AWW 03.03.2010: An Odesoaka Odyssey

Do not anticipate trouble, or worry about what may never happen. Keep in the sunlight.    Franklin, Benjamin

Well Ben Franklin got it wrong today!!  We anticipated getting wet and we certainly got wet!
The forecast was correct – rain and winds until late afternoon – and I was waiting for the cancellation , but Rod was economising on his phone bill and never made the call. Myriam insisted on going to the start, and on the way kept saying brightly – ‘Look it’s clearing up over there!’ – pointing in the direction of Africa.

 
Not much smiling at the meeting point!

Really she wanted to field test her new €15 Decathlon anorak, so there was no turning back.  We all agreed we needed the exercise – it was just a question of ‘how much?’

 
The ‘soon to be soaked’ six

The objective was to see how full the new Odelouca reservoir was after the extraordinarily wet weather of the past 3 months, and here the Google satellite picture was sadly useless, showing the Odelouca as the faint trickle it had been in October 2006.

The watercourse

Rain God: Rod

Wet Blankets: Myriam, Paul, Lindsey, David, Terry A.

Water Dogs: Rusty and Rosie.

Stats:

Rainfall: Several bootfulls and an anorak hoodfull.
Total Distance: Main Party (MP): 12.7 km.
                                Dog Recovery Team (DRT): 14.9 km
Moving time: MP: 2hrs 38 min; DRT: 2hrs 45 min.(approx)
Total Time: MP: 3 hrs 10 min.; DRT: 3hrs 15 min.
Moving Avg.: MP: 4.8 km/hr; DRT: More
Overall Avg.: MP: 4.0 km/hr; DRT: More
Total Ascent: 367 m.
Max Elevation: 323 m.
D.o.D: 2* plus bonus foul weather *= 3* 

Here is Rod’s flowing account of the walk:

Well this one sorted out the real walkers from the wimps....or anyway the weather did!
Of 15 who had checked in as coming only this stalwart 6 actually turned up.
It wasn’t even raining when we met up at the suitably gloomy rendezvous of Silves Cemetery for a 12 km drive up the S.Marcos road to our start point below Louro trig point.  Within minutes of the start we, of course,  had to make a short upward detour to get the statutory pic  and it still wasn´t raining...much.  Terry correctly thought it imminent, however, and spent some ten minutes taking his boots off so he could don his impermeable pants.....and just in time as it happened!

Louro Trig Point

The walk was primarily designed to be able to get a good view of the encroaching waters from the perspective of the lesser known side of the Odelouca dam lake.  Our leader, as usual, was relying on his dimming memory to follow a route down through some quite complicated terrain of steep winding valleys in an area which had been dramatically altered by heavy tractors and trailers hauling out scrub from the rising waters.

 

‘Noah’ checks out suitable locations

Although we didn’t end up quite where he intended it was good enough to get some excellent views, well between torrential downpours anyway,  of the new lake and to look nostalgically down on many walks we had done in this valley, now for ever consigned to the deep.

 

 

Log jam

We had negotiated a trail along existing tracks, although some were little used and where blockages from mudslides seemed likely at many points, to a point  somewhere beyond the halfway mark, when Rosie, seemingly bored with our company, decided to wander off on her own.  Much local searching and calling produced no results so not knowing whether she was ahead or behind we split into two; David and Terry back tracking and the rest pressing on.

Captioned photo by David

The forward track proved to be considerably shorter than the one originally intended  which turned out to be no bad thing in view of the increasing frequency and ferocity of the deluges. The backtrackers eventually, and maybe fortuitously, found the errant hound and arrived back at the cars only minutes behind the main group.

Colour coordinated

Reunited – and hungry

The gods were still not with us apparently for they saved the mightiest of the torrents to just before we got into the car and ensured we arrived at the Cafe Terinho sodden enough for even Paul to reject a Bohemia for a Galão and a Bifana.  Ah, what the other 9 missed !

Mopping up

“Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning how to dance in the rain.”    Unknown

Competition Time


Now I realise from past attempts that most readers are ‘not very good at competitions’, but this first one of an occasional series, should be close to the hearts of the AWW’s, as it is based on the bars and cafés where we spend the best part of each walk.
All you have to do is to name the location of each bar/café in the 4 pictures: A B 
                       C D
for one point each, and for bonus points the NAME of the bar/café.  



There is no point protesting that you haven’t been there, or “I was away!”, as I have the incriminating photos, and senility or alcohol-related memory problems are not a socially acceptable excuse!
You know how to submit answers, and there could be a Major Prize for the most points at the end of the series!

STOP PRESS
Competition Leaders: Ingrid 6 points
                                 Hilke 5 pts
                                Janet 3 and 1/2 pts
                                David 3 pts
As at 0900 hrs on 8th March