Operation Olive Grove
And the path to satisfaction
Two things have taken us outdoors this week, given us a proper workout and provided a great sense of satisfaction.
And two visitors to the valley have helped us with both: hiking some new sections of our long distance coastal path, and planting our new olive grove.
Many generous people have helped with phase one of our re-planting operation by contributing after the fire, and now we have all the aches and pains that attest to implementing that plan.
The kilo count is heading slowly downwards thanks to the extra exercise (and not eating in the mornings), but would perhaps be more advanced had we not celebrated the aforementioned achievements with wild boar (wild boar), seafood and a herd of pig cheeks.
The first guest of the year to Vale das Estrelas was my old school pal Andrew Major who brought his walking boots from Northumberland to have an introductory taster of the Rota Vicentina.
The 226.5km Fisherman’s Trail coastal path clings to the cliffs as it saunters down the wild west Atlantic coast of Portugal from the outskirts of Sines through the southwestern-most point of continental Europe at Cape St Vincent, to Sagres and along the Algarve’s south coast to Lagos.
The full route can take 13 days of hiking between beach towns and villages, but I reckon we could knock off at least a few days.
Ana and I love this stunning Atlantic coast, and would be happy to end at Sagres, with a pint or two of Sagres beer rather than spending a few more days walking east.
Andrew and I used to hike the hills of the Lake District with Alfred Wainwright’s Guides to hand, and a few years ago followed a coastal trail in Northumberland, and so we’re hoping to complete the Fisherman’s Trail here at some point when we both have time.
But a short and sweet weekend visit provided the ideal opportunity to do an A to B section of the walk, rather than just the usual loop to see how hard it might be.
Our nearest beach, just 15 minutes from the house, is Zambujeira do Mar and the official day five of the trail links the small seaside towns of Zambujeira and Odeceixe – both quiet at the moment, but buzzing with beachgoers in the summer.
We cheated a bit as I wanted to get back for the England v France rugby game and so we cut off a few kilometres and started in Brejão – the place where the famous Portuguese fado singer Amália Rodrigues had her summer home which is now an AirBnB.
Heading south we passed the surprise zebras, bison and assorted bokkies above the Birthday Beach (as we now call it) and hiked on to Amália’s house and beautiful little bay before striding out for a healthy 14km walk.
Odeceixe marks the start of the Algarve on this coast, and the viewpoint from the towering cliffs overlooks the wide expanse of sand and river as the Seixe reaches the sea.
It’s one of our favourite beaches for kids as it has both wild ocean and calm river beaches.
By parking on the north bank we avoided both an annoying long road walk into town and having to leave the Alentejo...and made it back in time for most of the match.
It was wonderful to see Andrew and catch up in front of a roaring fire as Ana pulled out all the stops with mussels, pig cheeks and pork roast accompanied by a healthy dose of Alentejo wines.
Our final feast was a fresh fish braai with the arrival of our second visitor and first volunteer of the year.
Operation Olive Grove has been a while in the planning.
First our pal and top landscape architect from Los Angeles, Wade Graham roughly paced out the pattern and dropped crossed branches as markers when he visited us last year.
Then short-stay volunteer Catarina carefully measured and staked it out with wooden posts.
All that remained was for us to dig 42 holes half a metre square and half a metre deep in clay, acquire a trailer-load of estruma or manure from a friendly cow farmer and pay a visit to Monchique (say cheek) to pick up a mixture of olive saplings.
We knew this was going to be hard work and so waited for the temperatures to increase slightly and for the arrival of some able hands.
Dominic Hurst is a former colleague and one of the most experienced BBC News producers having worked with all the big names like Fergal Keane and John Simpson over 30 years in some of the nastiest (and most amazing) places on the planet.
While everyone knows the names of those who appear on screen, viewers are seldom aware of the superstars behind the camera – the producers and the camera operators and editors.
Turns out he’s also pretty handy with a shovel.
Dom had a little extra time after trips to Ukraine and so volunteered to stay and give us a hand with some heavy planting.
We were all a little out of practice with a spade – let alone the sharp metal spikes which we used to break up the soil before being able to dig it out.
There was a little rain on day two of the project, so it did get slightly easier, but the clay just 20cm down is like concrete, so it was a full-on workout!
Thanks to our neighbour Ruth we were allowed to help ourselves to a large pile of muck from a nearby field to distribute on our hillside and mix in with the soil.
After a few mornings of hard graft, the holes were dug and lined with a few twigs and branches so we were confident enough to head up the mountain and buy the saplings we’d sussed out on a previous trip.
We bought five different varieties of oliveiras, or olive trees, to give us a mixture of olives to brine and eat and those to press for oil...if the saplings survive.
Obviously it would have been rude to take Dom up to Monchique without dropping in for lunch with Donna Paula and some of the best pig cheeks we’ve ever tasted.
And after all these tough mornings of heavy lifting we provided him with a hearty lunch and a bit of time to explore each day.
While there wasn’t time for any more full stages of the Rota Vicentina, we did combine a beach visit with a hike and filled in one little gap on the trail which we hadn’t done before.
We’re still looking for volunteers over the next six weeks or so, for later in the year and next Spring, when hopefully the building work will be winding up and we’ll be landscaping around the pool and the new houses.
I’m sure Dom would attest to how much fun it was for him as well as for us: please fill in the form here if you’d like to come and volunteer with us.
The only disappointment of the week that he wasn’t here for the big reveal: just how many kittens is Val Kilmer the cat cooking up.
The vet said she was probably due in two weeks about a month ago, and we’ve been saying “it must be close” for ages.
Today we’re clashing over her desire to be in the main house at all costs, but we’re keen to avoid the unnecessary complication of kittens in the cupboard when there’s a perfectly nice blanket-lined dog box in the indoor/outdoor room for her to deliver in.
We still suspect there’s not long to wait.
It’s been good to get out and about and do some heavy digging...and from the small collection of other plants we picked up at the nursery the exercise regime is set to continue.
There are few things more satisfying than looking down on a beautifully spaced olive grove on a steep and rocky hillside which had previously offered little promise.
Oh, and dreaming of a future oil rush.
The Rota Vicentina trails include circuitous walks, alternative tracks and thousands of kilometres of cycle trails. If you’d like some advice on the route please drop us a line! We’ll be able to put hikers up for a couple of night next year if all goes to plan!
Always an adventure! Hope you’re still looking for volunteers by the time we arrive. Planting olive groves sounds like a great project!