But before I tell you the sheep tale, do you remember the venue of vultures? Well they were not the only birding delight on our 12km hike in the Foupana and Odeleite river valleys. You may recall our walk began in the hills immediately above Foz de Odeleite, an area where we regularly see birdlife.
Whilst there was nothing particularly rare or unusual, it was for us a wonderful day’s birding for our very first walk of the season. Simply click on the galleries for the names of the birds.
The sheep tale I hear you cry. Towards the end of the walk we saw our first signs of human life. A shepherd returning to his flock beside the Odeleite.
Sundown was only an hour or so away, and it was soon evident they were going to be moved for the night. He had no dogs, but within a few minutes they were moving exactly where he wanted them. Quite extraordinary.
At first we thought they were being moved to the highly visible barn, and that some of the sheep were heading the wrong way. They though knew exactly where they were going as it was the buildings higher up the hill where they were going to bed down for the night. Are Portuguese sheep better behaved than English or Welsh as they always seem to have dogs when they are on the move? Or do Portuguese shepherds have an extra special set of skills?
By the way if you are interested in walking this area yourself, then do visit my map of walks. I will be adding more walks over the forthcoming weeks and months, and so it is a useful resource for those wishing to explore the Algarve on foot.
Will there be rain Becky?
We’ve had huge downpours overnight and so the rivers and streams are all quite high at moment. In fact we wouldn’t attempt this walk now as not sure we’d make it without thigh high waders!!
Beautiful post! I think the shepherd had special set of skills 😊
Thank you so much. He certainly seemed to be able to talk to them 😊
I suspect they know that they are going to be fed. Lots of lambs amongst that flock I see.
Ah yes that could be it. It seems to be the lambing season here. Guess it makes sense as grass is growing everywhere at moment. So green 😊
Wonderful, rural area and shots. And walk!
We love this part of the Algarve. He was the first human we’d seen after an 8mile hike!
That’s something for me indeed…
Extraordinary…until I think of the cattle in Romania…they find their way home by themselves…..
ah that’s true. I have seen cattle in England make their own way too.
Oh, OK
Such a wonderful tale Becky 🙂
Well trained sheep! That’s very clever.
Very!!