APAPS 20.2: Caravela Caper

 

                                                          The glorious Algarve

There were only four Starters for the first APAPS Walk last week. It´s encouraging to report that this week our Starter numbers doubled to eight. Any such further increase and, who knows, we may have to apply a quota system.

The Starters.

From the right, Yves, Hazel, Maria, Dina, Jim, Myriam, Siobhan, and JohnH.

It was good to welcome Jim Brownlow to APAPS along his daughter Siobhan who deserves to be congratulated on defying the UK ´s travel ban to Portugal. In case the Brownlows or anybody else are unsure of what APAPS stands for, it is Amigos de Pequenos-Almoços Peripatéticos do Silves, the breakfasting element obviously being far more important than the walking.

It was also good to see Dina again, who bravely walked despite an injured shoulder. And pleasing to report that, on this occasion, Myriam managed to find her way to the start without outside assistance.

As for the other missing stalwarts, Ingrid and Janet will no doubt be watching us closely, and Terry A will have been enjoying watching the cricket but, since the World Champions, England, got hammered by minnows Ireland the other day and, at the time of writing, are being taught a lesson by Pakistan, I am not so sure that “enjoying” is quite the correct terminology. Anyway, maybe they will be able to join us soon.

The morning also saw the return of Yves, after his alleged dalliance the previous week. Actually, we are not quite sure what he was up to or where he went, because some believe that he has been indulging in his hobby of taking comic photographs, i.e. statues with masks. Here are some samples of his work..

                                We have avoided the full frontal so as not to offend

                                                    Is this one a self-portrait?

As for the walk itself, by and large it followed what are now becoming well-known tracks, although we threw in a little new bit as an extra towards the end.

Myriam sat on a tree trunk in lieu of a trig point.

The Track

The Statistics

Total distance: 8.30 kms. Total time: 2 hrs 11 minutes.

Moving Time: 1 hr 50 mins.

Moving average speed: an impressive 4.4 kph.

Total Ascent: only 97 metres.

Back at Café Martins, we were joined for the breakfast by the Whittles (fresh from their early morning swim on Meia Praia) and Paul, elegantly attired in his antique snake-skin sneakers.

This particular breakfast was going to be a bit of a gamble because the café had come under new management since we last ate there, and I wasn´t quite sure if they were going to know exactly what they were doing with the FEB, which was probably why four of our number had been cautious and opted for bifanas instead. 

But in the end, I think the meal was OK. None of the fried eggs were broken, which is one of the principle criteria for judging the success or failure of a FEB. Perhaps there could have been rather more tomatoes but, on the other hand, there was ample sufficiency of bacon and toast. Worth another try in a few weeks? What do you think?

Rod turned up towards the end of the meal for a chat, while Paul indulged himself in his own particular brand of comic photography by likening some of our images to famous or not-so-famous personalities. Feel free to take exception if you don´t like how he depicted you. Complaints, on a postcard please, to Paul, not to me.

                                               Clearly he fancies his chances

And the closing thought:-

Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.

Comment by Paulo a Pe

In addition to John's closing thought a couple of other examples along the same lines that I still haven't worked out how to post in Comments below:

Keep it up John. I will monitor the progress and determine whether the knowledge I have that snarfing a FEB without walking first, may cause weight gain, or the wisdom I have in that, when you feel good, you don't put on weight!

APAPS 20.1: Myriam lands safely

Never let it be said that APAPS walks are lacking in their own peculiar brand of drama.

This Wednesday, it was like one of those nail-biting damsel-in-distress-in-aircraft films. You know the scene: all is quiet, then the control tower radio crackles into life:-

“MayDay ! MayDay!. The pilot´s had a heart attack and I don´t know how to land the plane. MayDay ! MayDay !”  Cool as cucumber, the Air Traffic Controller talks her through the drill. Will she be able to land or will it end in disaster? Of course, thanks to the ATC, she lands OK.

On this occasion, the control tower in question is located at Pescadores: 20 07 29 at 07.00 hrs and the cool-as-cucumber ATC is our Leader.. All is quiet: the coffee machine is already warmed up. The Leader sits peacefully, waiting for his crew of walkers to turn up. Suddenly, a radio call (aka his mobile) shatters the silence. It is Myriam.

“MayDay. MayDay. I am somewhere over Messines, instrument failure. have lost bearings. Sun in my eyes. Can´t see which way to go. MayDay. MayDay !”

The ATC reassuringly calms her down, guides her into turning away from the sun and, using visuals - here a petrol station, there a low bridge – steers her westwards along the N124 in the direction of Pinheiro e Garrado to reach the Café rendezvous, only 15 minutes behind schedule. No worries, this is the APAPS. A late start provides the perfect excuse for a shortened walk – what must not be missed at any cost is the bell for breakfast.

As you can see from the Starter photo, for this, the inaugural APAPS 2020 session, only 4 people turned out. Where were all the others? Well, Ingrid, Jill and Terry are very sensibly taking virus precautions seriously and are practising isolation , although we can be sure that Ingrid will be watching us closely to see that we do not commit any unnecessary faux-pas, and that Terry is enjoying following the Test matches. Janet, to use the colloquial English phrase, is currently “under the physiotherapist” and hopes to join us soon. She says she misses the WAGS whom she graciously describes as “the Wicked Auld Gits Society.”

Rod, Chris and Antje? Well, they are nursing various minor infirmities which prevent them from serious walking at the moment, but not from turning up for the post-walk refreshments.

Yves, for once, was absent, off on a liaison with a young lady of a legal persuasion. We trust that she proves as good lawyer as Portia, so that the taxman gets no more than his pound of flesh.

Nothing has been heard from Dina, so far.

And as for Paul, one can´t do any better than present his excuses in his own words, if only for no other reason than that doing so helps to fill up the blog:-

“Sorry for not replying earlier, John, but I had to carry out some extensive experiments, not only for whether I can cover all or part of the distance, but also the rate of progress on the flat, and Heaven forfend, uphill, and whether my metabolism can tolerate springing into action at dawn, far from porcelain, after the relaxed regime I adopted during lock-down. Also I tested my tolerance for eggs, tomatoes and bacon at 0930 am, washed down with non-alcoholic beer or coffee.

Sadly the average test results for the physical aspects were not encouraging, and a circuit of Lagos of 5 km on Saturday, mostly flat, could only be accomplished at 3.2 km/hr, and resulted in pain in my left leg that required me to sit down and watch the Test Match for 2 days.

I also failed to prepare my constitution sufficiently well to leave the flat at 0615 hrs fully discharged and medicines kicking in, even though I am no longer slowed by having to remove overnight stubble.

However, the good news is that I was easily able to consume a F(ull)E(nglish)B(reakfast) at 0930 with only superficial side effects.

The upshot is that on this occasion on 29th, I will reserve my endeavours for the breakfast only, and go through my own early morning routines and cleansing to clear the appropriate space and develop the appetite to eat some of M’s bacon if called upon to sacrifice  myself.

 I may be able, with sufficient training and conditioning, to join you in future, for the walk itself, but sadly not this week.

See you Wednesday at 0930 am.

Paul “

The walk itself was nothing out of the ordinary, all along fairly familiar paths, no prickly bits, affording the three ladies ample opportunity for chit-chat.

The track was captured by the Leader using  ViewRanger for the first time; this app for some reason recorded it in two bits.

Combining those two bits, we arrive at the following Statistics:-

Distance: 5.67 kms; Total time: 1 hr 45 mins; Total ascent: 183 metres.

Not too demanding. We finished in very good time for breakfast; so early, in fact, that Hazel and Myriam were able to amuse themselves by pretending that one of Hazel´s world-record long beans was an effective measuring tape.

As to what they were trying to measure, I couldn´t possibly comment.

The breakfast was the usual perfect Pescadores offering from Dona Fernanda, efficiently assisted by Hazel and Maria - eggs, tomatoes, lashings of bacon, buttered toast, with the added extras of on-the-house cherry toms and plums.

The food inspired the photographer Paul´s creative juices so much that they brought out his inner Matisse, or should that be his inner Braque? Take your pick.

Somehow, we all ended up drinking tea out of wine glasses.

I prefer a good rosé myself.

Scientific thought for the day:-

Since light travels faster than sound, some people appear bright until you hear them speak.

And some closing music

APAPS 19.12: The Last Fling of Summer

There was real excitement in the air at Retiro dos Pescadores in the early-ish hours of Wednesday 25th September. Ingrid was going through her warm-up exercises before cracking open the first banana of the day.

and Dina was announcing the arrival of her new kitten called Divi.

and Janet was struggling with some recalcitrant bootlaces. Meanwhile, the men who were ready on time had their now customary wait.

The APAPS starting allowance of 7 minutes was stretched to the limit on this occasion , but ultimately the Starter Photo was taken.

The Starters

Chris, Janet, Jill, Dina, TerryA, Antje, Yves (just), Paul, Myriam, Ingrid, JohnH.
In attendance, somewhere, Becky.

In contrast to the previous week´s scandalous kneecapping episode, this week JohnH´s knees were discreetly veiled behind some strategically placed shrubbery. On closer inspection, it looks as if this time it is Yves who is taking the strain.

We set off at 7.55 am but, what with a larger turn-out than usual and In all the excitement, the Leader forgot to switch on his track measuring gizmo, so as a result this week all the stats are Paul´s and unchallenged.
Let´s deal with the figures now and have done with it.

The Track

The Statistics

Total distance: 8.12 kms. Total time: 2 hrs 13 mins.
Moving time: 1 hr 59 mins. Moving average: 4.1 kph.
Total ascent: 224 metres.
(Eggs consumption: 22, of which unbroken 20.)

We set off along a short stretch of the canal and then into rather autumnal looking woods.

The unsightly dump of lixo seen a few weeks previously was still there despite Dina´s letter to the authorities.

Shorter track:
Very sensibly, a third of the way into the walk, three decided to take a partial short cut, as shown on this map, while the young and foolish went uphill to crossroads no 1 and the long way round.

The Long Way Round:

"Nice hat" (J Summerfield)

The Rendezvous:
Half an hour later. a successful rendezvous took place at crossroads no. 2 where Chris, Antje and Janet had been waiting patiently.

The Ladies Who Talk

From there it was a gentle stroll back down the hill to Retiro, 

but some were strolling noticeably slower than others, 
possibly because they were taking artistic photographs,

 possibly because some ladies find it difficult to walk and talk at the same time, and talking takes precedence every time.

TerryA and Jill went on ahead to tell the Café that the troops were soon to arrive.

Rod the Coffee Regular joined us at the breakfast table and operated the camera.

The breakfast was as good as ever, with oodles of toast coming early and late, eggs and tomatoes from the horta, and ample bacon. All rounded off with melon.

No idea what´s going on here.

We expressed our thanks to Dona Fernanda  with a shout of “Viva!”

Well, that´s it - the final walk of the summer. Here are a few statistics for the season, (previous years in brackets.).

Aggregate number of walkers: 110  (134). Aggregate number of eaters: 117 (139).
Total distance covered: 95.21 kms (89.98 kms). Total ascents: 3076 metres (2826 metres).
Number of Tilley Hats.  (Sorry, Janet, nearly forgot.)
Number of eggs consumed: 234 (278).

My thanks to all the photographic contributors to this series of blogs. And now, over to the WAGS.

This blog started with a reference to a cat, so let´s redress the balance with something about dogs.
Question.  “What do you get if you cross a dyslexic, an insomniac, and an agnostic?”
Answer: “Someone who wakes up at 4 a.m. and asks ”Is there a dog?”

And we will close with a bit of music. (Where do they get this stuff?)


"Is there Life after Breakfast?"

https://youtu.be/TSv6L8lCGCQ


"How do you like your eggs in the morning?"

https://youtu.be/l0YmmSxLeH8

click on the links