Jo’s Monday walk : Furnazhinas to Odeleite Dam

I’ve been wanting to go back to Furnazhinas ever since I discovered this lovely village last year.  It sits up in the hills, at the eastern end of the Via Algarviana, a 300km inland walk which crosses the whole of the Algarve.  The good news for me is that there are 2 much shorter walks which pass through the village, and on a gloriously sunny January day we decided to sample one.  It was an easy choice.  PR9 leads south of the village, signed Mina e Albufeira (not the popular one!) in the direction of the dam at Odeleite.  It promised views over the water, and I was sold!

Scarcely were we out of the village when we encountered solid looking stepping stones, beside an ancient well.  Not a trace of water- so far this has been a dry winter.  The path started out on schist, the rockbed of much of the Algarvian hills.  I was enchanted with the vibrant green grass, growing over and around the boulders, and dotted with a myriad daisies.  An old stone wall accompanied us much of the way, till we crossed a road and left it behind.  The blossoms were nodding, everywhere.  We tiptoed past a row of beehives, anxious not to disturb the inhabitants.

As we crested a hill, I caught my first glimpse of the dam.  Just a snippet of blue in the distance, but it put a spring in my step.  As we descended, the blue changed from heart shape to an azure oval, softly lapping a small island.

Amongst all that blue, suddenly a flash of white caught my eye.  I could hardly believe it!  My first cistus of the year.  Incredibly early!  And then, a few metres away, a second.  They are the most beautiful plants, and soon the hills will be full of them.

I turned full circle to look at the dam, almost surrounding me at shore level.   A lone boat sat, it’s nose in the water.  I wondered if I might set it adrift, and glide smoothly into the silence, holding my breath as I counted the ripples.

Even on this arid shoreline the daisies were flourishing, and I was astounded to find, nestling in shade, a clump or two of wild lavender.  The bugs must have been busy, because next day I had a wonderfully itchy large red lump.  Serves me right for messing with nature!

Reluctantly I set off back along the trail, pausing again to admire the cistus.  It was mostly uphill going back so I was amused to note the inappropriate footwear dangling from a tree.  The blossom spurred me on and eventually we were back to the road.

The direction?  Inevitably up, to the trig point, where late afternoon sun bathed the surrounding hills.  Our target, Furnazhinas, there below.

All downhill, we returned to the sleepy village.  7.8km in total according to the sign, but it had taken us a good couple of hours.   Next time we’d walk north.  As we returned to the car, a couple of old lads in the fields paused in their work to smile and wave at us.  And a donkey brayed scornfully.  Perhaps he knew something we didn’t?  No cake!  But lots of lovely walks to share…

walking logo

Shall we get the cold stuff out of the way first?  Lisa is joining us this week :

Baby It’s Cold Outside

Crunch through the fields with Margaret :

Ragtag Saturday : Frosted fields

A full-on attack on the ski-slopes with Drake!

Snow but not slow mood

Irene can almost compete, with -4F  😦  but oh, so beautiful!

In the Music Garden

The damp stuff can still be beautiful, as Xenia shows :

A Walk in Rosehall Forest

Geoff labours on, but he’s in good company and the scenery is superb :

Walking With The Wind At My Back : Part Three

Speaking of beauty, I’ve really enjoyed hopping around the Hebrides with Anabel :

Hebridean Hop 20: Craigston, Cleit and Eoligarry

Life is always colourful (and filling!) with Jackie :

Fast Food

Sandra is joining us, all the way from Texas.  Please say ‘hello!’

Ruston Way, #Tacoma #Saturday Snapshot

Alice takes us back in time, past troubled times to serenity :

Historical Site on St. Helena Island

While Indra proves that life can be more than a beach :

GOA – Is not all beach

And Rupali captures high drama in the city :

Dramatic cityscapes of Hong Kong

And talking of cities, don’t miss my lovely friend Carol’s take on Toronto!

Hello Toronto!

That’s your reading matter for another week.  Come walking next time?  You’ll be very welcome here at Jo’s Monday walk.  See you soon!

124 comments

  1. So many blossoms, so much blue, and so much beauty! I’m really curious about the 300km trail across the Algarve. Maybe a future destination? Now that I’ve done the Camino, I feel I can tackle any long walk. 🙂 I love your line: “A lone boat sat, its nose in the water. I wondered if I might set it adrift, and glide smoothly into the silence, holding my breath as I counted the ripples.” So poetic, Jo. And it’s unbelievable that you have such spring-like weather in January, when we had to suffer through so many dreary days in the north in late October and early November!

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    1. We have walked some sections of it, Cathy, but not starting at one end and going the whole distance. There is accommodation at Furnazhinas, which is very charming, and I imagine there will be similar along the route. We’ve been spoilt with the weather ever since we came out here. Got a cloudy couple of days and a bit of much-needed rain, but it won’t last. Decorating getting done and I’ve booked my Azores trip so I’m excited for that. 🙂 🙂

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      1. Lucky you with the weather. We have snow yet again today. Argh! A trip to the Azores? When will that be? I don’t know much about it, so will look forward to reading all about it. 🙂

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      5. Very vaguely. First I’ll go to Rome directly from Morocco, where I’ll spend two days. Mike has been to Rome and hated it, so he’ll meet me two days later. Then we’ll go to Cinque Terre, Florence, and all around Tuscany including Pisa, Siena and other villages (unknown yet). So basically central Italy. 🙂 I really need to get busy booking and planning. I’m trying to do too much right now. Can’t wait to relax. 🙂

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      6. I’ve never been to Rome. Always felt a bit ambivalent about it but everyone I know loves it. Must have caught Mike on a bad day 🙂 🙂 Absolute love affair with Florence, even in February, but I would have loved to add Siena to the trip. Cinque Terre… stuff of dreams 🙂 Walking or riding the train? Sorry- too many questions. Just enjoy, Cathy!

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      7. As for Rome, I’ll only have two days and will pick up Mike at the airport on the morning of April 26; from there, we’ll rent a car and drive to Cinque Terre. There we hope to do a lot of walking, but we won’t rule out taking the train or boat between towns. It depends on how much time everything takes. I’m hoping for good weather by the end of April!! I hope we’ll spend the bulk of our time driving around among small villages in the Tuscan countryside. That is the thing I look forward to the most. 🙂

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    1. We were in the hills again on Tuesday, Patti, and there were lots more, even though it was a less sunny day. There’s a little much needed rain forecast this week. Time to get some jobs done 🙂 🙂

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  3. Are you just loving the sunny, blue skies, Jo? Silly question, I know! I’m sure seeing that dam off in the distance was all the siren call you needed. 🙂

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    1. It’s quite odd to get up and find a grey sky, Debbie 🙂 🙂 It happened today and there’s even a little rain around. No complaints. It’s needed and we have chores to do. 🙂 After my t’ai chi class this morning.

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  8. A lovely walk in the sunshine, you are being spoiled! Your flower photography is getting better and better – the first shot is almost 3D and I love the one with the blossom backlit. I would love to stroll these hills and see the wild flowers. A shame about the lack of cake, but you have probably had sufficient since moving there… 😉

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  9. Oh Jo how lovely! You must be loving life in your new home! It is so beautiful! I’d love to be away from our long winters. Thanks for sharing and can’t wait for the next walk!

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    1. No, that’s great, Natalie. Whatever works best for you, but this way is good because then other people can see your link when they come here to comment. Albufeira isn’t the best recommendation for the Algarve but I imagine it’s good for families. As you can tell from this post I like somewhere quieter. 🙂 🙂

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  16. OMG, is it Monday again already? Where does the time fly off to? What a lovely walk and the Cistus looks so gorgeous. Bet you can’t wait for the other blossoms to catch up.

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  20. A very lovely walk made very satisfying reading, and once again raised a feeling of envy in me. Such intense blue skies would cheer anyone up and your lake looked really, really peaceful. I loved the boat, the whole image is so serene and calming. I can hardly believe that is January in the Algarve. Someone has been lying to me all these years.

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    1. You never know, Mari! We’ve had an exceptional number of blue skies lately, sometimes with a fresh breeze, but a few clouds crept in this afternoon. Gives us a chance to do some of the jobs that need doing. 🙂 🙂

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