WAGS 18.05.2022: Bensafrim - almost unblogged

 

      Here I am, on the Wednesday morning of 25th May, when I should be out getting my knees brown but I am hunched over my computer having rolled over in the face of the CBs intractability to assemble a blog for an event which he had not attended.

        However since then he has dragged himself off  his sickbed and offered to lead a walk today at Poco Frito, for which no doubt he will be desperate to write a response to this character assassination, so I guess it falls to me to blink first and concede. Purely to keep the system going!

        Anyway, as usual, Rod saved the day and offered a rare walk at the Western end. Wonderful to see Hedley and his eldest son Alistair join us for a walk in the limited time he had here.

An unusual starter phot0 in that finally we found someone who was able to take a manual selfie of the whole group. Thereby for this occasion dispensing with John's hi tec trickery/

Rod writes:

A very small gathering indeed but infinitely enhanced by the presence of Hedley and Alistair White.

So Myriam, Maria, Hedley, Alistair and Rod gathered at the Bensafrim market square cafe on what was a warm but not excessively hot day. The usual preamble of coffee and foto shots etc. took a while but we were off soon after 10.15.

We left Bensalem on one of the well known tracks heading Northwest. Not a great deal to note but it was pleasing to see that despite a great deal of land scrubbing and descrubbing, there was no sign of any avocado or photovoltaic planting. We eventually reached the ridge which drops down on the far side to the vineyards, but rather than descend to that we turned left where the track was indicated to Monte Amarela, well it would have if the sign had  any longer remained vertical! 

Monte Amarela is one of the numbers of ruined farmhouses around these parts that a while ago somebody thought deserving of a relatively expensive signpost. There was and continues to be no apparent reason why. In any event we passed the ruin by and continued back south along the ridge to the east and parallel to the Aljezur road.  This has pleasant views and not too demanding undulations until one arrives at the Lagos Camara rubbish treatment plant and landfill site.

This has inevitably expanded some since we last took this route  so we hurried past taking a more peaceful route back down to the track returning to Bensafrim.  By now we had received the usual calls from Paul demanding to know where the hell we were, but this time bewailing the fact that despite all internet advice to the contrary  O Barbero Bar was yet again closed.  As it happened we were about to pass the Bensafrim Football Club´s  premises which upon enquiry were only too pleased to welcome some non members.

A select few attended the luncheon which was recorded by Alistair. What the photo didn't show was the strong cold easterly wind, that threatened to capsize the items on the table, and eventually encouraged Alistair to provide hedley with a windproof jacket from his monstrous hybrid  Jaguar limousine. Those with keen eyes will note that I have given my lilywhite legs their first public outing for many years!

Not a menu of any great choice and no pratos do dia.  However we were willingly served with bifanas which were generally considered adequate even to Paul´s  sensitive tastebuds. 

And there we are. The sum of the material gathered and I am unable to add to it not having been on the walk. No banter - no colour commentary nor random photos - not even of a bifana! 

It remains to me to add the social message to spread some optimism.

I had a choice between: '74 is the new 24' by Giorgio Moroder, which sounded as if it might have an explanation, but despite old Gorgio being the Godfather of electronic music, and being 74 when he produce this music, it was repetitive boring and  had nothing to say except the title. Hardly my view on reaching the lofty age, and not likely to be adored by many septuagenarians or older: and a little played song by John Lennon from his Yoko Ono period, which turned out to be oddly prophetic, and contains some carefully selected images from that time.!

That's all, unless anyone has any other pics to add, in which case send them to me please.