We start out climbing a dirt road that leads to a deserted village: it seems few youngsters want the arduous life of a peasant farmer. As expected, there is general decay, but some of the house fronts have fallen out, and one of the walkers, who lives here, said this would be due to earth tremors. Shades of the 1755 earthquake that destroyed much of Portugal! 
Now we see the incredible concrete man, alias Terry, who has climbed the survey pillar at the highest point of our walk. This is where we eat our packed lunch.
On the way down from the hill, an energetic barking dog leapt out from a house beside the path and barred our way. We probably weren’t much at risk and, anyway, the owner swiftly appeared and grabbed the dog. I took a quick snap. Looking at this in more detail later, it appears that we were in more danger from being bitten by the owner than by the dog!
We pass through more orange groves and finally arrive at a village café-cum-grocery store where we order coffee, and sit outside on the wall as the café doesn’t have sufficient chairs for 13 walkers. All the while we are kept under surveillance by some locals in traditional (it would be nice to think) dress.
That’s us, on the wall, at the end of our 9 mile hike.
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