From Amorosa towards Messines
This was Terry´s preface to the walk
“As I have the opportunity to lead this last walk of 2014 and, as Maurice Clyde passed away this year, I would like to walk two of Maurice’s walks, the first one number 15 and then part of 14 from his Warm Island Walking Guide. However due to the passing of time it is not always possible to follow them accurately. The first one is about the best to do as there are still Maurice’s “Blue Blobs” to see and to guide you if you know where to look.
“This Walk is about 8.5 km, walking time 2.5 hours with ascents of no more than 50 meters (Maurice’s words, not mine).This walk makes an easy distance for those walkers who only want to walk part as a tribute to Maurice. I will then continue to walk a small part of walk 14; quite a lot of it is not passable now, but I will blend it into tracks and trails of other walks to do about another 8.5 km in the area that Maurice walked a lot, and I am sure he will not be offended if we stray a bit.”
The Starters at Messines
The Starting Fifteen: Terry A leading Rose, Lynne B, JohnH, Ingrid, Dina, John (the bike), Antje, Richard & Gerry, Linda & Russell, Terry M, Yves, Lindsey; and not forgetting Sascha
On the Reserves Bench: Rod, Chris, and Peter Schroeder
Starting at Messines Railway Station, Terry paused every now and then to share bits of AWW lore, e.g. about past walks and Maurice´s contributions to them, etc. This was great, and it also gave the sluggards among us a chance to get a breather.
The Track
The Statistics:
Total distance: 16.70 kms
1st half: 8.78 km (Messines to Fuzeiros)
2nd half: 7.92 km (Fuzeiros to Messines)
Overall time: 4.hrs 54 mins.
Moving time: 3 hrs 51 mins
Moving average: 4.4 kph
Total ascent: 273 metres (piece of cake really).
The Leader´s Report:
“The weather forecast was bang on a warm sunny day for this walk in memory of and respect for one of the founder members of the AWW, Maurice Clyde who sadly passed away this year. I wanted to walk the best we could of two of his walks in the Messines area, on the first one of which a lot of his trademark “blue blobs” can still be found and followed; sad thing is when Silves Camara mark their land boundary posts the blue blobs will be gone for ever. The first walk went off ok with only Lindsey & Yves following the route back to Messines from Monte Boi.
Near Monte Boi
“The rest of us crossed the 124 and continued onto the next walk. This one is almost lost to the mato but we done what we could passing through Amorosa onto the cafe in Vale Fuzeiros for lunch.
Through Amorosa
“The remaining thirteen of us crossed the 124 and continued onto the next walk. This one is almost lost to the mato but we done what we could passing through Amorosa onto the cafe in Vale Fuzeiros for lunch. There Rod Chris & Peter were waiting for us enjoying a bottle of water (yes water).
The Reserves Bench at Fuzeiros
The Bees´ Knees
“Lunch was had in the warm sun. The reserves came off the bench (The team now had 16 on the field but the referee didn´t notice.) and we then set off for the next bit, areas we may have walked before but the tracks that are there need walking if they are to stay open, we came back up into the north end of Amorosa this time and made our way through to take a track towards Messines along a short section of the AW/VA.
“I was reminded on the AW/VA crossing I led this year where Maurice’s blobs are still visible; on one rock face was a Blue Blob underneath the Cistus Flower and Almargem’s nice new post. I just thought where Maurice walked we all now follow.
“Thanks to all who walked.
Terry ”
The walk concluded at Cafe João de Deus with the usual round of refreshments, during which Rod, with a few well-chosen words, paid tribute to Maurice, and also to those like Terry A and David L who keep up the Algarve Way tradition. Rod´s recent written piece on Maurice and his achievements is reproduced further on in this blog, as are recollections of some of the most senior AWWs, so as to preserve a few bits of AWW lore.
Meanwhile,here are some more photos of today´s walkers nearing Fuzeiros. No presentable photos emerged from the second half of the walk as the paparazzo´s camera became a bit temperamental, not having recovered fully from the soaking it got in the Alentejo during the Trilho Historico amble a few weeks ago – at least, that´s his excuse. Incidentally, this was one of the very few, if not the only one, of our walks where the Leader has ended up with more walkers than he started with.
Homeward bound
Among those who were missed on this walk were Myriam and Paul (on UK duty), Hedley (ditto), Maria (broken arm), David L (nursing his vocal chords and a nasty cold), JohnO (foot fungus),and Janet who emailed to say:
“I was really sorry to miss this walk especially as Maurice was a good friend to me. I still have a dreadful cold and would hate to spread it. I was thinking of you all and wishing I was out there too. What a lovely day it was.”
And now, as promised, here is Rod´s written tribute to Maurice:
MAURICE CLYDE: THE MAN WHO LEFT HIS MARK IN THE ALGARVE
Maurice was the true pioneer of organised walking in the Algarve. On his retirement here his declared ambition was to establish an organised walking culture and he set about this with enormous enthusiasm, determination and a big heart.
He founded the Algarve´s, probably first, organised walking group in 1994; the OCDAW (Os Caminheiros Do Algarve /Walkers) which was a charitable organisation with a programme of walks, principally on Saturdays, with an ever increasing following. After two years numbers of participants had increased to over 30, with a wide difference in capabilities so in 1996 he decided to split the group into, as he called them, the «strollers» and «striders». This group decided to walk on Wednesdays instead of Saturdays so thus were born the Algarve Wednesday Walkers…the AWW. Maurice did not participate initially in this group and for the first season walks were led by Alan Boak, a regular winter visitor from the Isle of Man and a keen walker, who based many of his walks on the guide book of the remarkable June Parker.
During this season Maurice was principally occupied developing his dream of creating a trans Algarve extension of one of the pan European walking routes, the GR 13. This was in fact based on part of an old pilgrims´ route stretching from Valencia in Spain to Cape St. Vincent, burial site of the Saint after whom the Cape was named. The AWW´s were used as the means of reconnoitring and creating this route during many months of exploratory walking in 1997. This was done by him and a small inner group of AWW´s in close coordination, and many meetings, with ALMARGEM, who were keen but lacked at that time the resources to participate. In the course of the meetings the name of the route was agreed to be the Algarve Way / Via Algarviana (it should be noted that when Almargem later started taking an initiative and obtained funding, the Portuguese name was already in existence and not coined by them!).
In October 1997 the Western half of the Algarve Way was ready for testing and a «Half-Garve Walk», as he called it, from Messines to the Cape, was undertaken. Throughout the winter of 1997 /8 further legwork was done to develop the eastern section which, in view of its remoteness was a much more difficult and time consuming project. It was walked by a small group in the spring of 1998. By the autumn of 1998 all was ready for the first full crossing of the Algarve Way, as far as is known the first time this had ever been done as a single walk. October 1998 was the date selected and Maurice and six others (and four dogs!) were the core group who completed the whole walk. It is perhaps interesting to note that Maurice was also a keen animal lover, as was perhaps shown by the walk being in part a charity effort in aid of APAA, and some time later by his timely rescue of a dog on the slopes of Madrinha (also only recently died as it happens). This was perhaps the high point of Maurice´s Algarve lifetime: completing this was a justly proud moment for him and a deserved tribute to his determination to achieve a dream. There are few who could have emulated him.
The seven who completed the first Algarve Way/Via Algarviana crossing..left to right top foto Ian Angus, Maurice, Ian Cooper, Rod Frew, Mark Harman, Tony Webster and Myriam Lo Isaac . Bottom foto the group (and the dogs) with Maurice standing in the middle, at the end of the walk on the steps of the old monastic remains at Cape St. Vincent.
A year later with another small group including some Spanish participants he undertook the walk in reverse from the Cape to Alcoutim, when it formally became part of the European GR system and he planned and organised the first solo walk for a visiting American. In 1999 and 2000 it was also completed on horses and mountain bikes to prove it was very much an all purpose route. He continued to organise the AWW, appoint leaders, maintain records and even published a Walkers Guide of some of his favourite routes, right up to 2002. In that year, just short of his 70th. Birthday, he was struck down with a serious stroke. He never walked again. 12 long and difficult years followed until his death in October 2014.
Maurice was not always an easy man to get on with; those with his sort of single minded drive and ambition hardly ever are. If you didn’t agree with him or didn´t follow his plans he wasn´t reticent in making you aware in no uncertain terms. But that done he never harboured a grudge and next day you were always pals again. He was a man of very definite social, political and religious views which he frequently expressed. He had quite a wicked sense of humour too and walking with him was never boring and never in silence. Behind him, and frequently on walks herself, was always his immensely supportive wife, Esmé; when necessary she would cajole or criticise him but would always be there to calm him down in any of his more excitable moments.
Esmé and Maurice
He was not a walker with an infallible sense of direction, as fellow walkers will doubtless remember! Fully aware of this, he decided to mark his routes with certain directional prompts. These were sky blue arrows or blobs sprayed on any object with an aerosol which was always in his backpack. Not everyone appreciated such despoliation of the countryside but some can still be seen and remain as a wistful reminder of his walks of old and even today, it must be said, sometimes a comforting indication that one is on the right route! These will disappear in the fullness of time but surely the existence of the Algarve Way / Via Algarviana will remain as a fitting monument to a man who fully deserves to be remembered.
Rod.”
Myriam´s memories also go back nearly 20 years:
"I got to know of Maurice's Saturday walk through the newspaper. (Newspaper! Do you mean they advertised ?) I first joined his walk at Amorosa in 1995/6 (please be patient, John, need to confirm the year with Hedley.) I was a total stranger and felt a bit out of place. But he and Esmé were always so attentive and considerate, and made me feel so welcome! That encouraged me to continue walking with the group. Without their encouragement, I would not have evolved into an AWW and would not have done the first crossing of the Via Algarviana. During our walking days, we had gone through "thick and thin", but I enjoyed every moment of it. My relationship with them is an enduring friendship."
Mike Pease has this recollection:
“You asked for anecdotes on Maurice. I have numerous recalls. However, I think that the only one worth recalling for posterity relates to his enthusiasm for the use of the railway system that either took walkers to or fro start/finish points or otherwise became involved when we crossed tracks. I recall that, when crossing the quite narrow bridge over the Odiaxere river, Maurice would have previously taken considerable care to check the timetables because it took some minutes to get a group of walkers across this dangerous obstacle. Not only did he check the time tables but he placed his ear on the track to check for vibrations of any oncoming train! Sadly, only recently, a group of walkers didn't carry out the care that Maurice took and it resulted in a fatality.”
Pauladev, too, has contributed the following reminiscence:
“One of the original reasons behind the inception of the AWW Blog was to stay in touch with and provide information to Maurice, who although he had been stricken by this time, was still communicating via his computer and emails. We had also had a prod at the thought that, if any of our regular leaders became incapacitated, all his walks would be lost to the Group. At the same time as the Blogs began, the tracks of each walk were recorded in one form or another, so that they could be used by others who had map skills or a GPS that could follow a pre-recorded track. Sadly at this point in time we are not interchanging GPS Tracks, although there are some active leaders who have a repertoire of mostly reconnoitred walks.
“There has been plenty of 'new blood', a fear of the lack of which figured in the first blog. For reference this is at:-
http://algarveww.blogspot.co.uk/2006/02/what-for.html
“ I can't remember when Maurice was at last unable to appreciate the Blog, but it continued under various editors until 2012/2013 when it became an occasional chapter such as this.
“ Maurice was my friend and a knowledgeable walking companion since I first met him on a Saturday walk in 1997, and much longer for Myriam. He fought his terrible incapacity bravely for a number of years, until he reached a point where he could no longer operate his computer or personally answer calls. He lingered on much longer than was necessary, but I remember it said that, if he had not been so fit, he would never have endured his massive stroke, let alone survive it.
“He is missed, and will be remembered by pieces such as this.”
and Hedley White has emailed to say, inter alia,
“I have the utmost regard for Maurice and his historic efforts to kick start walking in the Algarve….what should be done - partly to record Maurice's input but also for the benefit of the Johnny-Come-Latelies among the AWWs - is to document some of the early history.”
and he has undertaken to do just that. So we can look forward to Hedley´s Histories sometime in the New Year.
As well as memories, after he had stopped walking Maurice left a pair of his walking boots to Terry M who fittingly wore them during the walk. The other Terry was very careful to authenticate them against a historic photograph:
“Yup, them´s genuine”
And, since the Chief Blogger always liked to finish his blogs with a quotation, here´s one:
“There be of them, that have left a name behind them, that their praises might be reported.”
