WAGS 2024 10 16: Frew´s Law of Retributory Steepness

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First of all, a sedentary Starter photo.


Then we admired Myriam´s new transport, one which enables her to look down on mere pedestrians and to take a broader view of life.


We then went to Restaurante Rota Algarviana to book a table and to place advance orders for our lunches.  


A young waiter, busy setting o0ut the tables and clearly mystified by Myriam´s dialect, said that they did not serve lunch at 9.30 am and told us to come back later......there was in any case no menu available yet.


Clarity was restored eventually and we did manage to book the table. Then the Leader was finally able to take control of proceedings and we set off. Perhaps at this stage it should be explained what he was about to try to do: and that was to demonstrate his Law of Retributory Steepness which ( if I have construed it correctly) is that, "when entering mountainous terrain on foot, the flatter and the lengthier the access track is, the more extreme the angular co-efficient of the ultimate exit track becomes."

 In other words, things may seem easy at the start but just you wait for the sting in the tail! And so it proved. 

Over now to the Leader for his report.

The Leader´s Report

John... bit late  (stinking cold, exacerbated no doubt with combination of Covid /Gripe vax!)

A modest turnout of just 4  ( John & Hazel, Myriam and Rod) appeared at Bensafrim Market Square Cafe  in good weather following the rains of previous days.  After various delays caused by lunch negotiations etc., off we set in a northerly direction. The intention was to fork right up a track we had used but little before. At the turning our leader noticed a footpath, narrow but distinct, that followed the valley floor which he had not previously used. So inevitably we had to try it. Not a good idea. It started off well enough but became rougher and rougher and more overgrown with brambles.

 It eventually came to  point where we were obliged to turn back or head off left up a quite steep and rocky track.  

Our good leader assured everyone that this would join the track we would have been on in the first place. So the ever-faithful followed. Well, he was right (of course!) but the steep and rocky ascent tested ancient legs and lungs to their limits. 


Looking for a foothold, for a handhold, for anything !



In the event we reached the original track and having gathered our poise we continued northwards for a while. A lengthy pause to study and to speculate about animal spoors also helped us to catch our breaths.


 Blood was drawn in accordance with well-established tradition.

After a further 20 mins or so it was evident that our excursion had taken more out of us than thought so we opted to return the way we had set out. Still we did achieve nearly 6k with some pretty good exercise in the middle!   Conclusion; the age of off-piste experimental routes for WAGS is drawing to an end! 

Track and the Statistics





(Hard to believe that our uphill speed, after that killer hill, was the same as our downhill speed. Shurely shome mishtake.)

 In the event however we returned to the restaurant, most unusually, actually 0 minutes before the appointed time. To rub it in, Paul, the stickler for punctuality by those who actually walk, arrived quite unabashed at least 5mins late. And so to the lunch at which point I defer to them that are better qualified.

The Lunch

There was now a menu when we arrived.


Service initially was slow, almost non-existent; they were short-staffed, to be fair; and we waited. And discussed matters medical and the benefits of immunology among other things


But eventually the young waiter was able to give us his attention and was indeed speedy and most efficient.

He also took some good photos of us.



The food, when it came, was excellent, of course.

Rod´s customary soup

Bacalhau à Gomes de Sà

Paul´s frango grelhado and special tinto



Lasanha de carne

And then came the puds.

Fruta de Salada


Sozzled pear


and the Doce de Casa in its sealed container


open the lid


and dig into its layers - delicious.



Closing comment

Twice in the past few weeks, Myriam has sent me pictures of ladies in jeans.





Is this something catching? Maybe a visit to the immunologist is needed.
















Comments

  1. Myriam21 October 2024 at 14:57

    Good photos! It must be the most strenuous climbs we have had for a long time!! So very pleased that we all made it! 👍👍Considering our average of that day was 81.25!!!
    Needless to say, the best part was the topics of conversation. They "improve" with age!! 😂

    ReplyDelete

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