LAZAROW WORLD HIKE-ABOUT

The greatest canyon of all (Grand Canyon). Jen is stuck behind a western horse-party. Hay! Hey, Let the lady through.

'LAZAROW WORLD HIKE-ABOUT: WHAT IN THE WORLD IS HIKE-ABOUT?'

Hike-about is an adventure that commenced June 2010. After storing our household movables, ridding ourselves of a house but retaining our 'home' together, we set off with the purpose of hiking in different parts of the world, not forgetting the home country, the USA.

Our primary focus is hiking to mountain peaks but any challenging hike will do just fine. Extended stays enable us to enjoy and experience living in various places amongst differing cultures. Hike-about has evolved into a way of life. It's also a process of discovery, both the world and ourselves.

We work and live 'on the road' but return to the city in which our grandchildren reside, every three, or slightly less, months. This provides us the wonderful opportunity to be with them as well as a child or two, even three and of course, friends.

By the end of 2024, the blog contained over 1,636 hikes (far less than actually undertaken), each a set of pictures with stories and anecdotes from the trails. An index to the right allows the viewer to identify earlier experiences.

Finally, we are often asked about the journey's end.
O
ur reply, as accurate as we can state, is: "When we are either forced to cease through health issues or the enjoyment level no longer reaches our aspirations, we will hang up the boots."

"A Life Experience As No Other: Dare to Seize the Day Together", published by Fulton Books, depicts our life on the road and mountains until the beginning of 2017. It has developed 'exponentially' since then.

Jenni and Jeffrey Lazarow

Whereas we continue to update the blog regularly, we circulate email notifications infrequently.

Sunday, November 17, 2024

64.22 Portugal: The Algarve: A hike at Albufeira do Arade.

We reach a highpoint on one side of the dam on a dull day, hence, 'blueless' surface.
On the other side of the dam above the wall.
  We drove into the interior searching for a dam hike. Upon arriving at what was apparently a commencement point, we were 'welcomed' by a hunter in camouflage uniform and of course, with a rifle. ‘Welcomed’ is somewhat of an exaggeration. Expressed differently, he had yet to fire the rifle or even point it in our direction. While I'd like to believe, at a minimum, we were matched evenly, I still had the advantage. I was 'armed' with Jen, a backpack containing breakfast and a camera. Nothing like a bit of foolish optimism. After all, Jen and I each have a pair of arms, not to forget another set of forearms each, giving a tally of 'twelve', if you sum our upper limbs, just enumerated. 

  The guy was not friendly (see end for blurred shot); we supposed he felt our presence might disturb whatever game he was pursuing or even the particular game he intended playing. Here we were in what appeared to be the middle of ‘nowhere’—we could not even see the dam, the target of our game, so to speak. Jen gave me the eye which I took to indicate perhaps we should find another place to park. I looked at our little car, at the surroundings and questioned some of our adventures: We usually don’t know where we are specifically, invariably, there are seldom other hikers about, we leave our car in what appears to be a deserted area and then walk into the unknown. When I considered it, it did seem a little reckless. Having thought it through and therefore completed the exercise, we set off for the interior along a dirt road which became a path. For the first twenty minutes, we kept an eye on the car and the other on the hunter. The further we progressed, we realized, the less attractive targets we would be—not that I’m intimating we are attractive, well Jen is but you know what I mean. 

  It took another ten minutes to accept we do this for a living, no, we do this to live, so then was not the time to worry about our car. In addition, Portugal may be close to Africa, but it’s a first world country. Great. Let’s put that nonsense behind us and face the extremely steep path that lies ahead…a far more daunting task. 

We'd call it pretty steep although perhaps not so 'pretty' as we return from the valley.
Watch how to earn some 'goodwill'. Now this I'd term pretty. The dam wall is to the left in the distance.
Back to the dam wall side where we sat for breakfast with some damn flies. We are sitting on the sloping dam wall.
Jen is crossing the dam via the bridge with the attraction of the trees in the background, including dormant 'grey guys'.
Looks as if there are two levels of water.

Shapely.
A perspective of the dam wall as well as some of the slopes surrounding the water.
The sun hits the bank briefly.
The photograph understates the acute slope, although it does show something cute.
We took a walk on the road to position ourselves for some dam perspective.
Enroute to the trail could not miss this fortress also tucked away behind a wall.
Let's go home ahead of the rain.
Cheers, 

Jenni and Jeffrey

Jen's hands were 'shaking' but she still took the shot (see earlier introduction).

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