Friday 9 November 2007 - Last of the Summer Wine Go Levada Walking

There they are – Foggy, Compo and Clegg, alias Keith, Dave and Alan, all in step, having fun on the Levada do Norte.
Today we were joined by Keith, whose right leg sometimes goes numb on walks due to the artery having been removed to his heart area. And it’s people like Keith, who does have a head for heights, who can really appreciate the levadas, with their minimal ascents and descents. So it was not until the final 50 metre ascent to Cabo Girau that Keith had a problem – he had completely run out of power due to his diabetes, and Compo bravely nursed him to the relative safety of a 580 metre sheer drop to the sea.
Leaving Foggy and Clegg to their expressos at the tourist trap, Compo and Junior (me – junior! a rare event indeed) set off back to regain the levada at the tunnel that leads through the mountain to a new view and a further 2-3 hour walk to Boa Morte, where we found a taxi to reunite us with the Black Bumble Bee (a Mitsubishi Colt) that is our transport for the week.
And so to another fine meal in the Marie Celeste, pictured below.

A feature of levada walking in November is not so much the scenery, which is good but sometimes a bit samey, but the lovely flowers encountered beside the narrow pathways, such as the Agapanthus shown below.

And we can’t possibly overlook the fact that it is a balmy 21-24C here, just right for t-shirts and shorts, light until 6.30pm and generally sunny, so it’s always a most pleasant change from England in November…
And Clegg’s message for the day: ‘There’s no Substitute for a Good Leader, and We Haven’t Got One!’ Hmmm, Clegg (Alan) was wearing trainers today.