WAGS 21.02.2018 Montes da Cima

A Blog by Proxy as I did not have first hand experience of this outing. Not only were Myriam and I absent in the Alentejo for a celebration, but there was no Hope, and the other Hybrid WAGS had returned to report to their management on our activities.

   The following photos and brief note arrived from Rod before we returned to base, and after the events of Saturday afternoon, I have no heart for witty embellishments nor frivolity!!

 L-R Rod, Chris, Terry, Jill, Janet, Antje, with Ember, Java and Sasha

Rod writes:-

For a fleeting moment I thought I was going to have a cosy twosome with Janet...then Chris & Antje and Terry & Jill signed on to spoil it!  A splendid walking day, bright with a cool breeze and we met up at Café Manel at Montes de Cima.  The opening foto was kindly taken, at Antje's request, by a  sporty young fräulein from a group of cyclists who were occupying most of the terrace. There was just about room for us to have the usual leisurely coffee before we set off at a comfortable 10.20.  Thought we would get the hills over and done early with so we set of up the ridge towards the race track almost straight away. This was through  territory  razed by the fire a year or so ago immediately after which we had a similar walk. Although greenery had returned the remains of the fire were much in evidence although a lot of ground clearance had already commence well up and new tracks bulldozed. Indeed for better or worse the whole area way up the valley north of the race track had received  a lot of attention. Whether this will have any long term benefit seems unlikely since the eucalyptus having been felled were already sprouting strongly again. The walk followed tracks previously covered so it wasn´t too difficult to keep to the WAGS guideline parameters (although  I have no visual evidence to prove it!). Absent any rain the streams, curiously, were running freely so the dogs especially had a really good time.  By the time we returned to the Café the terrace was empty so we were able to relax and enjoy some tostas well up to WAGS demanding culinary standards.

Parched twigs, Autodromo Hotel in background

Ready to check in

Spot the WAGS!

Back at Cafe Manel

"Let me have men about me that are fat,
Sleek-headed men and such as sleep a-nights.
Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look,
He thinks too much; such men are dangerous."

Needless to say by the time we returned from Evora, I certainly had no lean and hungry look after our feasting.  I had even splashed out on a customised birthday cake for Myriam!

WAGS 14.02.2018: A Masterclass in Leading in Santa Margarida

AFTER THE DELUGE

     To those who have been waiting impatiently for the account of last weeks venture into the foothills of Alte, I can only apologise.  It was not the late submission of photos nor script as I had plenty of those, and the script arrived on Friday morning.

     What happened was one of those disasters, that don't  sound unduly dramatic when written in a blog in the warmth of a Spring Day, and wouldn't catch the headlines like yet another massacre in a US school or an earthquake in Mexico, but this was personal and therefore unfiltered and unexaggerated by media , and therefore alarmingly real.

     The sewers beneath our apartment blocked at the garage level and bubbling up through the drain covers was a primordial soup, such as may have incubated the first life forms.

     My first notice of the catastrophe was after I entered the lift at the ground floor (the garage level is -2) and on elevating to our 3rd floor, I commented that one of our genteel neighbours had perhaps broken wind in the lift (or words to that effect), a sadly not uncommon occurrence.  It was not until another neighbour, with blameless bowels, rang at our door to tell us of the flooding threatening my priceless collection in our garages below, that I made the connection.
     
     Myriam, of course then swung into action with mops, buckets, old cloths, sheets and towels to sop up and block the flow. The drainage experts were summonsed but were apparently enjoying lunch in Albufeira, and would take another 5 hours to arrive. Things were pretty grim down there, but once our garages were protected as far as possible, I removed my sensitive nostrils from the scene and tried to distract myself with some Winter Olympics, as this alluvion had curtailed the flow of my own creative juices which were about to produce the Blog of the Year (to date).

     Myriam bravely fought the tide and gave huge support to the rescue workers when they finally arrived, and was down there in her Marigolds until well after I had cooked and consumed my portion of a Cabidela da Galinha, which I had dedicated to Lizzy Yarnold, our first Gold Medallist of the PyeongChang Games.

    The cataclysm didn't stop there, as during her disaster relief work, Myriam had noticed a few specks of oil and a light dusting of diesel fumes in one of our garages, and decided that it would be amusing to ruin my Sunday by cleaning out the garage, and roping me in for the heavy lifting, and to emulate Hercules' 5th Labour.

    In fact I have just escaped from the Stygian gloom, citing you my expectant readers as a valid reason to complete the blog before there was too much wailing and gnashing of teeth, letters to the editor, and calls to ISP's to enquire what had happened.


And so back to Wednesday 14th February, Valentines Day and a Leader (I hesitate to use the word 'new') other than the 4 that have led more than one WAGS walk or the 3 that have led more than 2 WAGS walks since October 2016, and the current Blog was resurrected. Actually the WAGS were first mentioned in recorded history on 29th March 2015, and the leader stats apply since then. But I digress, and Terry who had joined a few recent WAGS outings with Jill, had very kindly offered to lead a walk, which I accepted with alacrity, even though it was proposed to be in the mythical  territory East of Silves into which the WAGS had not hitherto ventured.

    This was Leadership of a far more professional standard than had been thought necessary for our previous outings, less improvisational and off the anklet. Terry had even done a recce the previous Saturday, but had been unable to reduce one of his perfectly designed 20 km walks to the required 10km-ish criteria. However he came up with a tour from Sta Margarida,  Alte, which attracted a large crowd of nostalgia seekers and those who lived close enough. Jim returned having recovered from his recent ailments. An earlier application from a spritely recent 70-year old would-be WAG had been accepted, and he too turned up for his debut at Cafe Por do Sol.  

John had to practice the 'remote control by smartphone' feature of his Christmas camera, and alas had a premature shutter discharge............

......however he soon got the hang of it and produced the definitive starter photo, successfully capturing all 14 starters actually paying attention.

L-R Ingrid, Myriam, Rod, Antje, GeraldineChris, Hazel Maria, Terry, Jill, Jim, Paul, Yves, John, and Sasha (front), Java hiding as usual.

Coffee having been taken among the local rude mechanicals, we set off some time after 10, straight into a downhill down a narrow lane.

Terry is a caring and conscientious leader, never put a foot wrong, and I suspect really knew where he was the whole time, and not just confidently pretending that we were on the right track.  He wrote me a note, which I reproduce below, in his own inimitable style, but alas did not give me a lot to work with, so you will have to be content with photos and the odd bit of colour commentary. That is if you have read through the overlong preamble on my domestic issues without falling asleep.

Terry writes:-

It was my first attempt at leading the WAGS not quite sure how it would go, so many criteria to think about.

A recce of another walk went pear-shaped on Sat trying to squeeze a 20 km into 10 km then in one moment of clarity the St Margarida walk popped into mind, and very well it went too  The Almond blossom was a sight to behold

A good selection of tracks hopefully to suite all abilities, listening to the chatter the rugby got a good going over and then the Chinese new year!! I think Myriam will have to explain the finer points of what it all means, does the Year of the Dog mean we have to be nice to dogs? I wasn't nice to the Rooster last year I ate my share of Rooster stew - think I will give dogs a pass.

Jill and I are enjoying walking with the Wags an altogether different way to enjoy what’s on our door step not to mention the discovery of the culinary delights of local cafe’s for that we thank you all.

 The Leader waits for the rest to catch up!

Who said ladies don't understand mechanical things?

Ingrid demonstrates her banana-eating prowess to a still relatively happy group.

Single file uphill!

A bit of downhill - or is it Myriam helping Terry up?

Spring has sprung in some quarters..........

...........as these shots of the almond trees heavy with blossom prove.

Yves showing he has still got it for a 70-year old

Uphill at around the 8 km stage.....

......and still going up at 9 km.

The walk had been through beautiful country with fragrant almond blossom all the way, but there was some discussion whether it was appropriate to include a long uphill between km 8 and 9 when we all know that WAGS prefer to gently go downhill all the way, and not arrive breathless at their bifanas.   Chris had tired over the last stretch, and Antje decided to mount a rescue mission, however by the time it arrived Chris had defeated gravity and only had 300 metres to go to the cafe.

Uber Service available for Seniors.

The track.

The stats according to Garmin. A bit over in time but perhaps Terry is not quite used to our rate of progress. Other devices had the distance under 11 km.  The total ascent was measured by John and came to 420 metres which some of us felt.  The slight surfeit was more than compensated by our Leader's arrangements for lunch at Por do Sol, where we had a table with napkins and place settings, and some excellent bifanas and tostas mistas.

Jim goes for the Bifana Royale with chips

Trainee waitress

".....but I need tomatoes for my prostate!"

  John went for the TM - heavy on ham.

Some sound advice on a board in the cafe.

I think everyone agreed it was a splendid walk, and we look forward to Terry's added expertise in future walks, as long as we can persuade him that what he thinks is 'contouring' in fact to a WAG is a v. diff. challenge.

To finish a quote from a 2010 film, "Due Date"

Ethan Tremblay: [from trailer] My father always had a saying "When a day starts like this it's all uphill from here. 
Peter Highman: Uphill? No, it's all downhill from here. 
Ethan Tremblay: But nobody wants to be down, everybody wants to be up. It's all uphill from here. 
Peter Highman: But it's easier to go downhill.

WAGS 07.02.2018: More in hope than expectation:

      A recent case was reported that an elderly man (younger than some of us) John Bainbridge, had gone missing in the Odelouca area. He was suffering from Alzheimer's disease, and had made his way in the early morning hours of January 26th out of a window in his bedroom, all house doors having been locked by his wife for his safety. Apart from a torch, which he would have needed at the hour of his egress, he apparently had no possessions or safety equipment with him. There were sporadic reports of sightings once the family had notified police and posters had been distributed, but as with all these searches, they could have been anyone, and the person sighted had not been questioned.
     As WAGS we have perhaps a higher level of awareness and sympathy for a person in this situation - there but for the grace of........ and Rod decided to lead a walk in the area just in case we might stumble across something useful. He had already been out the previous weekend with Charles, using their local knowledge to guess possible areas to search, without result.  By the time of our walk we had many cold nights and chances of survival were remote, but nevertheless with the blessings of his wife and daughter we made the effort.
   Sadly we achieved no result, except to perhaps realise how wild and vast the local countryside is when confronted with looking for a human being. Endless possibilities.

   We met at Cafe Oriq, which despite being scheduled to open at 10 am was stoically closed, as if the owner had seen the gathering gaggle outside and weighed the profit on a few coffees against the pleasures of a few extra minutes in bed.

The searchers: L-R Lindsey, Jill, Terry, INGRID,  Rod. Anita Bainbridge (wife of John who was missing) Geraldine, Hazel, Chris, Antje, Janette, Myriam, Paul John H. and Sasha front. Ember and Java were also recruited as search dogs, but were out of sight.
  Tony demurred when he heard Rod was leading, and we welcomed Lindsey for a rare visit

A very good turnout of 13 WAGS, and as you can see a chilly morning by Algarve standards, and there may have been some frosting of the lens, or else a combination of John's preference for a shady location. and over processing of the finished product explains the lack of sharpness.

We had walked in this area many times but our Historian and archivist, John produced some photos of the previous outing in December 2016, which demonstrates that history does repeat itself, and photographers recapture similar shots. Many of the cast were the same.

 Then...........................

........and now!

We did take a different route than the last time, and the various measuring devices made differing estimates as to how far we went, but we will go with the more flattering 8.57 km given by my Garmin.

I don't remember going that fast, but since several walkers are wearing Hazel's scientifically vindicated magnets about their person, there may have been strange forces at work!!
Somehow our climbing abilities were also displayed as the Garmin had us as achieving 405m. of total ascent. This is indeed possible for a WAGS walk led by Rod.

First stop was a farmhouse where the elegantly dressed occupant was summoned from her boudoir by the barking of her 8 chained dogs, to receive a notice of the missing man and a request to look out for him, from Rod.

We carried on a short distance to another grander dwelling whose owner Rod knew, but alas she was not currently in residence.  With all hopes of tea and biscuits dashed we attempted to continue past this, but found our way blocked by cut brush and natural matos.

No way through - as shown on the map below.  On closer inspection of the Google Earth picture, it looks as if there may have been a way through. Something for further investigation!

The track on 07.02.2018 We went in a clockwise direction, and retraced our steps from 'No Way Through'.

Just for interest a comparison with our route in December 2016

This was done in an anti-clockwise direction with an unplanned steep and rugged climb immediately south of cafe Oriq, which Rod cunningly avoided on our return this time, although a previous fire had denuded the slopes of that area, making the tracks easier to see.

Again, it was a bright clear day and we were rewarded with some splendid views.

Janette out in front at her customary pace.

The early weather had been so severe that John had wisely brought a nice woolly hat in addition to his Tilley, which he was using as a bib..

John's best Bear Grylls impression!

A casually posed photo in front of the well-secluded electricity station.

And then we set about finding the route down past the various wire fences and gates to a useful lower path.

This is how a younger lady dismounts a bank...........

But when your Pilates-honed joints and dodgy ankles are taken into consideration, the more mature ladies rely on the Support Team.

Eventually we were on a good track back down to Cafe Oriq, with some still muffled against the biting cold, (about 14C with a light wind!)

Cafe Oriq was in the middle of a feeding frenzy by local tradesmen, and our chances of a swift bifana were not promising, so we repaired to another of our local breakfast favourites, Mira Rio, where they were overjoyed to feed us and produced an array of TMs and bifanas of an acceptably high standard in a short time.

The ladies table, harrassed by Terry

The men's club infiltrated by Antje. WAGS support diversity!! Rod is NOT about to launch into one of his customary speeches.

Sadly no trace of John Bainbridge. Our thoughts are with his family and hope that he is found soon whatever the outcome.

"A writer needs three things, experience, observation, and imagination, any two of which, at times any one of which, can supply the lack of the others."
–William Faulkner