AWW 24.03.2010: West is WE(s)T

 

After two dry Wednesdays, Chris had been selected to lead his famous Carrapateira walk, or a variation thereof, and renewed his bid to take over as ‘Rain Man’ from the CB. This time, the rain was from the off, and those that heeded the forecast were adequately covered with a selection of rain gear that would have served Noah and his family very well.

   It’s raining women - halleluiah

  There could have been a nasty International incident at the start when Yves, (who only turns up when ‘Le Coq Sportif’ has something to crow about) arrived bedecked in a Tricolor scarf, but such had been the lack of expectation at last Saturday’s meeting of Les Rosbifs with Les Bleues, that the CB did not rise to the bait. It was clear to all interested parties that the Antipodean Referee who did not know his offside from his backside was entirely to blame.

Entente Cordiale!

Enough said – if only Ian S. had stirred himself from his torpor to join the walk, then we could have had an informed explanation of the rules of scrimmage.

A massive turnout, for a walk so far west, no doubt encouraged by the new trend of underestimating the length of the walk, leading to no small difficulties for John to marshal the start photograph, but it was finally accomplished just before the rain started.

The starters (click to enlarge)

Leader: Chris ( the Rainmaker)

Bedraggled walkers : Janet, David L, Rod, Bob, Tina, Terry M, Terry A plus two guests, Karen and Ian from UK, Dina, John H and Hazel, Frank, Alex,  Hilke, Lindsay,Yves, Val, Paul & Myriam, and a welcome return of Mike from his shoulder surgery.

Even wetter hounds ; Tiggy, Maddie, Rusty, Misty, Nandi, Amos, Alfie, Shelly, Bella and Rosie

Track – anticlockwise from Bravo – click to enlarge

Stats:
Total Distance: 19.8 km
Moving Time: 4 hrs 20 min.
Total Time: 5 hrs 13 min.
Moving Avg.: 4.5 km/hr.
Overall Avg.: 3.8 km/hr.
Total Ascent: 331 m.
Max Elevation: 142 m.

D.o.D.: 2 1/2*

Avg. Age (Excl guests): 64 years 7 mths. 2 days (Thanks for the boost Mike, and where is John O’ to push us up a little more!)

Here is Chris’ report in it’s unexpurgated form:-

The Leader leading – note the cistus emerging

Ignoring the usually accurate forecasts of wet weather, twenty two intrepid souls together with ten dogs (a record ?) gathered at Cafe Bravo in Carrapateira for what promised to be an easy stroll along the cliffs, with ample time to admire the magnificent sea views. The leader confidently predicted that as he knew this walk backwards, we would tackle the coastal path first before heading inland for the loop back to Carrapateira. Previous attempts to include this spectacular section on earlier occasions, having already walked the lengthy inland loop, had usually been greeted with a muted response, which at the time suggested that most preferred the warm café to the brisk winds and rain which seem to occur frequently on the West Coast. The continuing unseasonable wet weather hardly warrants the title of "Rainmaker", although it is certainly true that if there is any rain around it falls first on the West Coast, coming as it does straight off the Atlantic ocean.
To the stares of the local population, who must have assumed that we were a hunting party, the group headed off towards the dunes into a heavy drizzle that fast became a continuous downpour. Dogs and walkers seemed to be undeterred by the inclement weather, although some pointed requests for the location of the cut-off points for the elderly and infirm were noted. Despite the rain, the views were still spectacular if not a little obscured, or as Yves commented " that he now understood what the colour battleship grey was ", even though there was no sign of the French fleet offshore.

A gloomy first TOTPP

Avoiding the cliff path, which has now been obstructed by inconsiderately placed viewing platforms reached by environmentally friendly wooden walkways designed to minimise damage to the ages old cliffs, good progress was made along the wide track leading to Praia do Amado. Within sight of the beach the rain finally eased, to the detriment of those seeking a warming coffee and use of the facilities of the one cafe open, the owner of which would have been delighted to serve a large group of damp walkers. However, AWW traditions were rigidly maintained, and the main body of walkers continued to shouts of " Let's walk before the next rain shower descends "  Reaching the beach, and at the point of crossing a flowing stream some walkers witnessed a rugby style tackle on our French member by two unruly members of the dog pack, who were perhaps intent on making amends for the recent unfortunate Six Nations defeats. Needless to say, Yves was not amused.

Despite the lack of clear views, the previously optional steep climb away from the beach and the subsequent slippery descent was undertaken without a murmur.

Later we were outnumbered by a large herd of cows and calves, who fortunately did not take exception to one or two of our less well-behaved dogs!

 
An abbreviated lunch stop was then taken in the usual place beneath a clump of pine trees which rather than providing shade served as minimal shelter from the elements.

Second TOTPP (Chris opted out of going for 3!)

An executive decision was then taken to omit the extra inland loop and proceed directly to the village of Vilarinha and then follow the river valley back to Carrapateira.

Myriam reminding herself of tonight’s dinner!

By now the rain had cleared and finally everyone started to dry out, in time to enjoy a well deserved beer outside the Cafe Bravo, where all ten dogs and owners posed, together with a few local hound for a final photograph.

Despite the inclement weather, everyone expressed their enjoyment of this popular walk, even though the advertised distance had been comfortably exceeded, the result perhaps of too many variants being added and subtracted, together with the confusion caused by trying to walk backwards whilst still looking forward. Apologies for this, since I have usually been one of the first to complain about misleading pre-walk information. A 2 1/2* walk it certainly was, completed more or less within the envisaged time scale.

 

After the rain

Not much to add. Rod generously distributed KumQuats from his estate, to the needy, and Myriam is transforming them into marmalade as I write this. Our guests from UK, introduced by Terry A. were obviously expecting ‘soft’ weather, and Karen had an impressive dry rucksack, I obtained the details from her and it can be found on this site, described as a Gourdon 25, although other sizes and styles are available.

Now two rugby quotes, one English one French:-

“For by superior energies; more strict affiance in each other; faith more firm in their unhallowed principles, the bad have fairly earned a victory over the weak, the vacillating, inconsistent good.”    Wordsworth, William (coach to the England Rugby Team ca. 1800)

“There are some defeats more triumphant than victories.” Montaigne, Michel Eyquem De  (coach to the French Rugby Team, ca. 1580)

and a message of hope:-

“No winter lasts forever; no spring skips it's turn.”    Borland, Hal