Charles Pauwels, as his name suggests, was not born in the Algarve, nor raised, nor did he move to the region because he came here to work. This Luxembourg citizen chose the Algarve to invest and buy a house because he likes the climate, but also because of hiking, one of his great passions.
Charles' feet are not “weird” and they walk all over the Algarve and in various parts of the world. But there is a place that is special for him and for other hikers he is used to on the trails: the village of Ameixial, in Loulé, very close to the border between the Algarve and Alentejo.
It was here that the Sul Informação found it on a Saturday afternoon in autumn, when the sun was shining brightly, raising the temperature to values higher than usual for the time.
Nothing that bothered the elements of the group of experienced hikers, most of them foreigners, who were sitting on the terrace of the Café Central, enjoying the good weather.
In other times, the presence of such a heterogeneous and notoriously multinational group could have been strange to the inhabitants of Ameixial. But, these days, the presence of outsiders is no longer a reason for surprise for those who live in this village in Serra do Caldeirão.
This is largely due to the Walking Festival do Ameixial (WFA), but also, more recently, to the work that has been done by the Associação de Caminhadas do Algarve, an entity that, despite its very Portuguese name, has a strong international component – including its president, who is Charles Pauwels.
But it's internationality it's not just the members. It is also due to the fact that he is the only Portuguese member of the IVV – International Federation of Popular Sports, an international federation of hiking and other sports clubs that was born more than 50 years ago in central Europe, more precisely in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Liechtenstein, but has now spread to almost three dozen countries around the world.
The fact of having a local club that is a member of this federation, whose main focus is hiking, is already bearing fruit and bringing visitors to the region. Among them are members of the IVV leadership, who visited the Algarve in November. Besides, they were also around that table, in Ameixial.
On that day, Tanja Muller, the vice president of IVV and spokesperson for the group - the president also came to the Algarve, but did not climb the mountain that day because he felt bad -, accompanied by two other members of the board, participated in the delivery of material for geriatric exercise at the Casa do Povo do Ameixial nursing home, a gift from the club and IVV Portugal.
The delegation also included members of the hiking association, including Charles Pauwels, João Ministro and Pedro Barros, from the organization of the Festival de Caminhadas do Ameixial, as well as José Carrusca, president of the local parish council.
This was the second consecutive year that the association has given this institution a gift. In 2020, the offer was a wheelchair.
This solidary component towards institutions in the places that host their walks is a common practice of IVV and its member clubs.
In this case, the idea of IVV Portugal and the Algarve club is to repay the hospitality and kindness of the people of Ameixial, a village with which the Algarve Walking Association, created in 2018, has a very close relationship.
«Several years ago, a club in Portugal joined IVV, which makes us very proud. We are hopeful that it will be possible to grow in Portugal and have more associated clubs. The more, the better», framed the spokeswoman for IVV.
«Our Portuguese associate has promoted wonderful initiatives. Right now, there are five permanent rails here with the IVV symbol. Any hiker, from whatever country, can come here independently,” added Tanja Muller.
Depending on the federation, "many hundreds of hikers will come here".
“The federation receives the dates of the clubs and countries and we publicize the initiatives they carry out. We have two websites, one of which is dedicated to events, where we put all the dates. Afterwards, our hikers, who are like a big family, access the site to be able to schedule their hikes and vacations for the following year, in order to decide where they want to go», explained Tanja Muller to Sul Informação.
In all, IVV has 27 member countries and representatives in 40.
“Germany, Austria and Belgium, for example, have organizations with 100 to 800 clubs in just one country. On the other hand, there are 15 countries, such as Portugal, in which we only have direct members, which are not organized in a national federation. We have one, two or three members. This is the case in Portugal, but also in Russia and Spain, where we have two members, who are directly supported by IVV and its central office», he described.
And how does a hiking club appear in the Algarve?
“This association is born from the desire of people who love to walk. As we don't like to walk alone, we decided to create this club here in Portugal», said Charles Pauwels to our newspaper.
“Today we have 55 members. This year alone, we gained 22 more. They are of many nationalities, but about half are Portuguese. We want to grow more, everyone is welcome», he said.
Since the year it was created, the association has been participating in the Walking Festival, promoting walks with the IVV seal
«What is most important, at this moment, is that people know what IVV is and that we can make the Algarve known to those who come from abroad», concluded the president of the Algarve Hiking Association.
Photos: Hugo Rodrigues | Sul Informação
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