Wednesday 7 November 2007 - Another Victim

Topwalks Extreme Trips proudly announces that it has another victim to add to the growing list. Readers from the UK should bear in mind that we are now somewhat to the South of your Fair Isle; and here it is H.O.T. hot. Today Dave was expecting one levada route. We drove up to Camacha and set off on the continuation of Levada dos Tornos. Four and a half hours in the Rother guide we are using, that yesterday gave a very conservative timing. But today we endured the Sun and Heat for 5 hours to reach our destination. Dave is pictured there, but it is still 10 km back to Camacha, so plan B (unknown to Dave) kicks in and we complete a two day loop by walking along the Levada da Serra back to Camacha, rather than cheating by using a taxi or bus. On this path the stresses of the day were ameliorated by the chance meeting of a jolly English couple and a long discussion concerning tyres for earth-moving equipment.
Here’s Dave, feeling friskier on Tornos.

And, somewhat fazed by his exertions, Dave still managed to find time to place a deposit on this magnificent structure.

So, Pat, this is your first view of your fourth home – doesn’t it have fantastic potential? Dave’s stamina today, despite his role as a Victim, has surely placed him high on the shortlist for Superhero status! Especially as whilst I’m touring around Canico looking for a Wi-Fi hotspot, he is cooking my tea!

Tuesday 6 November 2007 - Return to the Levadas of Madeira

After a bit of a shock for Dave involving some ‘Chocolate Covered Cornflakes’ – an interesting start to the day – we grabbed Alan from two floors below us and headed up to Camacha. I disappeared for a while into the Café Relogio and the basket factory. The others discovered this only when vetting today’s photos for a suitable blog image! Today’s route took us up to the Levada da Serra, which contours at around 770 metres in a westerly direction through ‘Paradise Valley’ and on for several miles to its abrupt end above Funchal. Here we dropped down a road to about 600 metres, to pick up the Levada dos Tornos for the walk back to Camacha, stopping for lunch en route. Alan, unused to these excursions, had left his lunch at home. What was in his rucksack then?
We continued on to a bar that we failed to walk past. Here some fresh tuna accompanied the now familiar Coral beer. Both the tuna and the beer made Alan much happier. Here it is traditional to leave tips in bars, but there is also a practice of them providing customers with little extras such as nuts or olives or ‘lupin seeds’ – a sort of butterbean, or in this case - fresh tuna. Seems fair enough, but apparently the Brits still rarely leave tips.
Six hours on the trail had made for a good day out, after which we returned via one of the many supermarkets to collect essential supplies (mainly more beer).
The Marie Celeste was then swept out and tidied up, as best we could, whilst we had baths one at a time (one plug for two baths, no shower curtains) before A & C joined us for a pleasant evening with spag bol cooked in a pan with a breakable (it broke) handle, under Hugo’s expertly assembled light fittings (30w bulbs), on his folding (collapsing) chairs.
And then we chose today’s photo – of Dave entering the long tunnel on the Levada dos Tornos. Alan and I walked round because A had no torch, and as Anne and I had discovered on our last visit, the path in this tunnel gets very narrow, so a torch is really quite important.

Monday 5 November 2007 - Mission Accomplished

Well, as you can see from today’s photograph of 'sunshine over Canical', yesterday’s resolution has been achieved by this smug correspondent.
But sadly the wireless connection here is too intermittent to facilitate a timely brag, so I’ll have to seek out a ‘hotter’ spot tomorrow.
Dave and I met Alan and Christine as planned and we all enjoyed a smooth transit to our ‘place in the sun’, where the two of us have the pleasure of occupying Hugo’s huge apartment, which is within earshot of A & C’s second home. It’s a bit like the Marie Celeste here, apart from a resident pigeon, but we are making it more homely and we have fine Atlantic views towards the distant ‘Deserted Isles’.
After an excellent meal – I risked an experiment with ‘Chef’s Octopus’, the others enjoyed pork or Black Scabbard, we adjourned to A & C’s balcony to enjoy a few beers on this balmy evening.
We are nicely stocked up with provisions and looking forward to some exercise tomorrow.

Sunday 4 November 2007 - Fog over Cheshire

Well, yesterday’s weather forecast said today would be sunnier. So we postponed our planned walk to today, when the Yellow Orb would shine brightly. And it probably did, above 500 ft. But where we were it was foggy. Anyway, off we went to Marbury Country Park, where the fog was even thicker. And we walked the 12 km route shown in yesterday’s entry. The autumn colours were wonderful, so far as we could see them through the fog. Even the Anderton Boat Lift was shrouded in mist and appeared inactive. But the ducks, gulls, crows, lapwings, grebes, robins, blackbirds, etc were all chirping away quite happily, free of the stresses of parenthood and still blessed with a plentiful supply of food.


A resolution: I will find somewhere sunnier tomorrow….

Saturday 3 November 2007 - Miscellany

The Villain
Whilst I have to admit to being one of those people who can find Jim Perrin’s TGO magazine contributions a little hard going, the two books of his that I have read, ‘Menlove’ and ‘The Villain’ were a delight. ‘The Villain – The Life of Don Whillans’ has to be a mountaineering classic of the highest order. Anyone with the vaguest of interest in the climbing scene in the north of England and beyond from the 1940s to the late C20 should enjoy and appreciate this book. It is not just about Whillans, but as one of the leading climbers of his era Whillans provides Jim Perrin with the vehicle to describe the climbing scene of which he was himself a member, in fascinating detail. A classic, I think. Unlike Clint Willis’s effort referred to in my 30 October entry, which in my opinion is merely ‘A Good Read’.

TGO Challenge 2008
It has been reported that there are 409 applicants for the 300 places. Sue and I remain optimistic. ‘We have a plan’, as they say.

Last Night
Graham has some fancy new software that converts a digital ‘slide show’ into a multi-media extravaganza. (I'm jealous!) On a recent trip to Stok Kangri and numerous sights of northern India, he took some 2000 images, of which he has converted some 800 into a 4 part presentation. We enjoyed this in the wake of a meal so sumptuous that I have to admit to having a gentle snooze during some parts of the show. Thanks G & T for a great evening, and sorry I fell asleep. We especially enjoyed the video clips, and the accompanying music, of Graham’s attempts at cross country skiing in Norway!

OS Maps
I have Anquet 1:50000 maps for the UK and as a matter of course use them in ‘screen dumps’ on our personal website. For example, here is tomorrow’s route:

Alan Sloman has raised some issues about this type of use of images and the possibility of upsetting the Ordnance Survey. I view the issue with slight concern, but surely the OS wouldn’t be bothered about a few poxy images on a personal website or blog? Or would it?

Friday 2 November 2007 - A Postcard from Timperley

I have been to work today, and have an exciting evening ahead. So this is a genuine ‘Postcard’, of this morning's view from the towpath of the Bridgewater Canal near Timperley Metro Station:

Having a nice time, chatting to the fishermen (just behind me), in the warm autumn sunshine. Wish you were here…

Thursday 1 November 2007 - Bye Bye Bus

It is the end of a minor era. Today I had my last drive in the car that we have enjoyed using for trips over the past three years. It has been to Italy twice and to Scotland and other parts of the UK many times. It even transported WD to Stirling on his fateful trip last May (sorry about the reminder, Darren!) But circumstances change. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing; it just seemed pointless to have this vehicle sitting on our driveway ‘spewing tenners out of its sun roof’ (as Andrew so eloquently puts it), when we are away on trips and the asset could be earning money in a bank. Or, more likely, be used to fund some nice trips!
So I took it part way to Newmarket where I hope it enjoys its new life with Mark and his family.

Postcard from Timperley – the experiment continues.
Well, it’s an indulgence really, but I’m enjoying this experiment and will continue with it for another month. Statcounter tells me I’ve had 400 visitors. Sue says she made three of those visits, and she approves of the project. However, today she forcibly rejected my proposal to change the header photo on a monthly basis. And as other friends have also expressed a liking for that image, I think I’ll let it be for now. However, no one really notices the footer, so I’ve replaced that. The old one is shown here:

There’s a small prize each month for the first person who identifies where each footer picture was taken, and a bonus for identification of the header. Best of luck. And I hope you all have an enjoyable November, if that is possible…