APAPS 23.13: Season´s Grand Finale

 I chose this week´s overture "Don´t Fence Me In" because both at the start of this walk and at its close we had no choice but to walk along tracks with fences on both sides preventing entry into recently established avocado plantations, whereas both Hazel and I can remember the good old days when we  were not fenced in. After the music, then straight into Yves´ characteristic blog.

APAPS GRAND FINALE – September 27, 2023.

The day dawned with little enthusiasm at first but that soon changed as His majesty the Sun peeped over the horizon into a pure azure sky, unspoilt by not a ‘wisp o’ clood’ or owt else not welcome here…

Indeed, as this Blogger/Snapper was busy trying not wake Casa Esperança and its occupants from their slumber a cheery cry came from the semi-darkness of the climbing vines: ‘Over here, it’s a much better view!’ Too late, the picture was locked in the Instamatic and the warming rays were gently punching through the dregs of the night’s gloom: a masterful performance from the Sun King, worthy of inclusion to the ‘Cirque du Soleil’ programme.

Out on the track, a most discreet screech of brakes announced the arrival of more merry-makers: they had ever-so-nearly overshot the entrance to the Estate! This went unnoticed by the worker-bees swarming in the kitchen, preparing coffee (over two litres of the dark stuff disappeared!) and more tea than is brewed in China. The excited babble was rudely interrupted by a piercing whistle and a mildly stentorian voice announced ’TEN minutes!’ The babble resumed with renewed vigour… By then, it was pretty much a case of ‘all hands to the pumps!’ slicing tomatoes and mushrooms, counting the beans lest we’d been sold short and collecting the discarded stones from the cherry-tomatoes. The Blogger still wonders whether these stones are ammunition for catapults and slings: alien big cats have a habit of straying and spraying into Young Figaro’s territory…

Those not watching the clocks were surprised again by a second blast on the whistle ‘FIVE minutes!’ was the cry that time; stunning theatre routine!

Some old hand who had been on ships before was heard to mutter that ‘breakfast had been replaced by THREE blasts on the whistle and that did concentrate minds on time-keeping… The naysaying ‘influencer’ and his ‘influencees’ were relieved that there was no third blast when the clock struck at the appropriate time, only an instruction not to leave the Leader too far behind!

And so the Troop set off with joy in their hearts, a hop and a skip in their step and nary a slip-up. It all felt too good to be true: it was! We hardly travelled a furlong that we stopped and gathered around a deceased Silves Python lying in the track. 

There was indeed a great deal of conjecture how the unfortunate critter met its fate but some observant soul observed some strange hieroglyphics super-imposed on the critter’s natural markings. A quick ‘shoofty’ in Google revealed that hieroglyphics read ‘MICHELIN’ across some flatter and wider areas of the poor thing. “C’était la vie…” ssaid Hissing Ssid with hiss lasst gassp…

(It was possibly a Portuguese Horseshoe Whip Snake about which Wikipaedia inter alia says:-

Threats it faces include being run over by traffic, poisoned by agricultural chemicals and being captured for use by local snake charmers.

Snake Charmers !!! )

Sometimes, a helping hand is needed when shooting directly into the sun

Be that as it may, the Walkers were sauntering ahead at quite a clip, much to the dismay of the Leader struggling at the back, then at the front, then at the back again depending on the whims of the many Walkeresses and their curiosity in all things edible or potentially edible.

Thus, we collected some avocado pears from the last windfall; it says here, Ociffer! 

And some succulent plants sprouting aerial roots; and some nuts from a walnut tree, unripe but tasty, apparently; one Walker was given some and enjoined to break them but his defence was that a man does not break his nuts and HIS they were, too! The Walkeresses lost interest and walked on.

Enough about the Blogger! We were approaching a couple of houses in the middle of a large space when someone notices some tall reeds; no water, no ducks, no frogs or Frogs, just reeds by the side of the road: the Troop decided that this was an excellent picture opportunity! Ok, said the resigned Snapper and gender-based parties were organised for the photos; ‘them’, the girlies and ‘us’, the non-girlies Lo! 

The picture of the girlies was boxed without much difficulty, barring having them all to look vaguely in the direction of the camera; but when it came to the non-girlies, things went belly-up! Another girlie from another tribe decided to join in the fun and parked her car betwixt the non-girlies and the girlie holding the Snapper’s equipment! The resultant pictures speak for themselves…

(If I can just interrupt momentarily, Yves´ specific instructions accompanying the next three pictures were as follows:-

Should you decide to enclose the pics of the chaps standing by the reeds, please put them in a sequence: car almost full-frame >> chaps heads above the roof of the car >> chaps in their grandeur… You may wish to mention that the photographer is a very small lady who had to jump up and down to secure the middle picture and did so with remarkable success?

I hope that I have met his requirements.)

Talking pictures? Whatever next? Devices to speak into and make contact with other folks possessing similar devices? Sending sounds (phonics) over distances (tele)? The Blogger’s mind boggles at the possibilities!

To make her point unforgettable the driving girlie (a friend of Maria´s who when we have met previously  also appeared to having problems driving her car) went about 50 metres down the track, turned back and repeated the stunt! The non-girlies were scratching their chinny-chin-chins wondering what had been said or done to incur such vengeful retribution; but then, that’s girlies for you!

Soon after this interlude, there came a parting of the ways because our Chef de Cuisine and her Executive Sous-Chef had perforce to head manfully back to Casa Esperança to make sure that the Masses, and the Walkers, would not go hungry!

The many tracks so well known by the Leader eventually took us to a junction where an old friend was still waiting after a number of years; the simplest of cairns gazing benevolently across tracks and meadows, a house in the distance, under a tree to shade from the fierce Algarvian sun… Perfect!

Yves´ personal cairn, untouched for 5 years now

An old ruin with possibilities ?

We soon reached the Grand Airbnb establishment; that sporting no fewer than 16 bath-rooms eventually: perhaps the builder/owner had better roll-up his sleeves, at the age of 78 he may be overtaken by events beyond his control and leave the unfinished project to his descendants? 

Senhor Joaquim Candelas Manuel

He seemed very happy to meet his long-held friends: a long pause was called for anyway while Myriam entered into negotiations with him.

Offer

Counter-offer

Price accepted. (I hope Myriam knows what she is doing)

More about Senhor Joaquim can be found at this WAGS blog from earlier this year.

https://wags2022.blogspot.com/2023/05/wags-2023-05-08 relatively -speaking-or.html

Few Walkers noticed the presence of a number of bees and some wasps, yet we were standing only a couple of metres away from an open hive and the honey-combs were propped against an unfinished low wall, to dry out? Who knows? The buzzers were not telling!

Then some cross- country.  We marched on past barking dogs, past orange groves now looking suspiciously like avocado trees,

 through some scrubland where some regretted not listening to old hands’ advice and Always (!) wear long trews when walking behind the Leader, often ahead of him, too…

Climbing gently towards the next junction, the Troop came across another grove or twenty of avocado trees: it was soon noticed, and photographed that there were tomato plants bearing fruit right by the side of the track! 

and melons

This caused great excitement but the Leader was having none of it; time and breakfast wait for no-one, onwards! In the usual cacophony, his instruction went unheard by the Blogger and a Walkeress too busy admiring some gnarled peppers. A small tractor tractoring a small trailer put-putted its way towards the hapless pair; the driver turned the engine off, dismounted the small beast and engaged in very friendly banter: why! He even allowed the Snapper to box a memory of him holding up his pride and joy! 

That was not sufficient! He insisted that we took away with us some of his finest produce! The Snapper has just enjoyed some for his supper and splendid they were!

And then homewards. There was a small brown flash across our track when Hissing Ssid’ss (r.i.p.) youngesst sson ran to the shelter of some rubble and soon after  Casa Esperança opened its drive, doors and delights to the hot, dusty and ravenous Troop…

The ensuing feast was truly magnificent: someone might even recall it all in print?

The most splendid end to the APPAS adventures for this summer!

See you soon again? Be good!

The Track and various Statistics

Dennis´s Stats

If it looks as if Dennis covered 7.74 km compared to the rest of us who did 6.7 k, it is probably because Dennis´s Stride Setting is greater than what he actually took going up tracks and across country.

The Breakfast

A highly disciplined affair and delicious, to boot. Disciplined because Hazel had issued clear instructions to her many helpers and they all did just what they were told. in fact everybody was so disciplined that when we took the first group photo which was no good,

and they were asked to re-position , they did so within seconds

Chris, Fabrizio, Ingrid, JohnH, Samantha, Paul, Dorothy,

Myriam, Antje, Yves, Dennis, Hazel, Maria and Daniela.

Non- walking Chris and Antje, Paul and AWW Emeritus Ingrid had joined the ten walkers.

The meal was ample and delicious and there was a sufficiency of drink too. Many thanks to Hazel and all her assistants for all they did: all we need next year is for a lady to dispense the Bucks Fizz and other drinks, and then all the men can relax.

Hazel´s apple crumble

Figaro looked in for a moment or two

The toast was given to Absent Friends with special thoughts to two who have gone before.

The collection for Hazel´s charity - Bom Samaritano Children´s Home, Portimão - raised Euro 190; thank you all.

And that´s it for 2023: season over; Hallelujah, which is of course one of Myriam´s ear worms and therefore is our closing music.