WAGS 26. 05. 2021; Cafficionados Part 2

Those of you who have just struggled through Paul´s mammoth essay on the subject of coffee making may feel in the need of a coffee break themselves. So just sit down and relax by reading this piece about last week´s walk which, in order not to diminish (or get swamped by) Paul´s opus, we have decided to publish as a Part 2.

Now, at the end of the stroll last week, Rod insisted that I make a solemn promise not to delete anything at all from his forthcoming report.

“Add to it what you will, but no deletions” he admonished.

Regrettably, I am unable to abide by that undertaking, for the simple reason that nothing from which anything can be deleted has so far reached me. Taking nothing from nothing is an arithmetical dead end.

Be that as it may, the outing last week, brief although it was, reminded me of that classic film “The Hill”, in which Sean Connery and sundry other British stars, playing the parts of delinquent soldiers incarcerated in a corrective prison camp, were tortured by a couple of sadistic Military Police prison guards, played by Ian Bannen and Harry Andrews, by being made to march up and and down a steep artificial hill all long in the North African desert sun.

Anyway, here are some photos from last week; any report that might emerge later could be added later.

No Way Through

The Rescuer and the Rescued

 

I got lost because I thought you had got lost

Ingrid wanted a picture of this chimney

Terry enthusiastically volunteers to lead the next walk

And here now is Rod´s report in full - nothing deleted, nothing added. Use your imagination with where the pictures go.

Herewith!!   Paul, was next Wed walk on Email as well as Whatsapp...i didn't see it and some still need it!

    We hadn't been around these parts for 4 years so when I suggested gathering there for a walk we had done then, Paul and Myriam nipped round to check it  out. Well actually only to check out the menu of the Cafe Goncalves  as that was of much more importance to Paul these days. Curiosity was satisfied and all was set up. So John &  Hazel, Terry & Jill, Maria, Ingrid, Myriam, Yves, Tony and his son Mark, and me, duly appeared at the appointed cafe in good time on a warm morning.

   Then occurred one of those occasions when some would emphasise the need for a recce.....well maybe, but a lesson unlikely to be learned by this leader (along with quite few  others!) in his mature years.

    Well the path he had intended to take was clearly one the landowner thought otherwise....it was blocked by a metal gate and heavily overgrown. We reversed our steps and took another track heading up to the ridge. This proved promising but then petered out, becoming steeper and overgrown. Not prepared to admit defeat and quite like the old days, we battled on and finally reached top. From there the intended path back along the ridge seemed to have become totally overgrown so we were left with the alternative of taking the more direct route back down we had previously used or another heading down a parallel valley. We chose the latter.  This descended into what was obviously a fairly private farmstead. We approached a wider track by one of the small dams just as the owner rounded the bend on his tractor.  Quickly waved him down lest he kicked us out but we found him an extremely affable German of advancing years who had devoted the last 30 years of his life creating his paradise.   Well he had done pretty good job of that, thorough clearing an replanting trees and shrubs, creation of a lake in front of the house and totally self sufficient with swing photovoltaic panels etc. It then transpired that Ingrid had known his wife some time back so she disappeared for a chat. We eventually wandered on down his long driveway, which became rather more suburban as we approached the road, but no, not quite finished yet, as Yves called up on his mobile to announce, unusually, that he had somehow misplaced himself in the German chaps estate....difficult to do but obviously possible. Once more all together after another delay we were left with no real alternative but to head back to the cafe.

    Although some exercise had been achieved during the initial ascent this proved one of the shorter WAGS walks, but somehow we seemed to have stretched the barely 4 k walk into 2 !/4 hrs.  Even if Paul was unable to aspire to his normal 3 course lunch it proved more than adequate for those with lesser appetites!