WAGS 12.05.2021: Where E´re You Walk, Tread Carefully

 

The announcement for Wednesday´s walk went out as follows:-

“The walk will be about  9 kms with one fairly steep hill and ascents totalling 400 metres++.”

Ingrid immediately replied saying that she didn´t want to have anything to do with it. Myriam and Paul indicated likewise, but with Paul joining for the meal. Rod however signed up immediately. Yves joined in with less than his usual enthusiasm. Hazel and Maria seemed quite keen. Then Rod hummed and hawed, indicating he probably wouldn´t walk after all. So it looked as if we wouldn´t even be six. But then Terry and Jill chipped in and finally Dina.

So, seven it was that assembled at Herdade de Boa Homen.

And seven it was that fairly sprinted up the first climb of the day, making it to the Rest and Be Thankful bench with nary a pause. Terry, Jill and Hazel grabbed all the free space on the bench, one metre between each of them.

We then climbed a bit further, rather more gently now, the Leader´s intention being to trace in reverse a track he thought he knew. Yves then, in that typical Neanderthal style of his, decided to show off his upper body strength by moving a large stone marker. 

This marker  for some reason had a sign on it saying “9 K” -just that. Not 9k to somewhere, or 9k from somewhere, just 9K. Obviously 9k needs a qualifier in order to provide information of some practical use but qualifier was there none. All this stone moving did nothing to improve the Leader´s sense of direction as will be seen.

Stone marker fixed to Yves´ satisfaction, we set smartly off again until the track in front of us became perilously steep. Terry wisely said “I wouldn´t go down there if I was you.” 

I wouldn´t go down there if I was you."

We decided that none of us were lemmings and so didn´t hurl ourselves over the precipice but backtracked to Yves´ stone marker, which was miraculously still standing. Hazel then performed what is known in the trade as the topping-off ceremony. And we were able to return to the correct intended route.

In due course we arrived at the bottom of that “fairly steep hill” that participants had been warned about. It did look steep. As an inducement, the Leader announced that the first six to reach the trig point at the top would receive a reward, and off we went. According to Google Earth, the angle of the slope up to this trig point called Agueda is 41.1 % which must be close to PaulaDev´s notorious Mont Blanc slope near Bravura.

No problem for Dina

We all made it eventually, one of us a lot more eventually than the others. Unfortunately, by now, the clouds had come down on us (or we had climbed up into them) and with them some rain. 

Umbrellas and ponchos were produced, as was the promised reward. This was a packet of pastel de natas conjured out of the Leader´s rucksack, pleasant enough to be sure but they would have been much nicer if the sun had been shining. Terry was disappointed not to be offered a cup of coffee with them. Who knows, that might be arranged - one day.

´Elf and Saiftey dissuaded Maria from making her customary ascent of the trig point - too wet.

The remainder of the walk was comparatively gentle as we followed the winding paths back towards Rest and Be Thankful where once again Terry, Jill and Hazel commandeered the bench space.

Yves found a single female wellington boot to be of interest but could not find an owner/occupant so as to satisfy his curiosity.

Here are the Map and the Statistics which show that the forecast distance of about 9 kms was about right but that the ascent of 400++ metres was a bit of an over-estimate.

If you prefer an animated version of the track, here is Dina´s version, complete with pictures, downloaded from HuaWei Health Service.

The Meal

The nearest café, Para e Fica, being now under new management, or rather under diminished management, the redoubtable Ana having decided to move on, we opted to return to Casa do Pasto Norinha although it was some distance away. There we were greeted by Paul as expected and, as we were taking our seats, also by the unannounced and unexpected Myriam who stood around for some minutes so that we could best admire her footwear, until a suitable chair could be found for her. 

Rod also arrived and also stood around for a bit. 

One does not get fast food at C. d. P. Norinha. But, possess oneself with patience is the motto to adopt, and when the food comes it is worth it. Somehow or other, Yves´ Gallic charms worked with Susanna again and he got served first, with tuna salad.

Rod also arrived and also stood around for a bit. I don´t know if they found a chair for him.

There was fish. I don´t know the names of all of them but you can recognise them, I am sure, from the pics. There was frango assado; and your reporter´s cheese and onion omelette was truly sumptuous. All told, excellent value.

There was frango assado; 

        and your reporter´s cheese and onion omelette was truly sumptuous.

                     All told, excellent value.

I started this blog with Ingrid, so I will finish with Ingrid.

No, that didn´t come out quite right. I didn´t mean “finish with her” in that way; what I meant is that I will close with a further reference to her. Some weeks ago, using that medium known as WhatsApp, I remarked that, now we were allowed to walk in groups of six again, that would give us the opportunity to put some literary references into the Blog. Ingrid didn´t know what I was talking about.

Well, quite some years ago, in the 1920s actually, an English writer called A. A Milne wrote stories and poems for his young son called Christopher Robin. And you were given a taster of all of this at the end of last week´s blog. The famous  Winnie the Pooh was Milne´s creation in those books, well before that bear was hijacked by the Walt Disney empire. The poems, in collections called “When We Were Very Young” and “Now We Are Six,” were somewhat twee, but nevertheless popular, with particularly recognisable rhythms and rhyme schemes. Here is one about the importance of placing one´s feet in the middle of paving stones when out walking.

LINES AND SQUARES

By A. A Milne

Whenever I walk in a London street,
I'm ever so careful to watch my feet;
And I keep in the squares,
And the masses of bears,
Who wait at the corners all ready to eat
The sillies who tread on the lines of the street
Go back to their lairs,
And I say to them, "Bears,
Just look how I'm walking in all the squares!"

And the little bears growl to each other, "He's mine,
As soon as he's silly and steps on a line."
And some of the bigger bears try to pretend
That they came round the corner to look for a friend;
And they try to pretend that nobody cares
Whether you walk on the lines or squares.
But only the sillies believe their talk;
It's ever so portant how you walk.
And it's ever so jolly to call out, "Bears,
Just watch me walking in all the squares!"

About seventy years later, a tribute to Milne came out called “Now We Are Sixty” in which some of Milne´s poems for his young son were re-written for the geriatrics. Here is one, a parody on the one you have just read:-

LONDON STREETS
By Christopher Matthew

Whenever I walk down a London Street
I take great care where I put my feet
And I watch for the gobs
And the doggies' big jobs
That lie there in piles, some sloppy, some neat,
Waiting for people to squidge with their feet
And I tiptope around
With my eyes on the ground
And wonder what horror I'm next going to meet.

And the harder I look, I give you my word
The more I seem drawn to the tiniest turd
And the dogs see me coming and say, 'Here's a sap,
Let's nip round the corner and have a good crap.
He's wearing those shoes that have crinkly soles,
With lots of small ridges and dozens of holes,
And if we distract him by having a piddle,
Nine times out of ten he'll tread slap in the middle.'
There's nothing more pleases a dog's simple wit
Than to hear the familiar cry of 'Oh sh*t !'

And that is your literary ration for this week. The moral is clear. Watch where you are walking and Walk Safely.

And a bit of closing music from Billie Holiday:-

 

Thanks John. Well that was a complete stand-alone blog, with all of the latest features that one would expect from a blog: a story; some excellent accompanying pictures, including food pictures, at which John is becoming something of a specialist (has he got a 'food pictures button on his camera?); some verse; and a music video to finish, though I am not sure what the message is, and to whom it is aimed.

I intended to leave it well alone and not tinker except for adding some verse, but John had pre-empted me..

So I was idly reading my email when I had a 'Road to Damascus' moment. There was no science included!  I had an email from a friend in Hong Kong who seems to spend a large portion of his time in researching and compiling the history of Hong Kong, and I won't bore you with the exact details of his work but he had come across an old feature for conveying water across a rugged landscape. Sometimes an aqueduct or a bridge will work, but other cases it is impossible or too expensive. The solution, which dates back at least to Roman days (but the Chinese probably had it first!) is to use siphon wells in conjunction with bridges to cross difficult terrain.

      Most of you may have had an aquarium and siphoned water out when cleaning it. Or even been adept at liberating petrol from someone else's car. It looks like this:

However the most useful form of siphon for crossing valleys is an 'Inverted Siphon'  This explains the two choices for crossing valleys and hills.

In HK in the 1870's, British engineers had built a long conduit in the hills above Pokfulam. Here is the 1896 description:

20. This conduit has a total length of 17,840 lineal feet and over the greater portion is constructed of brickwork and masonry, rectangular in section, being 1' 6" x 1' 6". Cast iron inverted syphons of an aggregate length of 2,206 lineal feet were used to cross five of the ravines, these consisted of two cast iron pipes 10 inches in diameter laid side by side. The discharging capacity of this conduit was 2,000,000 gallons a day until it reached syphon No. 4 where it was reduced to 1,700,000 gallons a day.

A very significant piece of engineering, and many parts are still in use as traces can be found in the tangled undergrowth.

This (on the Road to Damascus) had reminded me of the water crossing the river valley in Encherim just east of Silves, before the long bridge on the N124.

After the last house in Encherim, often we have crossed the bridge on the N124 at this point and turned left up the marked track.

A closer view:

You can see marked on left where the water dives down below the valley floor and re-emerges on the right.

Now I have never visited either marked point, but it may be an interesting exercise to do so, and to take some photos. There is usually a small siphon well before and after the pipe goes underground to catch sediment etc to prevent the siphon pipe becoming blocked.

This is the profile. You can see on the left it starts at 30m above sea level and finishes 28 m above sea level, the deepest point being 12m above sea level, which is apparently enough of a height difference to get it to work. The whole length underground is almost 140 m.

That is the science for today then. Perhaps a more local resident than I can nip over there and get me some pictures to complete this blog. Or even include it on a future walk, to add another purpose to our sauntering.

Finally. 

I couldn't resist this little cutting, as a man who is an example and acted with foresight and determination (though I suspect it is satire).

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