Due to the absence of the Chief Blogger out on reconnaissance to the North, I take over the reins (cough) for a week or two. First off, let me, on behalf of all, offer many thanks to Rod for all his efforts in organising this Alentejo walk for us and, equally, many thanks to our hosts Pru and Julian for providing such a pleasant lunch in much appreciated and relaxing surroundings. And wow! after 22 kms, didn´t we need them! Participants were not as many as Rod had originally hoped, but it was good to welcome back the Floozie Power Group in the shapes and sounds of Alex, Ingrid, and Janet, whose irrepressible, nay, youthful high spirits had been missing during Ian W´s Picota Pilgrimage the previous week. (And before Janet bridles (cough) at its use , I have it on impeccable authority that Floozie is very much the in word in Brussels these days... must originally have been an old Flemish word, poss. deriv. Latin fluo). But... back to the main theme.
The Starters (plus two). (Click to enlarge.)
Decurio: Rod Frew.
Equites: Paul & Myriam, Chris, John & Hazel, Stan & Elaine, John O’N, Alex, Janet, Lindsey & Andrew, Hilke, Yves, Ingrid, Ian W, Ian S.(good to see Ian S.back on the hoof even if hobbling a bit).
Absentes: Sad to have absent Mike Pease, laid low with some as yet undiagnosed problem and David L., with some viral lurgy.
Canes: Misty, Tiggy & Maddie.
Turma Secunda: Susan Frew, Di Wren, Ivy Badcoe, David and Judy Blaylock.
Auxilia: Jyll Pease, Diane Wilson, Marguerite Scott, Lily ( Hazel´s mother).
(All except Mike Pease - who knows all this sort of stuff already- may consult the glossary at the end of this piece.)
And now the Statistics (Well, I know, I know, but some people do insist on them).
Total distance: 22.1 km.
Moving time: 4hrs 39m.
Total time: 5hrs 30m.
Moving av: 4.7 kmph.
Overall av: 4.0 kmph.
Total ascent: 323m.
Max elevation: 262m.
Avg. Age: 66 yrs 9 mths and 9 days.
And now, with all that routine stuff over with, we can get straight on with the Rod´s Leader´s Report:
" ‘Per fidem ambulamus ad Castro Cola et non per equus’
(with apologies to 2 Corinthians 5 vii, and to any Latin scholars, and to The Rev.Bob who, together with Terry A, were achieving much greater feats in completing a Charity crossing of the Algarve Way, good on them, in record time!)
"This walk, postponed perhaps fortuitously from two weeks ago in view of the improvement in the weather, was designed to cover a combination of the wonderful spring flowers and rolling countryside of the Alentejo along with the archaeological remains of Castro Cola. ‘Cola’, it hardly needs saying, has nothing to do with Coke, Pepsi or even glue....in fact it probably stems from the Latin word ‘cola’, often found as a suffix with an ‘e’ at the end instead of an ‘a’ meaning an inhabitant or occupant of, or coming from, something or somewhere. ( Anyone care to develop this argument??!!).
"In any event everyone appeared in excellent time, in view of the early start, and we set off from the splendid equine establishment of Pru and Julian Clayton Meade, Equus Ourique, some 5 or 6 k southwest of Ourique at 09.00 on the nail. After a short walk down their driveway and along the country lane, we descended to the vivid green Mira valley. This was really beautiful with lush grass, lovely flowers, herons and storks, and ancient stone ruins along the Mira river as it gradually expanded into one of the main arms of the Barragem de Sta. Clara. It was obvious why this was such an attractive spot for a settlement over the centuries.
One of Sta. Clara`s arms.
"From here we climed up to the remains of Castro Cola, spread to a considerable area over a hill top, together with the more recent medieval church of N.Sra. de Cola. 
M. Le Professeur de l´Archéologie Investigatif (Sorbonne). ..prenez garde, M´sieur: c´est un long drop et il n´y pas de Bungy ici.
" Anyone wanting to look at all this in more detail at least now knows where it is, but we needed to push on along a main track through rolling Alentejo countryside with more flowers and splendid long vistas; one especially towards Monchique and Picota from an unusual, for us, angle, which Chief Blogger and Statistician informed us was exactly 36.4k away!
North of the Monchique Gap."Next stop was a diversion to an inevitable trig point.....not, as it happened, a very challenging one but certainly one with terrific views all round the Alentejo countryside.
Trig on the left.. Stan on the right
(Some non-traditionalists, including the afore-mentioned FPG, did not even attempt the gentle climb up to the trig point, claiming that they had more pressing things to do in the open air.)
Dra. Tiger Balm to the rescue"Then onwards down a lesser track where we stopped at a grassy spot under an oak ( quercus ilex, of course!) for a light snack.
Le déjeuner sur l´herbe
"€2 for a W....r? No way!"" Then through some pig breeding farmland where Tiggy and Misty managed to get themselves on the wrong side of the anti pig fencing......it was not clear whether the pigs or the dogs were the most surprised about this but at least there was no crisis but they eventually both had to be bodily lifted back over the fence.
Extracting Tiggy"The track narrowed further and then gradually descended down a quite lovely grassy, flower strewn valley with a stream trickling past eucalyptus trees. Having navigated a modest stream in a wider valley at the bottom, we ascended once more to wheat and oats clad fields and so back, past horses grazing under trees, to Equus Ourique; arriving bang on time at 14.30.
"There, after a few rounds of refreshments, we were treated to a quite magnificent and plentiful lunch prepared by Pru (Priscilla, by the way!) and organised by Julian. We lacked for nothing; wine, beer and water flowed whilst we relaxed in the shade of the splendid Equus Ourique terrace as the afternoon melted away."
Susan F´s report on the shorter 8km. walk was more succinct. Here it is - in full:
"Excellent."
Well, I can take a hint, so less verbiage and more photos - of what we observed and what observed us as we passed on our way through the springtime countryside.
Was it once a giraffe, or maybe a seahorse?
The Leader and his Groupies
"No stick" Stan
Flora Corna
No, the track has not been forgotten:
Glossary:
Decurio: Squadron Leader
Equites: Cavalry
Turma: Squadron
Auxilia: Mobile Supporters Club
Ambulamus: We walk
Loquimur: We talk.
"I can only meditate when I am walking. When I stop, I cease to think; my mind works only with my legs:" (Jean Jacques Rousseau)
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An excellent Blog twinned with an excellent day out! Should do that more often - take over the Blog I mean. And well worth the wait, which cannot on this occasion have been caused by Hazel's demands she presently in UK! It arrived just before we left Portugal for Spain which was lucky as we have no Spanish Dongle ... there's a joke in that smewhere. Thanks John.
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