After the usual leisurely start (this is a holiday), we drove up to Ribeiro Frio. It wasn’t too cold so we dropped Dave (Billy No Mates) off so that he could walk down the classic Levada do Furado. It was busy, but he enjoyed chatting to himself without anyone to answer back, and even met a few like-minded souls before continuing on to the Pig Farm at Quatro Estrada.Meanwhile Alan, Christine and I wound our way north in search of a ‘levada’ that Alan was seeking out. It was in fact a steep cobbled path/roadway, and the reason we didn’t find it is a tribute to Alan’s navigational skills.
So after a coffee en route and a walk round Porto Da Cruz, where a lone swimmer headed off slowly but purposefully across the bay, we enjoyed steak sandwiches at the Engine House. The town was then subjected to the ‘Invasion of the Smart Cars’ – at least 40 of them honked their way past on a test drive, presumably for marketing purposes, but amusingly tracked by a conspicuous Mercedes breakdown van. Do Mercedes own Smart? And does every Smart need a breakdown van?
We managed to extricate ourselves for a trip to Calhau, near Sao Jorge, where the coastal path was a little vertiginous for Chris. So we adjourned up to Portela and enjoyed a coffee before a short walk along the ‘E7’ path, which was much more to Chris’s liking and has fine views across to Porto Da Cruz and Eagle Rock.
A call from Billy No Mates interrupted proceedings so we ambled back and picked him up from outside the (very smelly) Pig Farm, all by now anticipating the excitement of a Saturday night in Canico.
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