A sparkling morning could well have beguiled the unsuspecting into misplaced tranquillity at the very start, but Ingrid must have had some inkling of what was to come because she didn't hesitate to tuck into her first banana of the day at 9.20am.
“Not too arduous; about 15 plus k´s” was what it said on the label, but, with Rod your leader, expect something more.
The Starters at home base; at least we didn't have to go straight up to the windmill
THE ENXERIM ENSEMBLE
Leader: Rod
Accompanists: Paul & Myriam, Dina, Jim B., Janet, John & Hazel, Ingrid
Dogs: Misty & Ember
The Track (click to enlarge)
The Statistics (in duplicate)
i) according to Ingrid
distance 16.3
moving aver. 4
overall aver. 3.2
moving time 4.05
total time 5
total ascent 526
max elevation 246
and ii)according to Paul
Total Distance: 16.38 km.
Total Time: 4 hrs 58 min.
Moving Time: 4 hrs 06 min.
Overall Average: 3.3 km/hr.
Moving Average: 4.0 km/hr.
Total Ascent: 592 m.
Max Elevation: 240 m.
Thanks to both
The Leader´s Report
“A modest ensemble gathered at Silves Cemetery for the pre-Natal ...ooh, I don't like that one!....walk on a quite fabulous spring like morning. A short drive took us out of Silves suburbs and then we headed off along the Via Algarviana route (chatting merrily about the beneficial effects of merino wool underwear on human bodily odours).
Outward-bound over the river
Some strange signs en route as Janet adjusts her footwear
“With a number of deviations this took us without any undue effort almost to the Barragem de Arade. Here we had a multiple choice of routes. The preferred one, and probably the easiest, looked to be threatened by a series of bee-hives which caused some reactions of distress so our leader quickly opted for the middle route which, of course, was the most strenuous!
Jim picks the easier-looking option, but even so appearances were deceptive
Somewhat more arduous than expected
“This entailed a stiff (very)climb up to a ridge and an up and down, well mostly up, stretch along it. If this was a bit more energetic than advertised (no “if” about it), well, the views from the top on such a wonderfully clear sunny day were the just rewards.
We all made it
View over Barragem de Arade
“A final ascent to the high point of the day, beside the essential trig point, made an excellent lunch spot...great views and sheltered from the light breeze.
A Trig Point at last
“From here it was all downhill so to speak as we began our return. The return route took us through a vast area of replantations of eucalyptus.......a massive project apparently in Spanish hands.
Plantation patterns
“The return meant heading back along another ridge before a very sharp descent down a track which seemed for a moment was going to stop at a pylon and leave us stranded at the top...
.
Down the track……
….. past the pylon……
….and inward-bound over the river.
“…..however this led us back to the valley with the Via Algarviana track and on back to the cars. An uneventful walk...spot on for advertised distance (!)...no lost or wounded dogs...indeed nothing to spoil a wonderful spring like day (even if in fact it was the shortest one!)...and so back to the bar for a relaxed drink and, for some lucky ones, avocadoes from Hazel´s tree.”
And now, just sit back, relax, and enjoy the MovieTone News brought to you by Agência Publicidade Paulo a Pé:
“High street shops found that they had enjoyed a 38% increase in trade during the one-day public service workers´ strike” (The Spectator)
Doesn't a solution to the recession lie in there somewhere?
Thanks for the walk, Rod, for all the ups & downs!!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Hazel & John, for the beautiful avocados, as you can see from the photos!
A masterly Blog by John, but to set the record straight, the fascinating discussion on merino undergarments and their 3 day defence against BO was surpassed not only in intensity and degree of participation by an ensuing debate on colonoscopies, whether virtual or more invasive, of which we seemed to have an almost 100% experience level, and we were regaled with some very graphic descriptions of same, especially by Jim who boasted of a two-pronged assault from each end during a fairly recent crisis!
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