A good walk should be like a good book. It should have a beginning that grabs your attention, an entertaining body and a satisfying conclusion. So it was with Terry’s latest offering:- Plenty of parking, a coffee and clean loos at Taberna a Bica at Besteiros; a gentle beginning warm-up with no vertical ‘heart-starter’ hills; an interesting theme in that we saw more Fontes than I can ever recall – and far more than are mentioned in his note below; and at the end, well-deserved ‘cold ones’, though what I thought were Bohémias in the chiller were Mini Bock ‘Preta’, but these details are only for true connoisseurs!
The discrepancy between the forecast 21 km, 2*+ D.o.D. and the eventual 22.2 km and 3*+ D.o.D. can easily be explained by a misreading of the Guide, and the lack of charge in Terry’s batteries (GPS that is!) and anyway was insignificant compared to the miscalculations of political proportions of previous weeks.
Here we all are at the start:
The Starters: Blue is the new Season’s colour !
Fonte of All Knowledge: Terry A.
Tributaries: John H., Bob, Myriam, Celeanne, Chris, Stan, Elaine, John O’, Nan (guest of David), Hilke, Rod, Alex, Lindsey, Paul, Janet, David, Yves.
Sprinklers: Amos, Alfie, Rusty, Harry, Maddie, Rosie, Misty, Tiggy.
The Track (click to enlarge)
Stats:
Total Distance: 22.2 km.
Moving Time: 4 hrs 46 min.
Total Time: 5 hrs 55 min.
Moving Avg.: 4.7 km/hr.
Overall Avg.: 3.8 km/hr.
Total Ascent: 547 m.
Max Elevation: 286 m.
D.o.D.: 3***+
Average Age of walkers: 63 years, 4 months, 19 days
John H sets up the starter pic by the First Fonte
Here is Terry’s report, interspersed with rather a lot of Fonte pix:-
How Many Fontes Can We Find? Wednesday Walk Starting At Besteiros Fonte 1
Wednesday dawned cloudy and with a chilly breeze, forecast was for sun and warm temps.
Oh well after we were all finished with coffee etc we got started on one of my, as advertised, "easy" walks, some of the non-believers were muttering Terry's idea of easy is not necessarily our idea of easy, but hi give me a break, we were looking for Fontes and we soon found the next one (2) hiding in the long grass.
There must be a Fonte here somewhere – is it up there?
We moved on to the stream crossing where I had spent time laying stones for you to walk on (I must be getting soft) the next river was easy to cross and now we were starting to see orchids and other spring flowers in profusion.
John O’ shows his Riverdance technique
A gentle climb up to contour round to the next valley where there are two very old Noras in quite good condition, along quiet lanes to the next Fonte 3,
Old Nora…….!
…..and her sister……!
Wishee-Washee!!!
This one has been restored and is in use, on down the quiet lanes with the blossom full out on the fruit trees to Fonte das Vinhas (4) another in working order.
We had great expectations of this one…..
…… but alas it only dispensed water!
We leave the lanes now to walk across the top of the ridge true Barrocal country to the next valley descending down to Fonte Benemola (5) a natural occurring Fonte which can discharge 4 million litres of water per hour and rarely dries up in summer. (I would need confirmation of that figure!!)
Fonte Benemola bubbling away
Climbing up out of the valley now towards Querenca where at Pombal is Fonte 6 still working as demo by myself and Rusty & Misty,…….
Dog and human powered well!
…….and on the corner by the cafe is Fonte 7.
which may be this one – I’ve lost count!!
Querenca for lunch in the very warm and sunny square nice and peaceful till the clock chimed twice both wrong times.
A great spot for lunch not only seats but a coffee shop!
Down the hill from Querenca to the next village through small lanes to Fonte 8
Rusty takes a dip! (This may have been Fonte 8!)
then we climb up through the woods and over to the next valley, we were heading back almost in a straight line for the Bar. We bypassed the next village which had a Fonte to go down a wet track to the road, a bit of road round the hill to the last Fonte 9. ( I think the paparazzi were all fonted out by this point!) This one has been modernized but still dispensed the wet stuff, a quick dash across fields of small blue irises to the river, no problem to the WW note how the pace picks up, the Bar is soon in sight ahh we are back!!! We all had a good walk, my stats were almost right, one of my better walks I think, thanks to all who came.
Drinking at the final fonte.
It was indeed one of his better walks, and as a bonus it was also Chris’s birthday. Antje had thoughtfully packed him some special birthday cake, which he generously distributed, and was scoffed promptly after a quick chorus of the traditional air!
The Birthday Boy is relieved to finish another walk at his newly advanced age!!
A great value-added feature of this walk in Spring is the olfactory experience as we pass through orange orchards, eucalyptus groves and among other scented flowers such as freesias, which Lindsey can recount far better than I. John even risked becoming the World’s Most Perfectly Ruptured Man to take a photo of some apparently attractive ground-dwelling species!
Don’t move!!!
John O’ no doubt suffering a sense of inferiority at not owning a genuine Tilley has taken to turning up with a selection of even more bizarre headgear at each walk. This week he sported an Old School Boater, which on closer inspection by John H proved to bear the crested badge of the Kowloon Bowling Green Club!
Jolly Boating weather……
Thanks to Terry for a memorable outing, with plenty of liquid – coffee at the start and in the middle, water throughout and beer at the end.
“Best friend, my well-spring in the wilderness!” Eliot, George
“April is the cruellest month, breeding lilacs out of the dead land, mixing memory and desire, stirring dull roots with spring rain.” Eliot, T. S.
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