We walk slower and not as frequently than we did once; even so, we can be seen, early of a morning, wandering about in search of a good breakfast, whether it be in rural Silves or downtown Lagos. This is the site of Os Amigos do Pequeno- Almoço Peripatéticos.
A strong Chinese influence on this week´s APAPS. In addition to Myriam and Hazel, we were joined by Hazel´s niece Rachael and Rachael´s fiancé KC.
Lots of photographers at work with some excellent shots, so no need for very much commentary in this blog.
At the start we saw one of those mysterious stork migrations where seemingly endless streams of the birds move from the Arade to settle in a meadow by the Odelouca river.
Even so , hundreds of them still remained on the Arade. All very strange.
Hazel very pleased to be wearing her spanking new sage-green Tilley.
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KC and his shake-proof video camera.
JohnH and his antique hand-held; very shaky.
and the Maestro - "Look. No hands!"
As always, Yves found artistic inspiration at Clube Nautico and in the reflections in the canal waters..
For once, it was Myriam who changed into her finery for breakfast since she had go off early on a date.
Mira Rio´s breakfast as good as ever.
Hazel especially enjoyed the bread. Is it sourdough or what?
But, despite that hearty breakfast, she was still able to tuck into a massive calzone toscana later that evening at The Pig Gourmet, real Italian food in Silves, recommended by Yves and Catherine, and a jolly good recommendation too.
Antje joined us for breakfast after two weeks fine dining in Scotland and Yorkshire. Whether she was really there for the breakfast itself, or to show off yet another polo shirt,is debatable.
As she left us, Myriam was well-equipped.
One topic of conversation at breakfast was the on-going series of the vulpine v. feline confrontations at Casa Esperança. The fox seems remarkably unafraid of human beings and, although Hazel is worried for young Figaro, he seems to be able to hold his own.
Hazel´s intention is to trap the fox. We shall see.
We shall close with more music on the theme of the moon (picture kindly provided by Yves).
Whether it is a good idea safety-wise to go sailing in the moonlight, we will let Chris and Antje advise us.
Despite this being the second occasion on which John has kindly offered a walk with the COWS on my behalf, there are still only 2 active members in the field. There seems to be some misconcepton spread by the repressed and inhibited, that the COWS is a club purely intended for the gratification of those with high libidos and less than healthy intentions.
I thought I should clarify for those that have been influenced by this adverse propaganda
The COWS are a Registered and affiliated Walking group to enjoy the freedom and liberty of fresh sea air, bathing the skin, and being unashamed of what God Gave One.. For it was said:-
“Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and Naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised.”
PURSUIT (def'):
an activity of a specified kind, especially a recreational or sporting one.
"a whole range of leisure pursuits"
The motto of the COWS is:- "It's nice out - I think I will leave it out!"
And now we come to the Rules of COWS:-
First Rule.of The COWS: -You do not talk about the COWS.
Second Rule of The COWS:- You do not Blog about the COWS
Third Rule of the COWS: If someone yells 'STOP', goes limp or taps out, then the walk is over, so disperse peacefully.
Fourth Rule of COWS: No shirts no tops, no bottoms . Only hats and shoes (optional}
Fifth Rule of COWS: If this is your first outing with COWS, you must be registered and dressed according to Rule 4
Having said that, I appear to be in breach of Rule 2, so instead I will end with a couple of recruiting songs.
Two week´s ago, I produced a lengthy and admittedly
rather boring Blog, much of it dealing with abstruse queries raised
by Paul. It elicited just one virtually incomprehensible comment on the Blog page, and nothing at all from Paul. I did,
however, receive an email about it which included some finely judged
literary criticism which is worth the quoting:-
“Having ploughed through
all the tosh, I find it Much Ado About Nothing or the reversal of
Parkinson's Law.....”
What can I say, other than
to answer “touché” and cordially to invite her - for my critic
is indeed a lady - to join in as a Blogger herself. Additional
Bloggers are always needed.
Be that as it may, she and the rest
of you will surely be delighted that this week´s Blog is very
largely the contribution of a volunteer so that you don´t have to
put up with very much of my waffle. (My critic and my volunteer shall both stay
nameless so as to protect their identities.)
Said volunteer writes:-
“The day dawned
grey, flat and boring, the faint glow of light inside the café
indicated human activity but door and shutters remained firmly
closed.
“Eventually, the
cheerful, in the coffee-free circumstances, conversations between
WAGS prompted Donna Fernanda to open her arms, door and windows to
those in need of caffeine… All with a cheerful smile!
“Things then livened
up a tad as Evel Janet Knievel roared in on her Gallic bolide and
demonstrated the most amazing judgement in parking at speed in front
of a stack of rather solid palettes; remarkable!
Precisely parked
but he is not impressed
“Of course, the
purists demanded that she moved her car and while they were at it
they also demanded that the Frogmobile be parked in more parallel
universe/fashion to other cars: we obtemperated rather than be
exterminated…
Parking perfection
The Six Starters
“The small but
perfectly formed group then made for the hills, accompanied by a
joyful and very loud chorus of dogs of all sizes, breeds and
coloraturas; “bloody noisy things!” someone said.
“The tracks and the
hills were drab and almost uninviting under the featureless grey shy;
half-heartened efforts were made at photography, the ‘spark’ just
was not there.
“Nonetheless, it
DOES appear that years of training –cleverly disguised as
grumbling, grouching and grizzling at the leader- were beginning to
bear fruit: not only did we eschew a reasonably(?) close trig-point
but on at least TWO occasions, the alluring and tempting steep climbs
were ignored in favour of much gentler slopes…
Taking the Low Road
and again
Mark these words:
another ten years and we’ll have the Leader licked into shape, good
and proper!
Distant reservoir looks very low
“The cool
temperatures were a relief from the searing heat experienced only a
few outings previously and there was even a hint of drizzle for a few
seconds.
but the T-shirt competition is over and done with
The rumour is that the electrician was Australian
“Back at the café,
we regrouped with the non-walking-but-mostly-eating brigade: In
addition to Rod and Paul, it was very good to be met there by Claire
and Terry sans Becky; Claire made sure that the few scraps of toast
left over were carefully wrapped in tissues: one must never forget
one’s dog!
Figs, grapes, and a few thoughts.
“As ever the food
was plentiful and the fruit was fresh and tasty: definitely worth an
‘uptick’ in Trip Advisor!
“And so, over to
John for the proper story of that outing…”
Nothing much to add except the Track and the Statistics,
to remark that, with all the recent felling and removal of timber from the hills, the familiar tracks had now all become unfamiliar, somewhat disorientating if you are the leader, and to ask if any of you know what our contributor meant by "Gallic Bolide."
During the breakfast, Yves presented Paul with an official looking brass plate carrying the injunction "Save Water - Shower With A Friend."
Paul is taking bookings for his shower room now so, if you want to do your bit, get your application in soonest before there are queues outside.
Next week, no APAPS walk or breakfast, but the COWS are looking for members.
And we close with another piece of music from our ongoing theme of moonlight.
Apologies for hacking a space for a post from John's excellent APAPS Blog, but as you will see it is all his fault. A warning here: Don't hurriedly scroll below for lurid and lascivious pics like the pic above which is merely to entice you in to the body of the post.
This had been brewing for several weeks after I coined the name COWS, for those of us in Lagos who were fond of skinny dipping or even an early morning stroll in the cool air bath that is the strip of beach next to the sea at Meia Praia. This escalated into a sub unit of the APAPS walkers, spread by the usual gossip channels. I may have inflamed the cause by turning up to join one of the APAPs walks with my silhouette in the low sun walking west to unite with the group.
My rather becoming skin coloured cuecas, had just arrived from China a few days before, and they caught the attention of some of the more degenerate walkers, until the overdressed troop had closed up and turned away in disappointment! I dressed in my shorts again depriving the ladies of my generously rounded buttocks and we continued the walk.
A simple prank but it must have caught the imagination of the suppressed textiles who have nade the Algarve their home but have yet to really invest body and soul.
The incident was politely blogged by John, but then the WhatsApps and breakfast banter began.
On this particular Wednesday, John was unable to arrange a walk or breakfast for the APAPS, but hinted in the call circular that 'to lessen your undoubted disappointment at this, you could always join Paul's COWS walks. He would be sure to give you a warm welcome.!'
I duly thanked him for the thought, and as I expected, with an outbreak of repressed Victorian modesty, only Myriam and myself turned up. I am still waiting for the COWS to come home, but not holding my breath.!
A walk demands a blog, if only to fill a gaping blank in the continuity, and so for what it is worth, here is the account of Myriam and myself keeping up the honour of the COWS.
Authors note: At this point Myriam has stamped her tiny besandalled foot down and forbidden me to publish any of the multitude of nature shots we took along the way. The rule is inviolable: Unless you have joined the COWS and completed one naturist walk then you are excluded from the inner secrets. The first walk you do with the COWS is designated your reborn Birthday, and of course you must wear your birthday suit.
We set off from home to our normal walk start near Bar Quim, I thought this might be an omen, but sadly no one else was in sight., nor was there a real starter photo. I tried a selfie of the walkers but it came out unprofessionally, through lack of practice.
We continued as if it was a private beach, The stroll to the end, paddling along the shore and arriving at the far end for a dip, was NSFW.
Returning to the car, we had decided to take the chance with a small group,to visit Cafe Odeon for the best FEB in town. As an added treat we parked near the Cat Hotel to have a cruise to the other side on the Vai e Vem.
With an onshore wind and an incoming tide, it took a lot of skill to cross, hence the oblique approach to the landing pier.
Once onboard, Myriam started flirting with the crew because she had been unable indulge in her favourite hobby in the absence of Rod and John.
We sauntered over to Cafe Odeon and to our dismay,, despite being the Peak of the Tourist season, they were closed.
Many alternatives sprang to mind. and eventually we settled on continuing the walk up to Cafe Bom Gosto near the skate park and Mini Golf, where we procured a massive and fully loaded Tosta Mista.
Luckily we reached the cafe after the scheduled end of my Intermittent fasting period and we rated the TM's as excellent.. From there we walked home, took a naturist shower with extras , and later drove over to the Cat Hotel and collected my car in the midday heat.
To conclude, if you are still with me, a wonderful little ditty from an Englishman of True Genius, Noel COW(S)ard
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