APAPS 23.7: How Green Was My Valley, or New Shoots

 

A bit of a mixed bag, this blog. Two bits of music, inspired by the Paul & Myriam Combo; the usual selection of great photos by our increasing numbers of contributors (which makes the selection of which ones to include increasingly difficult); some pictorial recollections from the archive; and, of course Yves´ verbal masterpiece, allegedly describing the morning´s outing but sprinkled with so many allusions that it sometimes makes one wonder. If you don´t get the reference, don´t ask me: ask him.

Anyway, we had arranged to meet at Snack Bar Pára e Fica ("Pára e Fica" meaning "Stop and Stay") for a 07.00 hrs start. On the way there, Memsahib (i.e.Hazel) ordered her driver James to stop so that she could take a snapshot of the dawn. James did what he was told to do, and this was the result.

Not bad. Some times, "It´s Nice to Get Up in the Morning", as Paul reminds us by choosing this wee ditty:-

Over now to Yves to unfold the narrative.
  

APAPS Adventures Chapter 54(?) and verse later:

The day dawned colourful and pleasantly breezy: excellent omens for some gentle leg-stretching in the hills behind Silves.

In time-honoured fashion, most Walkers were very punctual and the first none-too-arduous climb was attempted with fresh legs and smiling faces.

Much to the chagrin of the snappers, the slowly rising sun was casting large amounts of glare into the lenses of phones and cameras alike: many a shot taken with high expectations had to be discarded; we will never know what gems we missed; never mind, easy come, easier go!

Palm of the hand to try to shield the lens

Luckily, I had this one done earlier that week; we will return to that building on the left

The Leader had thoughtfully arranged his planned route to include a cluster of track-side bee-hives: the newcomers to the group need to be educated in the thrill of holding their breath and becoming invisible as they sidle past the buzzy critters.

Yves´ caption to this one reads "No time to adjust exposure, shoot and scoot"

It may have been a bit too early for the bees to come out and play, or too cool? Only one made contact with the group and tried to find shelter in the Leader’s shirt pocket. A true Scot never lets anyone, anyone ye hear noo? NEAR or IN his pockets: the bee was duly sent away. In fairness, while we waited for the late arrival to the Geriatrics’ Ball, Mrs. Leader had persuaded him to let her find something or other in those dark depths; both were smiling about it, ‘nuff said…(Onywy there wisn´a even a bawbee in ma pokey) 

At this time of year, the hills are verdant and vibrant; the colours shifting seamlessly from ochre grounds to many shades of green and the ever-deepening blue of the sky away from the golden glow of the sun are a joy to behold. We are so fortunate to enjoy that spectacle, and for free, too!
Aye, enough about Scottish husbandry skills! We are privileged…

First summit reached, 125 metres

From Yves´ own archive

An attempt at re-making the iconic image –it says here- of Maria against the strong wind with Tanya as the willing victim generated a chorus of ‘Stay where you are and pretend to take the photo again!’; the paparazzi had woken up! Snapper and Model felt like Meg and Mug surrounded by so many clicking shutters… Fame at last? For the right reasons, too?

Sam´s caption: "John checking which way to go next."

That way !

(At this point Yves´ narrative fast-forwards to the end of the walk -he was very busy taking pictures so we will just fill in with them and others´ shots, and we will delve into the archive too. We´ll catch up with him later on)

A lovely breezy morning for a ridge walk

We looked briefly up at a very steep slope, decided that it was far too steep, and turned down into the Aguas Balas valley, Aguas Belas meaning "beautiful waters. It was probably hard for some of the newer walkers to believe what we were telling them of when the valley was green and when there were flowing waters, before the droughts and before the heavy logging that had turned the place into a dust bowl

Now, New Shoots

But even so, the river bed today

and the logging in June 2021

but when it rained.......

In March 2018 when Maria used lixo bags when wading across the river...kept the feet dry

and when Hazel famously went swimming (2018.03.21)

Then we returned past that ruined building we had seen from the top of the first hill. 

Access to the building is now barred by a sign indicating that re-building works are about to commence.

Rural property prices boom?

Daniela contemplates putting a counter-offer for the property

We then had a lengthy pause during which the following photo-sequence took place.

First, Yves photographed Maria and Tanja..

and JohnH photographed Yves photographing Maria and Tanja...

and Samantha photographed JohnH photographing Yves photographing Maria and Tanja

Time now to speedily rejoin Yves´ narrative

‘Une fois n’est pas coutume’ as they say across the Channel [La Manche for some, Chanel for the discerning French]: the Leader’s customary exactitude in his planning went slightly wrong: did the following Jetstream make the group move faster? (No, Myriam had developed a severe and persistent ear problem and we had to get back soonest.) Be that as it may and despite welcome short stops where shade could be found, we reached the Café a few minutes ahead of schedule: a mild flap ensued because of lack of bar staff but coffees for many were soon organised, thanks to Maria taking control of the situation.

The Track and the Statistics (including metres of ascent)

A couple of ‘lurkers’ then joined the group for breakfast; their leader hiding his identity under a Silly hat, pretending to be a Walker while his minder, all 7’12” of him smiled benevolently as he surveyed the Little People way below. 

Yves welcomes the "lurkers"

The party was complete when ‘Him Sahib’ parked his gleaming French-made mini SUV to partake of mineral water and a finishing "Starter" Picture was taken..

From the left: JohnH, Rod, Janet, Samantha, Hazel, Yves, Maria, Myriam, Fabrizio, Daniela, Andy, Tanja and Paul.

Passing Trade

"How come Paul got served before me ?"

The usual heaps of food were produced by the hostess: some diet-respecting Walkers could not quite cope with their plateful of piggy slices and someone volunteered to help: quel courage! A small Froggy-bag helped ensure that the hostess’s feelings were not hurt by left-uneaten good food… He will not need feeding until Sunday, at least.

Até proxima, folks! Be good!

Janet´s abstemious plate of tomatoes and toast

The normal plateful

Até proxima, folks! Be good!

Thanks to Hazel, Samantha , Tanja and Yves for the pics.

And, before we close, an abject apology to those totally innocent followers of the APAPS 2023 Chat who were unfortunately subjected last Saturday evening to a stream of aggravating messages about an inconsequential game of rugby in darkest France  posted to the Chat in total disregard of WhatsApp protocol by a demented trio of an Englishman, a Frenchman and a Scotsman. If it hadn´t been for Hazel protesting that her rest was being disturbed by non-stop pinging of these messages on her phone, it might have being going on still. Any repetition and the Administrator might have to penalise the trio. Red card, or kick ´em  into touch?

APAPS 2023 is for APAPS matters only. However, for those interested, there are other chats available: WAGS Sports Extra for sports fans -  not just Rugby but Ladies Beach Volleyball for example and other sports have featured: W.A Gourmet Sub-group for foodies who like to show off their creations: WAGSAL -The Active List for participants in WAGS walks; and WAGS 2017 - 23 for general exchanges. The Administrator of all  four of those Chats is Paul,  so he´s the one to get in touch with.  

And, as for Myriam´s persistent ear problem; it was or maybe still is an Ear Worm, In her case, "Gaudeamus Igitur" to be precise. An ancient tune.

Here is a sedate version.