And yet another fabulous hike under my belt!!! Today five of us, Harald, Pat, Gary, André,and myself headed off for Silves. The objective: to hike an unmarked trail that had been more or less explored and laid out in GPS format by an old friend of Harald’s. It turned out to be a bit of an adventure in that we took a wrong turn here or there but, still a marvellous day and a new perspective on Silves area.
We drove to the town of Silves, parked the car near the river then headed off, meandering through the old town, which of course was delightful as it afforded us the opportunity to see a few of the old lovely houses.
The colours, the style, the slightly decayed perspective. In total it was quite lovely.
Now that’s blue!!
How I would love to possess the key to this gate.
Another place I wish I could get into and enjoy a look around.
What do you mean Pat is gone to the Post Office???????
Now that’s a grand old Silves chimney.
Patricia and André enjoying a good gab.
I can imagine what this looks like from the inside when you wake up in the morning and look out.
I have loved this place for years, and not just because it’s green. Today it had a for sale sign!!!!!
Simply a pretty doorway lovingly decorated and painted.
Our first destination was this old wind mill at the top of the mountain. Of course no route is ever a straight line!
As you can see, it was a beautiful day and it’s still early morning here. We all wore something to ward off the tiny breeze that seems to be around each morning but it wasn’t long before it all got peeled off.
The mimosa is a bit behind this year, probably because we haven’t had any rain. It’s till beautiful to see the bright yellow popcorn blooms against the blue sky.
I love this. A huge cast of a foot beneath a lovely old gnarled lemon tree.
Stork condo?
The beautiful bottle brush.
This turns out to be some kind of aquaduct for the farms.
I didn’t find this scarecrow very attractive, it looked more like a warning to people rather than birds!!
Clusters of what I thik are blue hound’s tongue all along the path heading up the side of the hill
A whole cluster of what I love to call “Jesus Trees”….usually they are only in cemeteries here but today, up the hillside.
The lovely gum cistus. All the hills were covered in them. Dancing in the breeze.
A pepper tree.
The view back on the castle at Silves.
Almost there!!!!
My wonderful friend Patricia.
My favourite hiking companion, Harald.
And finally, the windmill.
From here our directions managed to get a tiny bit confusing and I will admit that we might have made a wrong turn, or two, or perhaps even three BUT….we knew it was an unmarked trail and we made the best of it. I was out for the hike and as long as I arrived home before dark, I was good!!
The combination of lavender and buttercups is always eye catching.
Here we are trudging up one of many hills this hike offered up. Although it was very warm, there was a lovely breeze to accompany us. Perfect.
Another shot back on Silves. I loved seeing it all from a completely different perspective.
I saw two of these lovely orchid type flowers along one side of a hill.
We came upon a large compound of very lethargic and complacent goats. They simply didn’t move but only looked at us as if we were quite boring and annoying.
Mr. Billy was not at all perturbed by our presence. He was quite a large brute. .
An abandoned property off in the distance. We eventually walked right beside it.
How delicate and lovely are these?
OK, this is a funny story. I saw it, pointed it out to Pat and we were trying to decide what it was. Never saw one like it before we both said. At the very end of photographing it Pat realized it was a gum cistus with the leaves missing!!!
Various stages of growth on the eucalyptus tree. Love the colour variations.
More of the lavender and Bermuda buttercup
One of our errors. We had gone to the very bottom of this steep hill only to realize we should have turned right at the top of it!!! And so, we climbed back up then made another wrong turn and had to back track a second time. All part of the fun of hiking.
Monchique off in the distance. n
Gorgeous landscape.
Finally, after about three hours of fabulous hiking we wound our way back into Silves. This part of town was not what you might refer to as “a great neighbourhood” but it did have it’s charm.
A snake motif!!
I’m not certain why this was painted down the entire side of an apartment block but it’s quite lovely to my mind.
A Muslim Museum and part of the gardens.
I did not see a sign telling me what this was. Lovely and obviously war related.
This small church was tucked away at the extreme west end of the village.
I loved the white walls against the blue of the sky.
Sitting on the top of a family home.
A very Moorish doorway, which is quite a common site in Silves.
Quite elegant in my mind.
Abandoned and filled with large growing fig trees.
A marker on a very old building near the market area.
Turned out to be a wonderful hike, in total just over 13 km. We were thirsty and hungry and eventually settled on a small patio near the river to enjoy a meal and cold beverages together. I for one was very happy with the day, but how could I not be…..spending it with people I enjoy, countryside that is ever changing and beautiful to the eye, immense sunshine and blue skies, and being in a place I love. It doesn’t get a whole lot better than that.
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Marc and Randys Travel Adventures 
Can I send you some of our snow that has been falling since early this morning?. A little bit of wet white to go with the blue and green and plethora of colours?
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Sorry….as much as I like YOU, I do not except snow!!!
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Quelle belle aventure avec des bons compagnons. Toujours heureuse pour toi mais toujours envieuse lol. xo
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Merci mon amie. Don’t be jealous!
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What a wonderful day it seems you had!! The blog is lovely and so many beautiful pictures.
It’s just a pleasure to sit to read your blogs, it’s like getting lost in a good book, you forget where you are and what’s going on around you as you get lost in the beauty, warmth and story.
Oh and let’s just say that I needed to be ‘taken away’ from the horrid weather we’re having right now!!!!! There is a blizzard on outside, winds gusting, blowing snow in your face and all over you as soon as you open the door to step out. It makes me wish I had Ollie trained to use the toilet instead of going outside!!!
Keep the adventures coming.
xoxoxoxoxox
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I’m so happy you 😊 the blog posts. As for your weather….yuck. Spring will soon arrive.
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Too funny, you being in Silves Thursday. Kate and I headed out of the Algarve, Thursday, to return her to Lisbon for her flight today, Friday, screwed up on the A22 and ended up, in Silves! We had lots of time, took the N124 up thru the beautiful countryside, until we picked up the A2. One of those lovely happenstances. Talk to you again when I get back down to Luz.
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That is way too funny. Imagine if we had bumped into each other. Hope your drive back from Lisboa was uneventful. Will wait to hear from you.
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OMGosh! I agree with JoAnn…it is so easy to get lost in your blogs! I just transcend myself back to Paradise, feel the sun on my face and and just soak up the moment! What a glorious hike and wonderful photos, showing the beautiful countryside, flora and the creativity and uniqueness of the Portuguese people, especially their love of colour! Can never get enough of it! You exude with joy, Buddy…I love that too! xoxo
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Yes, twas a marvellous hike and wonderful to have a new take on Silves. Now if I just had the money to buy that lovely house in Silves I’d be all set and I’d never come home.
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