Apologies for the late submission of this week´s blog, but I have been very much taken up with the nail-biting conclusion to the second Test match between England and New Zealand.
Prior to the walk, the WAGS were privileged to receive greetings from the Whittles, by this time not in Óbidos but somewhere up in the Douro. They were about to eat and drink alfresco when this photo was taken.
Glasses and plates are empty in the pic, but I believe that they were filled up later. I am not sure what model of bicycle it was that they had hired (on the right of the pic). A bicycle made for two perhaps.
Your two regular bloggers have for a long time been asking for contributions from other walkers, so it is “with great satisfaction” that this week we can publish a report sent in by Yves. We have tried to insert those of his photos which we think he was referring to in the correct sequence.
Bucolic!
Green in places, too!
Bootiful, Terry was heard to mumble...
John was justifiably proud of his leadership skills, as can be clearly seen.
And then controversy set in: having located a bench, the team argued about its usable width.
John won the argument, largely because his position was 9 points of the law, as can be clearly seen!
Later, a colder bench in the shade played havoc with best endeavours and demands to be excused, as can be clearly seen! (Not true – see explanation later)
All told, a most pleasant toddle in glorious sunshine: thank you John!
And thanks to you too, Yves; let´s have more such ad hoc pieces. Now for a more prosaic summary of events.
Getting ready for the Starter Photo involved the usual semi-chaos, with Myriam in some sort of state of excitement and Dona Dina preoccupied with setting up her tracking app.
The group was more composed for the second attempt.
We followed the usual route from Mira Rio along the canal to the look-out spot, where Rod decided to go walk-about on the mudflats, the tide being out. He was spotted far below, when some wag called out to him “This is not then time to be checking your emails.”
There was time for Yves to take one of his customary artistic nature shots.
Further along the canal track, we came across signs of development; fencing, earth-moving and construction. Our in-house environmentalist informed us that this is a campismo under development.
We also noticed that certain stretches of the canal retaining wall were being reinforced with metal cross-bars. None of our photographers were alert enough to record this.
Shortly after this, we found a newly cleared opening up to the left which enabled us to leave the canal and climb up what had previously been a totally impenetrable hillside. Why this ground clearing is taking place is not known.
A new or an old re-opened track – difficult to be sure which - soon brought us to familiar routes over the hill and thence down to Clube Nautico where of course we had been hopeful of having a WAGS lunch that very day, only to have found out that the Clube is irrevocably closed on Wednesdays. Just as we arrived, the owners Ivan and Ana were just leaving, having obviously been cleaning the place up after the previous evening´s festivities – hence the fresh water on tables and benches, whatever Yves may have insinuated earlier. Ivan graciously gave us permission to sit in the shaded bar.
The Leader did offer the Ladies the option of doing another hill but the popular vote was against the idea and so we returned to base camp.
Back at Mira Rio, Hazel was presented with some assorted eggs, being the prize for the latest of Myriam´s egg identification quizzes. Whether Hazel was actually one of the winners is not for me to say - Lindsey may wish to comment !
We managed to get some food, despite the usually courteous hostess being in a somewhat crabby mood. There was a chicken prato de dia which I am told contained an acceptable amount of meat among the bones.
Ah well. There is always the next time when she might be better tempered.
The Usual Statistical Record
And if you prefer your statistics to be a bit more exciting, here is Dina´s expertly done animated Huawei Health version:-
And in conclusion, should you think that we have been doing too many hills recently, here are some pictures from a recent Daily Telegraph feature of a rather crowded Mount Everest which tell us what a hill really is.
Thanks John - and Yves for his welcome contribution. John broke the news about the blog being 'ready' to me last night, with a phone call on my secret phone number, which I thought even Google and Huawei didn't have, and asked me to give it some 'levity'. I happened to be watching England take on Croatia in the Euro Cup, and I probably watch " more in hope than expectation". So far so good, but I am pessimistic about the game against thr Czech Republic! It would be nice to have one great day to be quoted for the next 50 odd years in which England actually won a football competition. We cannot count any of the Premier League team triumphs in Europe, as quite often there are less players born and bred in the UK in a Premier League Team than in the European opposition.
John's opening remark re a 'nail biting' cricket test against NZ must have been an example of poetic hyperbole, because frankly, we never looked like winning and so it ended on the 4th day in humiliation as it often does. Don't count me as a Prophet of Doom as I have been right too many times since 1966. The way today's footballers crumple into agonised heaps all over the pitch, when another player comments adversely on their nail polish, is getting beyond mind-boggling. Then when you see a Rugby player leap to his feet and contest the ball after being smashed to the ground by a 20 stone Polynesian, makes you wonder whether they are even the same species. I must allow that we have had a few good moments in the cricket, but I am sorry Rudyard, I cannot meet with Triumph and Disaster and treat those Two Imposters just the same.
Anyway this is past midday and I have been distracted with the arrival from China of my latest gadge. You may remember, I was banging on about coffee siphons a couple of weeks ago, and having become fascinated by the myriad ways in which a coffee bean can be transformed into an uplifting and addictive drink, I looked online for such brewers to discover that the usual suspects online were charging upwards of €300 for a fairly basic version. I decided that as I wasn't sure that the outcome would be something I would prefer to drink than my usual Nespresso capsules, I switched the search to the Orient and lo and behold they would supply me with what appeared to be a similar machine for €31 including postage I plunged into my investment, placed the order on May 25th, and it arrived this morning, beautifully packed and delivered to my door by CTT. I can't test it yet as I have no burning alcohol for the heater, nor even a good coffee bean to grind. Full report idc.
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