[pe2-image src=”http://lh5.ggpht.com/-aTXWrVCU7F4/VHcF2JupTTI/AAAAAAAAi9o/ZN8iYG202pw/s144-c-o/IMG_0646.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/112133179186774955122/SouthAmericaSection3Stage20Brazil3SaoLuisToNatal#6086339849297153330″ caption=”My beach buggy tow to the shady hut” type=”image” alt=”IMG_0646.JPG” ]

Highlights: Saw again so many cute reef turtles
Lowlights: One big turtle was floating around dead…
Launch: Some surf on high tide on this side
Landing: Reef sheltered beach
Pos: here
Loc: near Carnaubinha
Acc: tent
Dist: 45,2 km
Start: 4:50 End: 12:45

What a shitty afternoon… either having a constant sand shower or suffocating in the hot tent or getting sandblasted and sunburnt outside. No pleasant camping without any wind shelter or shade here. But I survived. yesterday I may have kept on paddling a bit in the strong wind, as landing would have been all the same outside the river mouth. And there came nice sites. This happens when you have only a paper map and a rough GPS chart. No access to satellite maps now without laptop or cell reception.

[pe2-image src=”http://lh6.ggpht.com/-rxrWko-dzTg/VHcFx4rfAAI/AAAAAAAAi9o/swQRPlLMjqI/s144-c-o/IMG_0644.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/112133179186774955122/SouthAmericaSection3Stage20Brazil3SaoLuisToNatal#6086339776001015810″ caption=”The best in shape fishing net system I hve seen on the trip. Most others were helf broken and unused” type=”image” alt=”IMG_0644.JPG” ]

The usual bunch of kite surfers were having fun in the shallows of Barrinha and Punta do Anel, I am thinking I am actually a bit tempted to see if I’d like to try this sport also one day or if this is too “social”, all those guys in one spot…

The wind was low as usual this week all morning until tide change at 11.15, and then not as strong as it has been, so I dared to paddle on a bit until I had enough and found a nice reef sheltered bay around the next corner. Many turtles were outside the reefs, they are so cute in their shyness sticking their head out just briefly when they see me. I saw something yellow floating in the reef break, was this a kiddy balloon? Unfortunately it was a dead turtle floating on her back, the next breaker which almost threw the turtle on my boat turned her around, still looking nice for a picture. But due to the threatening breakers I didn’t dare to pull out my camera, and better paddled quickly out of the threatening breaker zone.

I decided to go in between one of the jutting out reefs just after a large point where I spotted a fishing hut for a possible shady campsite tonight, but the hut turned out to be not useful and I opted to drag my gear 500m to the next reef bay beach where there were three fishing boats anchored and a perfect shady hut for my tent. Always find the fishing boat
sites…they have already chosen the best landing spot around. But I hadn’t seen them before landing at the beach.

Just when I started to drag my gear for the second half of the distance, a beach buggy with four young kite surfers stopped by, and I asked them to help me with my gear to this nice shady hut? No problem, bags were quickly loaded, and the kayak slowly dragged behind over the sand…eventually I had my (short) ride with such a beach buggy and another interesting way how to drag my boat up to the camp site on low tide…we already had a horse ride, an ox cart, motorbike, traction engines, all kinds of cars…thanks, guys!

[pe2-image src=”http://lh6.ggpht.com/-L6i94CvMd4M/VHcGBt68kHI/AAAAAAAAi9o/PNnt5qyH-fI/s144-c-o/IMG_0648.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/112133179186774955122/SouthAmericaSection3Stage20Brazil3SaoLuisToNatal#6086340047990984818″ caption=”The tide is raising” type=”image” alt=”IMG_0648.JPG” ] [pe2-image src=”http://lh4.ggpht.com/-2Hh3OkZEM0c/VHcF4suWFFI/AAAAAAAAi9o/whZtL-_TYsY/s144-c-o/IMG_0647.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/112133179186774955122/SouthAmericaSection3Stage20Brazil3SaoLuisToNatal#6086339893050872914″ caption=”One of the better shady campsites” type=”image” alt=”IMG_0647.JPG” ]

This camp tonight is a pleasure compared to yesterday, shade and a bit of wind shelter and not too much flying sand. This is how I can live! But two more camps only on this windy section, as I probably will take three more day to reach Paulino Neves, the last reasonable pick up spot to reach with a normal car.