Jo’s Monday walk : Gorjões

Back to the countryside today, after all the excitement of Easter and that family visit that now seems so long ago.  This little treasure was almost hiding its light under a bushel but, once I found one, then of course it had companions.

We’re up in the hills again.  Look to the far horizon, where you can see that distant deepening of blue that is the sea.  I’m standing in the grounds of an abandoned building project, wondering why someone would go to so much trouble to build their house on a hill, and then desert it.  There’s a story here, but one I’ll likely never know.  For now, I take in the views and the infinity pool that never was.

I’m in the area known as Gorjões, barely a 10 minute drive to the busy market town of Loulé, but seeming a world away.  The hills are speckled with villas and beautiful homes, each clinging to their privacy.  The lanes are edged with abundant wild lavender, and I trail my fingertips in their delicate perfume.  Climbing higher still, I come upon the remnants of a mill.

The path levels out and I peep over an inviting stone wall.  A crossroads reveals a heap of rocks with names… Casa Clara… Casa da Bisavo…  Aids for the postman, I think, only to be scoffed at by a local.  ‘We don’t get post up here!  You have to go to the village to collect it’.

I have company, but it’s a slow-paced walk where we stop to point out treasures to each other.  Like the magnificent blue beauty, and its smaller companions, nestled beneath a tree.  Impossible to miss the pure flamboyance of the poppy at this time of year.

Tiny yellow flowers decorate any open stretch of grass.  I stop to admire a grandiose villa, envious of the lovely pool, but I could not live so far from shore.  In amongst the rocks the cistus continue to flourish, nodding cheerfully at the least hint of breeze.

And then we’re dropping down again, spying one last jewel, shy in the sun, and a rock whose message we struggle to read.

I am surprised to read, later, that the flatter of the surrounding lands had long ago been used to cultivate tobacco.  A connection with ancestors in Brazil.  There are many stories in these hills, but for now it’s time to go in search of sustenance.

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I hope you enjoyed my company this week, as much as I enjoyed yours.  Please do find time to read these, and maybe, another time, share a walk of your own?  Details, as always, on Jo’s Monday walk.

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There’s dedication and determination… and then there’s Heather!  She’s an inspiration :

Walking The Walk

A lighthouse on an island… a sight I never tire of.  Thanks, Debs!

Sauntering the sands at Yellowcraig

In case you didn’t get your share of treats at Easter, Jackie has plenty to spare :

New Treats

You know, it can be miserable when it rains.  But it all depends on your point of view :

Rain

Not much rain in Savannah!  Let Alice be your guide :

Starland

Margaret has been revisiting some of her older posts.  Doesn’t this look beautiful?

On the path of Cathar shepherds – revisited

Closer to my former home, Sharon is always out, finding places to explore with her dog :

Entwistle Reservoir

Not a lot of walking, but a whole lot of eating!  Thanks, Sandra!

LaConner Crab Cruise -#Photos

Sharing tranquility and daisies with Susanne is never a bad thing :

Flaming Geyser State Park, a Missing Flame, and Steelhead in Training

Anyone seen Liesbet lately?  She’s been surfing ‘The Wave’!

Catching ‘The Wave’ means winning the Lottery

I love to be surrounded by water, so this place looks pretty perfect to me, Carol :

Island Life

The endless roads, with Cathy, lifted by the beauty of the churches along the way :

(Camino day 14) Azofra to Santo Domingo de la Calzada & ruminations (week two)

Another good week, wasn’t it?  Well, it always is if we’re still here.  Thanks for your company, and see you next time!

113 comments

  3. Wonderful. You completely transported me to the Portugese hills. I could almost smell the lavender and feel the sun on my face. Love the poppies.

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  6. Such a cheerful bunch of blooms here today! I can’t imagine walking away from the building project … if it were closer, I’d investigate and see if I could snap it up for myself! 🙂

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  8. thank you for taking me along in your lovely walk to Gorjoe’s. the gems and treasures you encountered and the hills dotted with beautiful flowers are so much to be grateful for! truly enjoyed it, Jo! thanks again 🙂

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  11. Now this is an area I could live in – that wonderful vista to the sea and all those wild spring flowers. I would be in my element. The villa with the pool perhaps? Expensive? Saying that we do get most of those flowers here in Cornwall, just not the consistent blue sky. Cloudy today but at least the dratted wind has gone along with the tulips…🌷

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    1. Maybe around the million mark? We started this walk from a walking friends villa and their garden is everything you could ever wish for, Jude. But it’s too far inland for me. And I don’t want to drive everywhere! Well -I can’t 😍🌼🌻💕

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      2. I didn’t think so, somehow. 🙂 🙂 Prices are on the up over here and the nice villas go from €675,000 but they can go very much higher. The couple we know built their’s in the footprint of an old house 8 years ago. It will be worth a lot now. 🙂 🙂

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      1. Portuguese Squill – Scilla peruviana although strictly from the western Med despite the Peruvian name! Grows here too and I quite fancy a couple for my sprung garden.

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  16. I’ve sussed what you’re all about, Jo…Sea and Sustenance (Coast and Cake, even)😂😄😄🎶💕. Oh, and abandoned building projects are almost always down to lack of money……

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      2. Sea, absolutely! Sustenance, not so much 🙂 If you saw the enormous lump of pavlova Mick and neighbours consumed last night! And I didn’t even have a mouthful. My bacalhau com nata was good though. Have a happy day! We’re off out now 🙂

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  17. Beautiful and you rekindled my memories of Spain more than Portugal! Very similar though in some ways very different. Love the blue flower and especially lavender. Enjoy your breakfast we’ve just had dinner😊

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  18. What a wonderful walk with wonderful flowers – and wonderful Jo, of course! Thanks for a great Monday morning stroll 🙂
    I’ll be back with a walk in a little while, but your mention of sustenance means I need to pause for a late breakfast

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    1. Funny- I’ve just said that to Jackie! 🙂 🙂 Thanks, Debs! We’re off out with a neighbour in a little while so I may not catch you till later. Hugs, darlin!

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