Round the Bend!

      It has been a long hot summer for those of us that haven’t fled to cooler climes, siestas have been getting longer, and we tend to do anything aerobic at the start of the day.
     OK, it has been a good summer for sport, so for those of us that still have reliable access to UK Television, there has been a lot of distraction and reasons to recline indoors sipping on cool drinks.
    Personally, I have spent far too much time in ‘Research’, planning trips, shopping for gadgets on the internet, and building up the aches and pains which used to come with a sedentary desk job.
     While sorting through some old papers I came across an envelope containing a copy of the Sydney Herald Rugby World Cup supplement for 2003, in which they admitted that England actually were better than the Wallabies. Watch the last glorious 3 minutes of that match here.
   We English are all living on past glories, but that is a side issue. Tucked in amongst the browning leaves of the newspaper I found a single sheet of typed A4 with the word ‘Destroy’ written in the top left hand corner.
   This evoked weak memories of distant triumphs. I cannot identify when it was written, why it was written, and whether it ever surfaced in public.
   Is it an aspiring Singer/songwriters attempt to capture the history of the 2003 Round the Corner in song? Is it a poem - or is it a historical document?
    Of course I know the source, as does at least one other person, but it might pass a few moments in cogitation at the end of this long hot summer. What tune would fit this libretto? Why did it need to be destroyed?  What might be the results if it was leaked on Twitter? Why is it ‘Round the Bend’ and not ‘Round the Corner’? Was that a purely artistic decision, or easier to fit to a tune?
     Grateful for any conclusions, known facts or wild guesses, especially from those mentioned and given their 30 seconds of fame!


   
“I can write good songs. I can sing 'em, and I mean it, I mean it deeply, and I pour everything into that. Other than that, I suck.”             Adam Duritz on Greatness

Sparrowfart 2014; or The Summer Madness Persists

 

 

Crack of dawn 16th July, and a strange portent appears at the gate of Casa da Oliveira: what can it signify? Midsummer madness, of course.

 

The early stick gets the coffee

And indeed, the owner of the hatted stick did get her morning fix, exactly at 6.45 am as scheduled. 

Shortly thereafter, 12 hardy souls plus 2 dogs gathered for a Starters photo.

This was just a practice shot…………………

because moments later, Peter and Sonja arrived in time to complete the group and JohnO could then raise a hand in his traditional manner for……..

 

The Official Starters Photo.

Participants.

Part-walkers and Chefs : Antje, Sonja and Chris.

Hard Core 8 : Janet, Maria, Hazel, Ingrid, Ros, JohnO, Jim and JohnH.

Splinter Group : Peter, Paul, and M……(.ike)

Support Group : Jyll, Myriam and Mike S.

Absens : A certain gentleman still abed ( D.L.)

The Track

Remarkably enough, we set off as near as makes no difference to the advertised kick-off time of 7 am., the Part-timers plus Sacha guiding us as far as the Dog-leg turn which is where they left us and made their way back to start preparing our breakfast. JohnH then took over the lead and, avoiding the beach because the full tide, headed past some fishermen´s houses in the direction of the golf course, only to find that we had run out of road which forced us to negotiate a fence and to skip smartly across the railway track.

Maria tells them to look lively crossing the track

Then, round the mirror-smooth lagoon and over the causeway we went; the tide being fully in, the sea had completely submerged the oyster beds, and its waters were simply teeming with small fish – Hazel thought they were sardines – “não” diz a Maria “são as liças”.

 

Not a ripple

Making pretty good time, we made our way along to the railway level crossing where we came to the Parting of the Ways. Here, the Splinter Group of Peter, Paul and M…(ike)  made their excuses and a beeline* for home. As they went over the hill, some of us would have sworn that snatches of “Leaving On A Jet Plane ” and “Puff The Magic Dragon” could be heard, blowing in the wind.

The remaining Hard Core 8 swung to the east keeping to the low ground and then round to find the short canal.Then, after tramping across various hillsides, we managed to make it back to Casa da Oliveira on the stroke of 10 am, much to Ingrid´s relief – she sure didn´t want to be a minute late for the meal.

The Chefs team had by this stage been augmented by Jyll and Myriam, and (in a purely observational capacity he claimed) by Mike Summerfield.

Some had a dip in the pool. The usual superb breakfast then followed – fresh orange juice, melons, lashings of scrambled eggs, crisp bacon, sausages etc., etc., not to forget the baked beans - much enjoyed by all. Just look at the plates.

That´s not just a table cloth, folks  – that whole length is a single Indian sari.

 

 

As coffees were downed, Mike Pease jumped to his feet and to the conclusion* that, as the eldest member present, it was incumbent on him to propose the vote of thanks to our gracious hosts and the cooks, which he did in great style and to great acclaim.

( * Janet will surely appreciate these light touches of syllepsis.)

To close, the Statistics :

Distance: 11.3 km

Total Time: 2 hrs 54 min

Moving Average : 5.1 kmph

Comestibles: details of quantities not available.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

No, not to close quite yet because your blogger has been reminded by PaulAdeV that it is obligatory that the blog should close with an apt quotation or two.

He suggests:-

“ Hope is a good breakfast but a bad supper.” ( Francis Bacon 1561 – 1626 )

Umm, maybe. Perhaps:-

“ If you want breakfast in bed, sleep in the kitchen.” ( Trad. anon )

or of more appeal to walkers of a certain age:

“ The walk down to breakfast is exercise enough for any gentleman.” ( Chauncey Mitchell Depew 1834 – 1928 )

AWW 05.03.2014: The Curious Incident of the Frog in a Plight–or Never Volunteer to go Over the Top

Apologies for the rather flippant title, this was a very serious matter, but it is over now, Yves was lucky, and salient points have been driven home.
  Before I get on to the usual (embroidered) factual report, we need to reiterate a few things in the light of some comments fired off since the walk. Of course these are a personal view as ever, and I would be disappointed if ‘The Board’ voted unanimously that I was completely right in all aspects.
   The AWW has been going in one form or another for at least 17 years that I recall. We are all in it for the pleasure of companionship, getting out in the fresh air and beautiful countryside for exercise, and of course the social side including some very memorable gatherings and events  over the years. During that time you might expect some incidents, accidents and not a few spats.  Except for the spats, we have  fortunately and largely, through common sense, been incident and accident free. There was one broken ankle ( Anna Rose, Madeira) and a broken wrist (Esme, Barranco Velho) a couple of minor falls into holes (Jim and Myriam), a spiked varicose vein (Rod)  a few minor slips and falls only wounding pride, and several bee stings. This is a remarkable record, and indicates not only the general fitness and ability of the walkers, but also the common sense generally exhibited.
     The leader has only responsibility for choosing the walk, and broadly advising those that voluntarily wish to accompany him or her of the salient details. We are all same day, same way walkers responsible for our own conduct. No one has ever charged  or made money out of leading walks. Everyone is responsible for their own insurance and decisions. In practical terms, and as has been demonstrated on many occasions the leader has no authority to command obedience from the followers. We have guidelines to set out what is sensible, but no enforcement. The decision to join a walk or not is one for the individual.
     New walks are usually  recced in detail. If a leader has led a particular walk before, then he or she will be aware of potential problem areas in terms of vegetation, agricultural change, or water levels. Sometimes there are unforeseen changes, but such is the nature of our environment that there is always a solution to circumventing the problem. I cannot support the view that if a walk is to be led it must be rewalked by the leader in detail shortly before the group goes. Many of our walks haven’t altered significantly in years.  Last Wednesday, even though Myriam was notionally the leader, everyone knows that the route was chosen by me, and perhaps surprisingly for such an established area, I made the effort to go over the route, so that Myriam could lead it with the area fresh in her mind and the help of a GPS track.
        John D was kind enough to accompany us on the recce, as it was possible that I wouldn’t walk on the day, and to give Myriam more confidence if someone else knew the route. We checked the whole route for obstructions and overgrowths except that it was high tide, and we were unable to view the beach between Cordoama and Castelejo. As it was going to be a very low (0.71 m.) tide at the time of the walk, previous experience told me that whatever the condition of the rocks on the beach, it would be a better route and would be passable, albeit with care. We have walked this beach at least 10 times on previous RTC’s and on other shorter walks as well. There has never been a problem, except I remember that one year Mike strained a calf muscle just before we reached the start of the beach, and had to drop out of the RTC, though he made it slowly along the beach to the Castelejo Cafe. 
        On this occasion, it turned out that the beach had been scoured by the winter storms, and much more bedrock was visible, but when Myriam paused to discuss whether it would be better to climb up to the Miradouro and over the top, I repeated that the beach was a much better option (for me anyway), with my recent aversion to steep hills.  Again, there was no problem with those of the group that followed along the beach, although there was potential for slips and sprains, everyone proceeded at a pace with which they were comfortable.
       The dark limestone bedrock, which is predominant in this area is smooth, but not intrinsically slippery except when covered in weed. Loose boulders are more difficult and require care, but most are lodged as a result of tide action. This year the beach had a great deal more exposed rock than I have ever seen, and less sand even at low tide, but it was perfectly passable, and we reached the beach shortly after 11am as planned, at the lowest tide point. High tide was not until after 5 pm.
         Enough has been said about Yves foolishness in attempting to go over the top alone, when Myriam tried to get everyone to go along the beach. Indeed if she had not been at the back to try to call him before he set off up the hill, she would not have known that he had gone that way, and it was only because she kept looking up to see where he was, that she witnessed the result of his fall. Nearly all of those in the front had no idea that he had left the group.
      A very scary and sobering moment when Myriam pointed out the inert form laying on the rocks high above the beach.  If, as it was easy to conclude, he had slipped from somewhere up near the Miradouro, then it would have been game over.
        I will not go into the decisions that some individuals made at that point to take their own actions. It is easy with the benefit of hindsight, but the group was well strung out when most were made aware of the incident. There was no phone signal at the beach where most of the group congregated, and ultimately the only sensible thing to do was to go along to Castelejo and call for help, or if that cafe was shut, then Chris had a car there as two of us intended to drop out at that point.
      ‘Alls well that ends well’, is not an entirely satisfactory maxim for this event. Yves was extremely lucky, the Bombeiros were excellent in support and very thorough if slow in their rescue preparations.  Hasty if emotional suggestions to donate the AWW Social Fund to the Bombeiros have been reconsidered, but any of us who live here and may require their support, not necessarily for rescuing from sticky situations, should give some thought to backing them financially.  As a group, it may be appropriate to give a tithe of our fund in future towards the Bombeiros, but the principal person who should react financially to this incident is the subject of the rescue.
   And so to the walk itself.  The weather initially was not as bright as the forecasts had it a few days before, as you can see from the overcast start photo.

Starters: David, John D., Dina, Ros, Andrew, Liz, Ian W., Lindsey, Antje, Yves, Chris, Janet, Hedley, Ingrid, John O’, Bruce, Paul  (Myriam (photographer)


The track of the walk, only the solid red line having been walked, the dotted sections were when I forgot to turn off the GPS and went to the Miradouro and up and down the hill a couple of times.We ended back in Cafe Zig Zag, my GPS having travelled 27.9 km, of which only about 9 were on foot, from the start, anti-clockwise to Castelejo Cafe.

The walk started off fairly punctually at 0930, but rather inauspiciously, as Myriam was without her ‘Third Leg’ of the navigators, Rod, who was completing formalities in reporting a recently lost wallet. Never mind, I would be there for the first half, and John D had understudied the route during the recce.  Just as well, as I was able to turn the whole group round as Myriam set off from the car park in the wrong direction!
       Very soon before we started the descent to Cordoama, more  excitement, as the only bee still alert in the Costa Vicentina, unerringly targeted Chris in a spectacular suicide bombing dive.

Myriam was called for to operate her snake venom and bee-sting removing gadget, but the sting was easily extracted with a pair of Swiss Army tweezers.
We reached the beach, at around 11:10 am and were immediately aware that the rocks were more exposed than before. A short discussion between Myriam and myself decided to continue with the ‘level’ walk along the beach, partly because I didn’t fancy the long climb, and also because we had not climbed up on the recce to check the path. In the event the correct path would have been no problem, but the beach despite being rocky and slippery in places was negotiated by all those that attempted without incident.

A view as the group set off along the beach. Yves had just left to attempt the path over the top. Myriam took this photo and was clearly behind  at this point.  And we know the rest.
It only remains to publish a few photos during and after the rescue with brief captions.

Bedrock

Still some sand in places!

Bombeiros at Miradouro moving to an anchor point near the edge.

Laying out the gear.

Going over the top!

Welcoming party at Cordoama, including Press.

Bloody but unbowed

 

Here is one I made earlier…
(All Yves’ own photos were allegedly ‘wiped’ when downloading from his phone!)

 

It’s over  - back at ZigZag.

 

 

”He is most free from danger, who, even when safe, is on his guard.”

• Publilius Syrus

“There is no danger of developing eyestrain from looking on the bright side of things.”

Source Unknown

AWW 04.12.2013: Babes in the wood or Myriam leads in the Mata

A rare appearance in historic blog format of the still rarer account of a walk led by Myriam. 16 years with the group and still learning to lead! But it was a good one, great weather, splendid views, nobody lost = all happy!

Starters: Myriam (leader), Ingrid, Hazel, Ros, Dina, Val, John O’, Sue, Theo, Manuela, Shepherd, Geoff, Phil, John H, Peter, and Devana  (+Paul, Photographer because John H stubbornly left his expensive photo equipment at home!)

Image of the track. (unfortunately without John H’s skilful annotations)
It was another beautiful morning.  The temperature was low but the sun soon warmed the place up.

          Of the 15 participants, (well within guidelines!) some went to the village cafe for another shot of caffeine, while others drove directly to the starting point.  Everyone arrived on time and a group photo was taken in front of the new gentleman at the entrance to the forest.  But the boys wanted to ensure equality of the sexes and give some exposure of the lady on the other side, who was looking jealous.  As you can see from the photo, the boys pacified her by looking at her in adoration!! (especially John O’!) 
 
The adoration of the Shepherdess, Paul, Theo, John H, John O’ -supplicant, Miss BSJ, Geoff, Phil (where was Peter?) 
          The path was very level and wide, allowing several persons to walk abreast, so we got a chance to chat to everyone. 

Being the ‘youngest’, Ros was assisted in climbing to the trig point, muttering “Where is Alex?” under her breath!

The Obligatory Trig Point Photograph
Good progress was made and by the time we reached the lunch spot, Pedra Branca, Paul complained that we had walked too fast and it was too early for lunch. (I would have said ‘cautioned’!)  But no one else objected.  The wind was quite strong and many took shelter among the young pines.  But a few hardy ones sat in the open to enjoy the view down the valley.


          After lunch, Paul went off to visit Chris, to check that he was not up to any mischief in Antje's absence.  The rest plodded on along the wide paths.  John H. must have eaten a very nutritious lunch.  He marched ahead in a terrific speed and left the leader some 200 meters behind!  But he was wise enough to doubt the leader's navigational skill.  At every cross road, he waited for confirmation!  At one point, even the leader doubted herself! 
        The whole route skirted the perimeter of the forest, with some nice view points of the village and beyond.  Several short pauses were made to disrobe or for some private moments.  We even stopped twice for coffee served from a thermos flask.  Regrettably, only one walker had the pleasure of such enjoyment!!

Coffee to go!

        At the old target shooting range area, (which is now transformed into a motor cycle track), Ros, again, kindly offered her delicious caramel candies around.  It was most welcome as our lunch had nearly got digested by that time.

       The last 3 km. must be the most "arduous" section.  Having to walk on tarmac and then the only uphill!  But we were compensated by the interesting statues along the so called "Sculpture Hill".  Manuela even managed to get a few cuttings of passion fruit plant from a generous owner.



       We got back to the car in good time and Paul was already waiting there.  Then some walked, others drove into the village centre for our post walk drinks.



 
         Thank you all for coming to the walk and the leader was pleased that she did not lead anyone astray.  Rod is London but he had kindly offered to pick us up next week in case the leader got them all lost.  Thank you, Rod, your service was not needed.  Please keep it for next time.
We exchanged early Christmas and New year good wishes with some walkers who are leaving for colder climes. We will be thinking of them on Wednesdays, especially when the sun is shining hot and bright in the Algarve!
For the record:
Total Distance:                    17.1 km
Total Time:                          4 hrs 32 min.
Moving Time:                      4 hrs
Overall Avg.                         3.8 km/hr
Moving Avg.                         4.3 km/hr
Total Ascent:                        275 m.
Max Elevation:                     184 m.
And no occasional blog would be complete without a quotation:-
“The problem with quotes on the internet is you never know if they are genuine.”― Joseph Stalin

New Season - New Gear.

     I would like to kick the new season blog off with a worthy test subject - one that is close to my own heart - and head. We have been in Vancouver, and of course we could not forgo the chance to visit Tilley Central. There we minutely examined the two new models, and Myriam dismissed the lightweight LTM10 Back-Vent Nylamtium® Hat, as lacking the insouciance to which I aspire. We came to a grudging agreement on the TWC7 Outback Hat, which as you will see below has the hatband and binding in a traditional British Tan contrasting with the rugged olive colour.

TWC7 Outback Hat

Now that your interest has been thoroughly whetted, you may, if you care, to peruse the remainder of the range HERE.

Further I would encourage anyone who has made an offseason purchase of useful walking apparel or gadgets, to forward details and pictures of them to myself or John H., and your sartorial elegance may be published for the delectation of all. 

  Until the next walk......