APAPS 19.8: Pushing Off Promptly From Pescadores

The evening before, there had been an email rumble of discontent about our still having a 7 a.m. start. But when I arrived at Retiro dos Pescadores just as the sun rose, I was pleasantly surprised to find 4 people were there before me and there was no rebellion. 

Coffee in hand, Paul was seen scanning the horizon for the first signs of Lo the Hunter.

All there was by way of protest was some passing remark about a certain Caecus seeing no reason to get out of bed just because the sun was up, but that was all. Later on I received this picture on my phone.

I didn´t really kow what to make of that but at the back of my mind was the thought that in Latin “Caecus” means “blind.” A little bit of research has since revealed that there had been a Roman patrician by the name of Appias Claudius Caecus “The Blind” (340 – 273 BC) who had been responsible for some very large construction projects in Rome - buildings and roads - and he was too proud to appear before the Senate when summoned to explain some of the expenditure so he pretended to be blind. And, if you know your  Appian Way, he´s the very man.
Any way, there we were all there in good time time ready for a very relaxed Starter photograph at the appointed hour.

The Starters: (Front row) Paul , John H. TerryA with Becky. (Second Row) Myriam, Jill, Ingrid, and Dina.
Note the laying on of hands in the back row.

The plan for the day was to repeat, in reverse and in full, the 1st of August walk (APAPS 19.5) which we had had to curtail for various reasons. That day, we had done a minimal 5.65 kms; this one today was going to be a little bit longer than that . 
The first stretch was comparatively easy. Trees were beginning to recover from last year´s fires.

Then came the hills.

And so it was, as I struggled up a particularly unforgiving hill, that my thoughts turned to a recent article in The Daily Telegraph about a new scientific breakthrough headlined:-

“Science strides forward with invention of ‘robo-shorts’.  Robotic clothing could help the frail to walk again, while also giving soldiers a leg up on the battlefield.”    

In brief, this article was about the development of what they call an “ecosuit” which apparently is a pair of shorts  developed by the US military to help soldiers patrol for lengthy periods in “rugged and uphill terrain while wearing bulky equipment”.  The device works through a series of electronically activated pulleys and thigh wraps attached to a belt that helps lift the legs at the hip joint, making each step slightly easier. And, if it can help soldiers, what about us Walkers?
Let´s read on.
 “In treadmill tests, the shorts reduced effort in walking by 9.3 per cent and in running by 4 per cent – equivalent to a person walking or running with up to 17lb less weight. Sometimes soldiers on patrol must carry up to 100lb in equipment. And as the shorts can work on varying gradients, they could also be harnessed by climbers to help them uphill, or to help the elderly climb the stairs at home….. Experts believe that the shorts will open the door to implants that can activate muscles without the need for an external exosuit.”

Now I am not or one minute suggesting that any of the APAPS, or indeed any of the WAGS, are actually frail or do need of help in getting a leg up, over or whatever. Nor am I advocating that we should even contemplate running (Heaven forfend!) but there are surely possibilities for us.Wouldn´t it be nice to get up hill with 9 per cent less effort? We might even increase our average moving speeds from 4.2 kph to 4.8 kph and still find it enjoyable.

We do rely on one of our number in particular to keep us abreast of all the latest trends in walking gear, and so it´s a bit surprising that he hasn´t already told us that he is investigating this scientific breakthrough. Maybe, after his forthcoming visit to the U S of A, he will be able to give us more detail. Pricing for apiece of kit so beneficial will surely not be an issue, but there are other considerations. Some of us, whether out of modesty or a wish to protect our delicate skins,  do not habitually wear shorts; will there be a hard- wearing but fashionable long-trouser version? And the strapping on of all those “electronically activated pulleys and thigh wraps” could threaten delays to starting times. Electronics!  - how heavy will the batteries be and will they last a whole two hours?  One wouldn´t want to be faced with a cataclysmic loss of power just when taking on the final hill before breakfast. We shall have to await further input.

Meanwhile we carried on climbing. As we did so, the Hunter did finally manage to catch the Sultan´s Turret in a Noose of Light, or as my French translation of the Rubaiyat has it:-
“Le soleil a dressé l´échelle du matin.
“Le roi du jour a mis dans sa coupe du vin.”

i.e. the sun caught the upper hillsides with its light.

The rest of the walk was fairly straight forward. All those initial ascents were naturally rewarded with substantial long downhills as we neared home. One thing that puzzled us a bit as we walked was the recent crop of “Passagem Proibida” notices on quite  a number of the tracks. 

One wonders who they are meant for and what they intend. However, as none of the notices quoted any law or decree, and as we are all law-abiding citizens, we paid them no heed.

What had been noticeable all morning that Dina and Myriam were always lagging behind, deep in conversation. One of my confidential sources told me that they were having “uma conversa de treta.” Sounds quite elegant. In English English, that might translated as “prattling away:”  in American English, the far cruder “talking bulls**t.”  However you take it, they kept falling behind and did slow the group down somewhat - see Statistics later.

Then, there were further delays. Down on the valley floor, we came across an ugly sight – a whole pile of building rubbish just dumped by the track side. 

Absolute eyesore. Difficult to conceive of why anybody would drive two or three kms into the woods just to dump stuff like that. 

                                                 The Committee Ladies

The ladies formed a committee on the spot and searched the pile for incriminating evidence of the perpetrator. As a result, a decision was taken to refer the matter to the authorities.
See Postscript One

Nearing base camp, we passed the house with the old lady who had been photographed by Yves last year. 

Myriam and Dina stopped to talk to her and were invited inside. They must have been there for twenty minutes because some of us were on our second beer and already sitting down to breakfast before they finally made it to Pescadores. For what they were talking about,......
 See Postscript Two.

The Pescadores breakfast was well up to standard, with lots of toast and absolutely oodles of bacon, plus grapes and large figs courtesy Senor Bento.

The Track

The Statistics
Total distance: 9.23kms. Total Time: 2 hrs 49 mins.
Moving time: 2 hrs 14 mins. So 35 mins just standing around.
Moving Average: 4.00 kph, well below our usual 4.2 kph.
Ascent: per Leader´s SatMap: 432 metres. (Per Viewranger: 292 metres.  per Garmin: 284 metres )
Unbroken eggs: 14.

Postscript One
Good morning, John,
I am forwarding Dina's to letter to the Câmara de Silves. She sent it on Wednesday afternoon. Very efficient!
Photos to follow as rejected by your mailbox because of size
    Myriam
Sent from Mailbird
------ Forwarded Message --------
From: Dina Peres <anid43@gmail.com>
Date: 21/08/2019 18:24:43
Subject: LIXO abandonado em caminhos pedestres no concelho de Silves
To: gabinete.presidente@cm-silves.pt
Cc: Myriam (Gmail) <myriam.lo@gmail.com>, Ingrid Bonte <ingridmbonte@gmail.com>, Almargem <almargem@mail.telepac.pt>
Hoje, numa caminhada com um grupo de estrangeiros pela zona Nordeste de Silves, relativamente perto do café Retiro dos Pescadores, Pedreira, exactamente no ponto de coordenadas N 37 graus 13' 25'', W 8 graus 24' 29'' (N 37graus 13,392', W  8graus 24,283'), ficámos bastante preocupados e desiludidos com o lixo de obras, essencialmente ripas velhas de madeira, que tinha sido abandonado.
Com vista a denunciar esta situação anexamos fotos comprovativas, numa tentativa de melhorar o AMBIENTE.
Também tivemos oportunidade de encontrar em vários caminhos que percorremos a Sinalética que pode ser identificada em algumas das fotos anexadas. Pretendemos confirmar sobre a sua legalidade.
Com os melhores cumprimentos
Postscript Two
John,
As requested, here is a very brief account. Dina has already contacted the Centro da Saúde. She will call the social services tomorrow. She has started the ball rolling.
"Whenever we walked past the house (the name?) with the glorious bougainvillea on the way back to Retiro dos Pescadores, we stopped to chat with the 91-year-old Dona Maria Reis at the gate. Last Wednesday, she called us from the front door and asked us to get through the garden. She was wobbly in her gait and complained of a pain on her hip and said there was a growth. After some more chatting, we understood that she is the sole carer of her handicapped son who spends most the time in bed. She is worried about her pain and repeated that she needed help. The social welfare, Santa Casa de Misericórdia delivers food to her daily, but does nothing else. Dina took note of her name and address and offered to contact the social services for info. Then we, as private individuals, will see what we can do. 
This is, sadly, not an uncommon case of old parents looking after the younger generation with very limited resources!!"
Myriam.


Good work , Dina.

We close with a quotation from our old friend Appias Claudius Caecus who was apparently a bit of a writer as well as being a road builder.

“Quisque faber suae fortunae.”
(Every man is the architect of his own fortune.)