APAPS 23.03: The New Slim Look, or Bring Your Own Belt

The walk was from the familiar area of São Boa Homem.

The Starters: Janet, Dorothy, newcomer Tanja, Hazel, Dennis, Maria, JohnH and Myriam.

The actual start was a bit delayed because Hazel had not brought her own belt and found that her trousers were in danger of slipping off and had to attend to a bit of jury-rigging with an old shoelace.

Up the first hill and the Rest and Be Thankful bench gave a welcome pause for some.

 

Then onward to take the view towards Silves castle.

Then Hazel overruled the Leader and demanded that we go up a steep hill, which had not been the plan at all. She seemed to enjoy it.

Janet and Myriam helped to keep the overall pace down.by lagging behind.

Then everyone slowed down to tackle the final tricky downhill.

All down safely.

The Track and the Statistics

Then it was along the road to Para e Fica for breakfast where Hazel changed into a slim line outfit that needed no extra belting..

She then set up a vegetable stall with produce from her horta.

Breakfast was then served. The tomatoes were especially delectable

Yves then turned up exactly at 10.00 hrs, with perfect timing just as his plate was placed on the table.

Our hostess had found some particularly good bacon which your blogger enjoyed so much that he forgot to take the statutory close-up photos of it. But we will return in a few weeks..

Grapes were also served, again the product of Hazel´s horta.

and Rod Frew looked in for a coffee and to check that everything was in order.

Yves being a bit below par hadn´t walked with us so we missed his special photography. But we can make up for that by publishing one of his recent shots taken somewhere in Silves. Nothing to do with the walk, of course, but worth seeing none the less.

Yves´ own comment on the picture was

"Sadly, there were no nice young lady to stand on the prow of Portugal Stone Ship in the heart of Silves… All the young ladies were otherwise engaged, married or busy mending socks…"

which I understand to be a reference to the film Titanic..am I right?

And then, subsequent to the walk, Yves sent in this picture

with the comment:-

"In our Great Series of ‘Cryptic Messages’, here is another: WHAT is the reference to the magnifying glass in the cartoon?"

"La canicule" means "heat wave" or "he dog days" but, apart from that, I haven´t the faintest idea what he is on about.

 Have you?

APAPS 23.02:The Breakfast Walk That Wasn´t, or Do Your Homework

 

Breakfast had been advertised as being at Victoria´s, Poço Barreto, at 09.30hrs. But homework was something the Leader had not done so, when the time came, there was no breakfast. Read on.

A 7 am start and the usual four stalwart ladies plus JohnH.

A gentle stroll uphill past the local German bakery and then we spotted a clutch of eleven pure white eggs beside our track.

No sign of any parent bird; too big for quail eggs which are usually coloured , and partridge and pheasant eggs are usually coloured too. So what bird remains a mystery.

Then Myriam spotted a large discarded snake skin.

Then a bit of hesitation while we searched for the correct track.

which Hazel found eventually.

Myriam then gave JohnH a potted history of Maria Queen of Portugal (1777 - 1816). Known as Maria the Pious in Portugal and as Maria the Mad in Brazil, she lived in Brazil from 1806, raised brazil to the status of a kingdom in1815 upon which she had the title of Queen of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves. and in return he took this photograph of her (Myriam that is, not Queen Maria) framed between the twin trunks of an old oak tree.

Steady progress made at not too strenuous a pace, past Quinta Estrela now renamed Quinta Chapim (Chapim is Portuguese for Blue Tit)

and past Yves´ standing stone to which Maria (not the Queen) added another pebble.

Then back to Poço Barreto along the track where the birds eggs were still lying undisturbed and so to Victoria´s. where we found Yves waiting for us.

To those expecting, nay, salivating at the prospect of black pudding and draught Guinness for breakfast, Yves brought the news that the notice on the café door said that the kitchen opens at 11.30am.

JohnH had not done his homework and had simply assumed that the establishment ran the same catering hours as it had done the previous year. So that´s Victoria´s  struck off our list of breakfasting places, not that everyone was disappointed as some of us had mixed feelings about the place and its staff.

Anyway, a quick change of plan and down the road to Poço Frito and Snack Bar Martins. 

There we were served with bifanas in papo seco just delivered and still hot from the bakery

tostas in pao caseiro

and a delicious concoction whose name your blogger did not catch.

Not your full English, but very satisfying none the less.

On our way back through Poço Barreto, who made a fleeting appearance but none other than Rod who, of course, was totally unfazed by the lack of breakfast..