[pe2-image src=”http://lh6.ggpht.com/-Tn8-lDbVqNA/U2Sr0lP73cI/AAAAAAAAb2E/xBJ2n3IUcfQ/s144-c-o/IMG_0029.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/112133179186774955122/SouthAmericaSection3Stage20Brazil3SaoLuisToNatal#6009116722659581378″ caption=”The local highway…” type=”image” alt=”IMG_0029.JPG” ]

Feeling the antibiotics making me tired…
Pos: here
Loc: Ilha do Curupu
Acc: tent
Dist: 37,1 km
Start: 6:20 End: 15:20

The doctor said better start on Tuesday…one day more for the body to adjust to the medicine, as I felt quite tired physically… but this would also be one more day to lose on the shifting tide. I thought five days after a full moon the power of the current must be low enough to paddle against the current… basically yes, I can live with 3-4 km/h for a while.

But when the headwind comes up additionally with those stormy rain squalls and 20 kn gusts, I better seek a landing. Twice I did this this morning, both times through quite some surf. Once for breakfast in a rain squall, once for 1 1/2 h of mostly rain waiting for the tide to turn eventually. Then I’d have the current of 2 to 2 1/2 km/h with me and the weather clearing up always on outgoing tide.

Jadiel knew why he didn’t want to join me paddling for a while this morning…thanks again to him and his crew for looking after me those long days of recovery!

While waiting on the tourist beach until the tide turns at 11 am, several people came up to me for pictures… they must have seen the news or read the papers…  one guy liked to tell me the tide takes six hours to turn… really?

I broke out the surf eventually again, being irritated about the well meant efforts of two teenies wanting to help though I waved them away out of the breaker zone, but they still managed to push me right into a breaking wave where I just wanted to wait a second…

It was relatively relaxing to watch the tourist beach area from the distance on this holiday, all those colorful beach huts and umbrellas, though the places were far from being crowded. Music everywhere, no Brazilian beach without noise. But slowly the huts turned back to fishermen style, fishing boats appeared, and people in the water were there for working with fishing nets for their sustenance and not for having fun.

[pe2-image src=”http://lh6.ggpht.com/-7jezw8Ohbuo/U2Sr1AYh8TI/AAAAAAAAbyE/ZSG7S68AwK8/s144-c-o/IMG_0027.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/112133179186774955122/SouthAmericaSection3Stage20Brazil3SaoLuisToNatal#6009116729943388466″ caption=”Another lonely beach camp on Ilha do Curupu” type=”image” alt=”IMG_0027.JPG” ]

I wanted to reach the end of the big island, passing one large river mouth on half tide displaying already many sand banks, but I could see the channels where the fishing boats all just came in. Good. I just stopped for the day before the last very wide and even more shallow area around also fell dry, so dragging was a reasonable 180 m. I just had walked already twice with heavy double gear and water loads, set the tent, when a guy came walking along. Perfect to ask to help to drag up the kayak…but he either did not understand me or did not want to help, so I went myself alone to do the tough job. I am used to it…

Somehow I managed to pick a spot which smelled yucky, but I couldn’t find the cause. No dead seals or whales here… no vultures… strange. I will survive…

[pe2-image src=”http://lh3.ggpht.com/-9h9WA3yLo3M/U2Sr0sH4jAI/AAAAAAAAbx8/ySR_6cueC2I/s144-c-o/IMG_0028.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/112133179186774955122/SouthAmericaSection3Stage20Brazil3SaoLuisToNatal#6009116724504857602″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”IMG_0028.JPG” ]

Not sure yet when to start tomorrow, probably not on lowest tide! But the current running up into the river bay to cross next should help now – I will probably take the southern channel to some village as I will need a camp site and beaches are rare in a suitable distance.