WAGS 18.12.2019: One before Christmas

Sadly I am unable to rely on pictures to provide much colour to this blog as cameras and phones were buried under layers of impermeable rain-proofs.
   Yes the first WAGS walk in a long time that we expected to get wet if it went ahead. Terry (Leader) promised to call round if it was to be cancelled but we knew he was unlikely to deem it unsuitable, being a veteran of the Brecon Beacons, where a fine day is less than 2" of rain
   So the message went out WAGS are GO, and we set off for the RV at Restaurante Gralha in Vale Fuzeiros.  Very gray but only a little rain on the way, and M and I enjoyed the tortuous route round the barragem.
     We arrived to find Rod already in position, but alas the Restaurante was firmly closed, and remained so all day.  We had noticed that Cafe Silva was open as we passed, so determined to take coffee there when everyone had arrived. Terry and Jill soon turned up and announced that we were only waiting for John, to complete the quorum.
     After too much tea and a long drive from Lagos, Myriam had urgent needs so we set off for Cafe Silva only to find John and Maria already there. They had apparently arrived at 0930, and finding Gralha closed had cleverly anticipated that we would need caffeine at the nearest hostelry - Silva. However they omitted a vital step - to let the leader and/or others know that they had arrived and were at Silva.  So we had wasted valuable coffee time waiting at Gralha  until Terry managed to call John and establish his whereabouts.
    All united at Silva we refuelled and enquired about the lunch for the day, anticipating an early return.

Starters: The Foolhardy Seven! John, Terry Jill, Paul Myriam, Rod, Maria

It was drizzling steadily by now, but nothing daunted, Terry promised to shorten the walk, and we geared up and set off.

Outside the closed Gralha. Man on phone at front was an innocent bystander

Becky was not that keen to go!

Here is the Leaders walk report in his own inimitable style:-

Just a short one of the Magnificent Seven Wags who turned up regardless of the weather, a small hiccup as to what Cafe was open, but after all the time spent with those  walking you know they will be in the next one open,  and so they were, after the required amount of coffee ☕️ we decided to walk all be it a short one, not the one I recced early, decided that was going to be too wet under foot. So the alternative walk was under way in the rain, when was the last time we walked in the rain in the Algarve!!  we are lucky to live in and walk in the pleasant climate of the Algarve. Good tracks we had all walked before in the Amorosa area any which way, for about the last 2 km it rained hard making the pace pick up a bit, back at the starter Cafe a quick 2 min drive the Cafe name I have forgotten, quick change to dry gear, the Prato’s of the day look good and so we all had a good lunch except Rod who was on a tight schedule. The weather was crap but who cares it was all about good company a nice lunch and conversation, 

Thanks for walking Happy Christmas to you all terry & Jill

First hill in the gloom.

 Just a little padding.  For the record I only took 7 pix including the food and stats - less than 20% of the usual number.  Luckily John managed the starter pic and a few other shots. The walk itself was not conducive to wielding expensive cameras and phones.

Despite Terry's platitudes his 'shorter' walk was not far off the published WAGs ideal parameters , coming in at 8.78 km and long gradual climbs up the ridge between Val Fuzeiros and Amorosa and back, yet because of the intellectual conversation en route ( which inevitably slows average speeds), it took us nearly 2 hrs 30 minutes, arriving back at Gralha around 1 pm, by which time the consensus was that we had satisfied Honour and were ready to attack the Prato de Dia on offer.

Talking Point: A stone sculpture of an edible mushroom - very realistic!

Despite nature's efforts to make our walk less pleasant, we still need much more rain to make an impression on the reservoirs.

Talking point: Have Red Indians colonised Vale Fuzeiros?

The damp streets of Amorosa

the leader spent a lot of time waiting for the rest to catch up.

The first Lily in the Valley:

The stats were: Total Distance:             8.78 km

                          Moving Time:              2hrs 7 mins

                          Total Time :                 2hrs 27 mins

                           Moving Avg.               4.1 km/hr

                          Overall Avg.                 3.5 km/hr

                           Total Ascent                233 m.

Our track

And then having driven the short distance back to Cafe Silva, we dried off marginally and prepared for the highlight of the day: Unfortunately, Rod had pressing business in Ourique and set off with sodden trousers and his heater on high.

What passes for happy WAGS!!, Myriam being the photographer.

We ordered two each of the Pratos de Dia to share, but unfortunately the Galinha com Grau was so popular we only had one portion. The others were Vitela Estufada and Coelho a Cacador.  We shared all but lack of photos of the delivered dishes can be explained by the feeding frenzy that followed their arrival.

John managed to snap one plate with a selection of mains

Prato combinado

There were some first class hand cut chips......

........and a few desserts.....

Together with coffee beers and water (hot for Myriam) this cost us Euros 45 (Euros 7.50 each ) and we went on our way replete, Honour satisfied  and rejoicing with an eye to the whole roast pig event coming up on 5th January.

Thanks to Terry for encouraging the faint hearted to continue - no walk on Christmas day, Myriam is keen to walk on New Year's Day if we can find somewhere appropriate open for lunch.

"Everybody wants happiness, and nobody wants pain, but you can't have a rainbow without a little rain." ~ Zion Lee