I seem to have spent most of the last 3days in front of the computer. I have completed the details of a new cycling holiday in the Alentejo which then had to be put together and sent off to my 'web man' dear Rob, who I have worked with since I began Portugal Walks almost 10 years ago. Rob has moved from the UK and settled somewhere in Asia but the miracle of cyberspace means I just e-mail, add the attachments and photos and I know that in a few days a new web page will appear on the Pedal in Portugal site.

A busy week, getting prepared for a hectic September. It has again been very hot but managed to find a new walk yesterday and eat a few delicious figs on the way - the trees are now laden. It was a fruitful walk in other ways, I found a 1924 20 cent Portuguese coin in some newly turned soil and then saw this very unusual plant growing with flowers that looked like plastic. However a local lady assured me it was 'mountain jasmine' but it was uncommon to find it growing near sea level. (if you click on the photo you will get a larger view)

Hot, hot, hot! Found a new walk today with my good friend and sometimes walk leader Neil but oh my goodness it was hot. I have to admit I began complaining about 20 minutes from the end (well we had been walking for 2 hours) as we tried to find shady spots and when we reached the car which showed an outside temperature of 35C - I felt my complaints justified..... I was totally wet from sweat and not a happy bunny. Still a cool dip in Neils pool and an ice cold beer soon saw me smiling again!
PS Its another good Wednesday walk for the new season.

A short trip to the UK for family reasons last week but now I'm back and spending a good deal of time at my desk. 2010 dates and prices have to be confirmed this week as several travel companies are finalising their brochures ready for the printers. The policy is to try and keep the prices for most holidays the same as this year but the biggest headache is the price of fuel (in Portugal there has been a continuous price rise over the past weeks which has a knock on effect for transfers and transport costs).

Went out very early yesterday researching a new walk for next season. It worked out really well, a circular walk of just under 3 hours and I found a great cafe to start from with plenty of parking. As the regular Wednesday / Saturday walkers know I tend to have a 'jinx' on cafes where the walks start (they often for various reasons are closed on the day of the walk) but the delighful owner assured me she was open every day 'sempre, sempre' - we will see!