The walk this week was an Environmental Awareness Walk, an invitation having been extended to Rod's son, Charles d'Esgotas (further from WAGS status than Antony de Montanha but inexorably heading there,) to expand on his dissertation in the Portugal Resident of 7th February. I reproduce it in full below, with published aerial photos taken by Antony de Montanha with Nick de Laranjas' DJI Mavic drone.
The full compliment attended the exposition by Charles of the crimes against ecology and hygiene of those responsible for the fiasco, but presciently, Myriam, Chris and myself excused ourselves from the long loop to Abicada, planned by Rod to meet WAGS criteria. And how lucky we were as you will read later.
Starters (by an anonymous guest photographer) Chris, Paul, Jill, Terry, Ingrid, Antje (with Sasha), Rod, Gitta, Charles (with Ember), Thyl, Jim, Peter (with Stella) and Myriam. An Inauspicious 13 walkers started!!
A welcome back and a Season's debut for Gitta, Thyl and Jim. Let's hope the later events did not discourage them!
Here is Charles article as published in the Algarve Resident.
Drone's eye view of the 'trench' Note how close to the high water mark!
Yet another golden Algarve beach with a Blue Flag status is undergoing some kind of engineering works as the contractor begins efforts on deepening the Alvor Estuary.
The main objective is to “reinforce the sand dune belt in order to ensure natural protection against erosion” (see picture of notice board). From ground level and from the air it looks something quite different.
Discreet pipeline
Currently a massive dredging pipe snakes its way from the small internal marina by the town and ends at a vast trench near Praia dos Três Irmãos, in front of the Pestana Alvor Praia hotel.
Another drone shot showing attempts to hide the silted effluent pumped onto the beach
A notice board states that the cost of this exercise is close to €2 million, where the EU is stumping up €1.7 million and the shortfall is funded by the state.
(CB) This notice doesn't show that the 'dune reinforcement' was a cover-up for sludge dumping.
However, last week’s strong wind and waves battered and breached the trench bund allowing dredged material and de-watered silt to leach into the sea. It would appear that piping directly offshore would ironically have had the same outcome without having had to build a temporary trench.
The trench was fully accessible from the beach with partially half buried safety netting visible and little or no warning signs.
Children or dogs might have easily wandered in and fallen into the gooey mud.
The heavy pipes rolling around in the surf could also have seriously injured someone. This disregard for public safety and the lack of environmental standards are completely unacceptable.
The contractor needs to ensure that such sloppy site management is rectified before someone gets hurt or the beach becomes contaminated. Will the contractor also share its environmental policy on the overall treatment of Alvor’s estuarine sludge and what is the plan to dispose of the dredged material? Dumping it out at sea would be deemed illegal.
Both the Portuguese Environmental Agency (APA) and the Algarve’s Regional Hydrographic Administration (ARH-Algarve) need to be more transparent with this public works.
Work appeared to have ceased on the day of our walk
The result of pumping estuarine sludge on to a Blue Flag Beach
Summer is fast approaching, so let’s just hope that whatever happens now on Praia de Alvor is fully restored to its natural wonderful beach setting as soon as possible.
By CHARLES FREW
Without further ado, Rod's notes on the walk.
WAGS WALK 27/2
Mud,Mud Glorious Mud or More Desecration of Algarve Assets
Paul & Myriam, Chris & Antje, Terry & Jill, Thyl & Gita, Ingrid, Jim, Peter, Charles and Rod appeared at Alvor Municipal Swimming Pool Cafe on a pleasant enough morning for an Alvor Wetlands walk and an educational element thrown in.
The walk began with a brief wander along the eastern boardwalk to where the beach is being desecrated by abject mishandling of the sludge produced by Alvor Lagoon dredging project. Charles had written an exposé in The Resident and expanded on this during the walk.
Charles explains - end of pipe in background.
The sludge is supposed to be buried into a pit along the beach above the high tide point ( fotos above). This process had begun right opposite the Toralta towers and beach restaurants.
It became immediately apparent that this had been disastrously mishandled as the first high tide accompanied by rough weather washed the whole lot into the sea as would have been obvious even to a WAG. To prove the point when Charles returned the following day they seem to have abandoned any attempt to bury the sludge and contrary to all rules and regulations were pumping the filthy sludge directly into the sea (see more fotos)....yet another ecological disaster.
We then returned to the town along the promenade towards the wetlands. The party diminished at this point when assorted physical afflictions caused Paul & Myriam, Chris and Jim to fall by the wayside (or maybe they had a premonition!)
We didn't totally waste our time while the rest continued. We took advantage of the TOMI photo machine on the esplanade to capture this candid shot, advertising Portimao as European City of Sports 2019. We also encouraged the fishermen who were mending nets nearby in preparation for the forthcoming sardine season.
Skilled manual work.
The rest carried serenely on until peace was disturbed by a minor altercation with a resident fisherman who was verbosely fearful that his cat was going to be savaged by our dogs. Nothing untoward occurred in the event but little did he know how nearly right he was as Ember was drooling in anticipation!
From there we walked peacefully along the central dyke pathway...peace disturbed only by the odd aircraft grinding skyward to drop its load of skydivers. Water level in the wetlands was relatively high and as we approached the large farm beside the Abicada Roman remains we were faced by a minor water crossing never previously encountered but navigated with just a few muddy feet. And so to the Roman villa.......more desecration. Every time we go there more of the mosaics have disappeared; absolutely no efforts have been made to maintain and preserve this site...what little that had been done has been vandalised. Another year or two and it will have totally disappeared, the mosaics probably to be found decorating someone´s pool or bathroom....sad.
From there the intention was to cut across to the western dyke path for the return route.
Sasha didn't mind the mud!
There was a path in the right direction but it became clear that it was only used by cattle, and these cattle were obviously not too fussed by ankle deep mud, brambles and sharp reeds. We stoically faced all these challenges and made it to within 3m of our goal but in between was water. Were it not for the higher than previously experienced water levels we might have made it across but the water looked too deep for comfort and long gone were the days when some form of creative engineering might have produced a solution...even if one brave soul was prepared to chance it the majority were not.
He dwelt among untrodden ways......Beside the Springs of mud
A Leader whom there were none to Praise .... And very Few to Love
There was nothing for it but to retrace our steps..once again through mud, brambles and spiked reeds. The moans and groans were surprisingly muted as we eventually reached dry land again....or at least not audible to he who was leading the walk ( he had anyway removed his hearing aids just in case!). After all that entertainment the return journey, the way we had come, was uneventful.
Chris had patiently waited for us....well maybe had no option... but Paul and Myriam´s patience had expired and they had long gone. The rest of us revived on the pool cafe's TM's and B´s...not of the best maybe but quite welcome nevertheless.
(Note to author: must remember WAGS Guidelines)
Meanwhile, back at the Sports Centre Cafe, Paul and Myriam cracked first, as the swift circuit to Abicada was reported by WhatsApp to have encountered problems.
Lunch was served while we fended off all usurpers wanting to annex our table for 13!
Sopa do dia was hot and fresh.
Chris later cracked and joined us, as the delay reports arrived. Alas Myriam and I had important matters to attend in Lagos, so left before the bedraggled and muddy WAGS returned after an atypical WAGS outing of just 4 hours. Chris kindly waited for Antje, and also my GPS which I had entrusted to Rod to record the remainder of the route. On forensic examination later it revealed this track:
and stats:-
Rod eventually mastered sending his ViewRanger composite track and stats and they tell a story:
Rod's middle son Charles (not Charlie)
Preferred to walk very farly
But he went with the WAGS
And exclaimed "How they lags!
And most of them look very gnarly!"
And this exciting episode would not be complete without the classic rendition of the Title Song - to make it especially tasteful by Rolf Harris. Click link below.
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