WAGS 2023 06 07: Three On The Boardwalk, or Normal Service Resumes

 

 The weather forecast had been dire, and it looked as if there would be more WAGS actually outside Portugal than remained in the country, and even some of those had other pressing things to do. So, would the walk be cancelled for a second week running?

Well, as it turned out the weather relented and three of us managed to meet at Lagos Railway Station where this small Starter Photo was taken.

JohnH then took a few minutes to make sure his electronics were working properly, apparently unaware of the fact that the bench he was sitting on had collected some rainwater. Hazel then amused herself, if not JohnH, by taking this rear-view picture.

Now, for some reason or other, this has reminded your Blogger of a slightly vulgar ditty called The Tale of Sonia Snell which used to be a favourite item in the boozy sing-songs in the bar after rugby matches. There is a sanitised version which, to spare Hazel´s and others` blushes, I will try to find for the conclusion of this edition.

Anyway, off we set onto the board walk. Strange to take this route without one or other of the Whittles or Paul or Myriam. The last time we had done it, back in February, the walkway was still under construction with not much in the way of railings at the sides to prevent one from falling off and several gaps in the walk itself.

February 2023

Now the walk is complete, and the finishing touches have been applied, with the railings properly installed and with shaded areas at regular intervals.

and with rather elegant benches for the weary traveller to rest on.

Rain threatened briefly but then disappeared although the day remained very breezy.

Hazel took her normal quota of flower shots

Venus Anodyomene

We did walk a bit on the beach and then wiped the sand off our feet, returning to the boardwalk were it  finishes near Bar Quim.

The small settlement of Meia Praia now has its own special boardwalk access where Maria and Hazel were able to interview one of the inhabitants who was collecting sea sand for his pigeons

Someone else had rather imaginatively constructed a garden beside the walkway walled in by hundreds of recycled plastic bottes filled with sand

The Track and the Statistics.

8.7 kms, most of it on the boardwalk itself; perhaps that is why we returned one of the fastest average speeds for the past few months. Hazel and Maria were certainly going at a cracking pace on the return leg.

Lunch was at Tasca da Lota again where the dourada was perfectly acceptable and, after Maria had to reject a substandard swordfish, so was her grilled salmon.

Thanks to Hazel and Maria for additional pictures.

And to conclude, the Tale of Sonia Snell. Not a musical piece for once but actually a monologue, originally by an English comic called Cyril Fletcher.