WAGS 2025 10 15: Back to Bensafrim

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 "An autumn hiking trip around Bensafrim via Necrópole Romana de Fonte Velho" is how Outlanderactive (the tracking app used by Rod and your Blogger) describes where we went last Wednesday.

Well, we didn´t see no necropolis.The definition of a necropolis is a large, elaborate cemetery. There was apparently a burial site near where we walked but it cannot be very large; we looked for it once. Maybe we will try again.

Anyway, here is the Leader´s report:-

WAGS WALK 15/10

A customary modest group of WAGS, namely John, Hazel, Maria, Antje and Rod.... gathered at the Market Square Café in Bensafrim. The Café was totally overrun by a large multi-national group of walkers of mostly Northern EU extractions. Space was at a premium and the good lady of the Café in a bit of a mood, although not necessarily for the same reason! 

Overrun

We thought it best to await their departure so that we could set off in the opposite direction....so eventually their Obengruppenführer rose to his feet, ordered them to fall in and follow him. This was done with Teutonic efficiency, whilst we gently ambled off to the west in the direction of B. São João. 

Calm restored

Not an original walk, at least not to start with,

"No necropoli on my walks, Maria, sorry."

until we took a brief diversion from the northerly track to enable us to admire a splendid 360º view of the western Algarve. Hazel decided to call it Colina Boa Vista.



John decided to eschew this view and wandered on to relax on a suitable rock, from which he claimed he had actually managed to fall off, at the top of the ridge.



  Above this is a farm house which has recently undergone an extensive refurbishment.

 The farmer, who has always given us a wave and a shout, again did not fail ... but we have yet to learn whether he had won the lottery...or whether he actually indeed owned the place. 


From there we headed back in the general direction of Bensafrim, along an undulating ridge track new indeed to some before dropping down along a footpath near the Bensafrim A22 Roundabout.

In the general direction of Bensafrim

 Towards the end of this  we passed a really well kept house,

 the owner of which and his wife were only to pleased to chat over the garden wall about their garden,  the plants and especially about  a couple of unusual small fruit trees  (anyone remembers the name?).




Possibly tomarillos, tree tomatoes

 From there we followed a narrow footpath alongside the main road back into Bensafrim.

The Track and the Statistics



 

Rota Algarviana

 And so to the restaurant where we found to our surprise that the Northern EU walking club had completed an even shorter, but probably faster walk and were already installed in the restaurant....fortunately however in the back room, well out of earshot. Chris was already there but absent was Paul, suffering again from some dental problems. And so on to the Foody critics.

The Lunch

Six of us for lunch.





There was some discussion about the dorada. Was it one fish with two heads, or two fish with one head each?


No doubts about the javali.


Two very acceptable omelettes.

And, finally, la pièce de résistance:-


Pernil de porco.

(Perhaps the skin could have been a little bit crisper.)

All very good value and certainly superior to and better value than Casinhas the previous week.


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