WAGS 22 12 2021 : Swinging in the Rain, or Kayaks and Tin Baths

 

What with holiday absences, persistent injuries, and imperative birthday party attendances, the WAGS turn-out this week was always going to be on the low side, whatever the weather. I thought that we might be six. But then, on the morning of the walk, a double disappointment – first Maria and then Ingrid cried off.

Thus deprived of two sources of sparkling, witty and informative conversation, the remaining four nevertheless put a bold face on it, took it on the chin, and sat down to contemplate what lay ahead.

The Starters: Hazel. Geraldine, Yves and JohnH

While making our way down to the canal, we saw the two Mira Rio owners in their horta loading absolutely massive cabbages into a wheel barrow - would they be for our lunch ?

At the canal crossing, somebody had installed an office chair on the elaborate wooden sidewalk, one wonders why? Somewhere to sit and contemplate the passing wild life perhaps?

Hazel discouraged anybody from sitting on it – the cushion was very wet – wisely so because, even worse than a Scotch Pie with a soggy bottom, is a soggy bottom of one´s own. Geraldine sat on it very briefly. ( Talking of Scotch Pies, as this blogger does from time to time, contain your excitement – there are only 27 days to go until the winner of the Scotch Pie World Championship 2022 is declared. But rest assured, I will keep you fully briefed.)

Not that there was much wild life in the canal. Someone in authority had turned the water off and all that could be seen was its muddy bottom. Not a snake to be seen, nor any phrogs either...well, none of the amphibious sort anyway.

At one stage, there were sounds of strenuous human activity emanating from  our right on the river, and there were some kayakers to be seen, paddling furiously away.

We did not wish to expend our energies quite so fast and paused when we wanted. To admire the view....

or to photograph nature.....

                  You have heard of SparrowFart. This is a SparrowBath, according to Yves.....

or to wonder what exactly it was that Archimedes discovered while sitting in his bath.

Archimedes' principle states that the upward buoyant force that is exerted on a body immersed in a fluid, whether fully or partially, is equal to the weight of the fluid that the body displaces. Archimedes' principle is a law of physics fundamental to fluid mechanics. It was formulated by Archimedes of Syracuse.

Apparently, he was trying to work out how to detect if something allegedly made of gold was in fact genuine or false. Archimedes reportedly exclaimed "Eureka" after he realized that how to detect whether or not a crown is made of impure gold is to balance the crown and some pure gold on a scale in the air and then lower the balanced scale into water. According to Archimedes' principle, if the density of the crown differs from the density of pure gold, the scale will get out of balance when under water.

Thoroughly interesting stuff, which serves very well to fill up a blog when there is not much to say.

From a hillside, and in a break in the rain, we had the usual good views of Silves. Yves recommended patience as he waited for the sun to break through the clouds but the clouds didn´t obey him and that perfect image remained elusive.

Maybe this is a better angle.

Then, half way through the walk, we stopped at Clube Nautico which provided us its usual warm welcome.

Then it was a relatively easy stroll back to the starting point. On the way, we saw some disgruntled looking cows.

What did you expect in this weather 

                                           You must be joking.

A final hill, much to Hazel´s displeasure,  and then home.

The Track and the Statistics

The good hostess at Mira Rio was in one of her good moods and we were soon ushered to a table for four. Unanimously, we went for chicken and chips.

Do I drink this through a straw ?

The food was so good that we scoffed it down before anyone could remember that we are meant to photograph it before eating. So here´s the evidence of the left-over bones to vouch for the eating.

On the way out, we resisted the temptation to buy one of their huge cabbages. And we forgot to take a photo of them but, take my word for it, they were truly ginormous.

And it didn´t rain too much.

May we all have a Happy Christmas and an Excellent New Year.

WAGS 15 12 2021: Rod´s Motorway and Magic Roundabout

 Lest anyone should be confused as to why there are two blogs for 15 12 2021, let me explain that it is all down to a typo or spelling mistake. The title of the first one reads "WADS" instead of "WAGS", and one of my co-authors took violent exception to this because he considered it was a sarcastic reference to what is now an unavoidable truth, which is that our Wednesday group is now more a Western Algarve Dining  Society than a set of  Geriatric Saunterers who happen to meet on Wednesdays. And so incensed was he that, with one fell swoop, he obliterated the whole of my original blog.

So now I´m faced with something of a dilemma. The original was composed late-ish on a Saturday afternoon while I had a rather nice bottle of red wine convenient to my elbow. Do I repeat that scenario early on this Sunday afternoon with another bottle, or do I try to do it unassisted, so to speak? Doing the blog a second time from memory does give me the chance of polishing up some of the better "bons mots" but another bottle of the red so early in the day might make me forget what those would-be witticisms were in the first place. Decisions, decisions.

Anyway, here goes. Let me set the scene again.

It was the 15th of December 2021, 10 am, outside Snack Bar Casinhas.

Why am I waiting? Don´t they know yet that there is always a starting photo?

Eventually...

The Starters: Janet, Yves, Our Leader for the Day Hazel, Rod, Maria, and JohnH

It was just as well that our Leader knew the intended route like the back of her hand because, throughout the walk, she had other more important things on her mind, i.e.pot plants and their distribution. And off we went.

A little way along the track, Yves gave a masterly demonstration of his multi-tasking abilities, those of simultaneously walking, talking and banana eating.

There was a modest amount of scrumping

After a 3 or 4 kms of fairly gentle walking we paused to rest at the Alternative Casa Esperança. 

There was some debate about whether or not it had had a face lift since we last passed that way; some said "yes", some said "no."

The "Ayes " have it, as this archive photo from April 2020 proves.

And while we were resting on his property, the owner himself happened to come along. He was a tall, fairly affable Dutchman who told us that he came out to Portugal a few weeks at a time just for the sunshine. He and Rod exchanged geographical memories of northern Holland before we moved on over the hill and then came down to what had, until only a few week´s previously, been an ordinary sort of dirt track. It has now been transformed into a fully tarmacked highway complete with masses of pristine white lines which now provides the Frew Residence with unrivalled ease of access to the downtown hotspots of Franqueira and Vale de Vila. It also boasts remarkable confections of  white concrete culverts which would not appear out of place in the Icing Sugar class in The Great British Bake Off.

Chef says" And this is one I made earlier"

It remains to be seen if we get enough rain to justify their creation. And it was a little further on that we came to the Magic Roundabout. What had once been this.....

.........an innocuous side junction outside Bar Domingos ...

         was now this...

an eye-catching green roundabout.

A traffic installation which would seem to raise more questions in a motorist´s mind than it answers. If, for example, one is coming in from the left going downhill into Silves, does one obey the arrow and go to the right round the roundabout, or does one simply go straight on? Will it bring more trade to Bar Domingos? The rumour has it that what was intended was a simple triangular road divider, but the plans got muddled up and we ended up with a roundabout really meant for somewhere else.

At least the green paint is attractive to some...

And the plethora of road signs provide lots of local information that you didn´t know you needed.

One wonders if Silves Camera paid for the whole €196 k. plus IVA, or did the EU stump up?

Moving on, we managed to find a still untouched dirt track on the way back to base. Here there was another minor outbreak of scrumping

The local wildlife proved quite friendly.

It was at this closing stage of the walk that our Leader abandoned us to find our own way back while she went off to the Principal Casa Esperança to assemble the all-important pot plants.

Well, we did make it back without her guidance, only to find that Snack Bar Casinhas was shut, an all-too-frequent occurrence these days. However, a timely phone call by Maria secured us a table reservation at nearby Café Norinha, so little time was lost before we were sitting down to food and drink. 

The Track and Statistics

.

Of the 6 walkers, Janet and Yves went their separate ways without lunch, while the remaining 4 were augmented  by the arrival of Paul, Myriam, Chris, Antje and Geraldine, i.e non-walkers outnumbered walkers. The choice of  food was  adequately varied.

Rod got his tosta

Bacalhau a bras (needed to be warmed up)

Carapau

Frango grelhado

Envious eyes were cast at Chris´s omelette and chips

Myriam approved of the mousse chocolate

                                        There was an adequate sufficiency of red wine

                                                 and Geraldine brought in those essential pot plants

                     How else to close other than with the Theme Song to The Magic Roundabout