing flowers."
