[pe2-image src=”http://lh6.ggpht.com/-ifIO2kKXAUw/VLV2E6k11LI/AAAAAAAAkpk/PSpKrsaRJzs/s144-c-o/IMG_0960.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/112133179186774955122/SouthAmericaSection3Stage22Brazil5SalvadorToRioDeJaneiro#6103914696785908914″ caption=”The net has rocks with holes on the bottom end, and floats on the top end” type=”image” alt=”IMG_0960.JPG” ]

Highlights: I helped the fishermen preparing their canoe
Lowlights: Headwinds…currents…
Launch: Small dumper
Landing: Amazingly overestimated the surf!
Pos: here
Loc: Some sandy reef beach
Acc: tent
Dist: 21,5 km
Start: 5:00 End: 10:10

Last night, I was already almost asleep at 7.30 pm, a group of people from the island guards/ workers came to my tent, making a lot of noise I was getting aware of them, and brought me unexpectedly a nice meal prepared on a plate, also offering to eat it in their place, if I like to. It was rice and beans and meat! It smelled good, but I had already eaten, was very full and brushed my teeth and ready to sleep…but I didn’t want to disappoint them, thanked them for the food and put it in a zip lock plastic bag for tomorrow night’s dinner. They came back five minutes later with chilled coconut no. 3of the day. Really nice, thank you! The coconut I was happily drinking on the spot, being thirsty from my pasta dinner and simply enjoying another chilled drink after all this luke warm water every day.
They came back a third time at 9.30 pm, obviously to get the plate back, but now I was really asleep and didn’t move. I’ll put the plate back to the entrance tomorrow, together with a “Thank you” card!

This is what I did this morning. No one showed up when I left the island, all calm. I had to cross over to the headland called “Barra Grande”, and already yesterday on approaching the island there was not only headwind slowing me down,but also a nasty counter current developing out of the large body of river water across from the island to the mainland. Only when I eventually made it with 2-3km/h well after the headland, the counter current was gone. But now the headwind breezed up again to 15+ knots, some dark sky developed, and as I was planning anyway to split the distance to Itacare in two days due to the headwind forecast today and tomorrow, I already called it a day before a reef on a headland looking nasty, but also providing a bit of shelter. The reefs here on this stretch of coast line are not rocky, but wide sandy surf areas mostly at the headlands. No real shelter! I estimated the straight coast also had some nasty surf again being unbroken water, and I thought this quite wide and big looking breaking reef area provides some shelter in the corner of the beach.

It did, the waves hitting the beach were confused, but soft. As actually the whole reef surf is,which I this time over estimated to be so bad. Usually it’s the other way round!. I landed right in front of a pousada, but dragged boat an gear about 100 m to the left where I spotted a public beach place with two large wooden canoes to my side. A good spot to camp! Just when I was finished with my early camp making, an older man started to get busy around the canoes. Four more men of the family and a cute small boy came to help, and I realized they were preparing the boat for going fishing! I was introducing myself, politely asked to take pictures, but was soon involved to give a hand here and there.

[pe2-image src=”http://lh6.ggpht.com/-NAzdku8K8yI/VLV1pKv8jYI/AAAAAAAAkpk/L-ncx-o-RMU/s144-c-o/IMG_0946.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/112133179186774955122/SouthAmericaSection3Stage22Brazil5SalvadorToRioDeJaneiro#6103914220091116930″ caption=”One canoe is 11 m, one is about 8 m long” type=”image” alt=”IMG_0946.JPG” ]

[pe2-image src=”http://lh5.ggpht.com/-fo4hMD5QOa4/VLV1pKzTLpI/AAAAAAAAkpk/-hfudazR3gg/s144-c-o/IMG_0945.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/112133179186774955122/SouthAmericaSection3Stage22Brazil5SalvadorToRioDeJaneiro#6103914220105182866″ caption=”Two older huge wooden dugout canoes, still at work!” type=”image” alt=”IMG_0945.JPG” ]

The wooden dugout canoe they were preparing was an impressive 11 meter piece, made out of a single fat tree in a traditional way, operated by six strong men to paddle it. They will need a bunch more men to get it to the water and to push it in. No idea about the weight, but it must be very heavy being solid thick wood, plus the men and the huge net they were starting to store. The single blade paddles looked like giants besides my high tech carbon wings, each one probably 2,50 – 2,70 m long and probably 2,5 kg heavy or more. It was already 25 years old, with few repairs and in pretty good shape. The job was to put it on a single axe trailer, to turn it, and to store the net, an impressive 225 m long thing, about 2m high, with floats on the top and small rocks with holes attached about every meter on the bottom, into the stern. Or was it in the bow? I didn’t dare to ask…The huge and heavy pile of net was full of sand, and meter by meter we were shaking it out with six people including myself, and storing this giant neatly in a pile in the boat, that the men can easily throw it in the water tomorrow, again meter by meter. I was actually wondering if I’d like to be also in this boat tomorrow to have a close look? I didn’t dare to ask…they said the catch is around 50 kg of fish. What a job, what a boat! And these are *real men*! … 🙂 – although in theses days a man with brain to operate all those new little machines is more worth, like mine…;-)

[pe2-image src=”http://lh4.ggpht.com/-p-Z0fGOzVDg/VLV2K4DbBgI/AAAAAAAAkpk/DmnRWxSTK_M/s144-c-o/IMG_0975.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/112133179186774955122/SouthAmericaSection3Stage22Brazil5SalvadorToRioDeJaneiro#6103914799188084226″ caption=”My campsite just besides the fishermen’s site” type=”image” alt=”IMG_0975.JPG” ]

[pe2-image src=”http://lh6.ggpht.com/-4bwiDJb4P-Y/VLV2Qyi5ojI/AAAAAAAAkpk/nGVOdEPw4tA/s144-c-o/IMG_0985.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/112133179186774955122/SouthAmericaSection3Stage22Brazil5SalvadorToRioDeJaneiro#6103914900788716082″ caption=”The net in the stern” type=”image” alt=”IMG_0985.JPG” ]

[pe2-image src=”http://lh6.ggpht.com/-uWoOToTYbNA/VLV2I0rNN5I/AAAAAAAAkpk/4q6NIrAfFao/s144-c-o/IMG_0964.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/112133179186774955122/SouthAmericaSection3Stage22Brazil5SalvadorToRioDeJaneiro#6103914763921471378″ caption=”‘Amanda’, ready to go to sea tomorrow, on a set of wheels” type=”image” alt=”IMG_0964.JPG” ]

[pe2-image src=”http://lh3.ggpht.com/-x3qL3E4HpKY/VLV2AngDTgI/AAAAAAAAkpk/VlnTtwsNPRo/s144-c-o/IMG_0961.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/112133179186774955122/SouthAmericaSection3Stage22Brazil5SalvadorToRioDeJaneiro#6103914622946070018″ caption=”The future captain practices with the anchor steering the canoe” type=”image” alt=”IMG_0961.JPG” ]

[pe2-image src=”http://lh4.ggpht.com/-Oy4vIJRaNyU/VLV1-BhSrLI/AAAAAAAAkpk/SoDsxyuh9pM/s144-c-o/IMG_0959.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/112133179186774955122/SouthAmericaSection3Stage22Brazil5SalvadorToRioDeJaneiro#6103914578390985906″ caption=”The fishermen keep their site clean!” type=”image” alt=”IMG_0959.JPG” ]

[pe2-image src=”http://lh4.ggpht.com/-fYnk9RW3yQw/VLV16lsEMWI/AAAAAAAAkpk/ark_dTxlvT4/s144-c-o/IMG_0956.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/112133179186774955122/SouthAmericaSection3Stage22Brazil5SalvadorToRioDeJaneiro#6103914519380373858″ caption=”The long heavy net is eventually piled up nicely inside the wooden canoe” type=”image” alt=”IMG_0956.JPG” ]

[pe2-image src=”http://lh3.ggpht.com/-3IxT6gEOiiA/VLV13-ESRMI/AAAAAAAAkpk/Y4jVTyI3AKw/s144-c-o/IMG_0954.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/112133179186774955122/SouthAmericaSection3Stage22Brazil5SalvadorToRioDeJaneiro#6103914474384803010″ caption=”I was taken up to help organizing the 200 m long fishing net into the canoe, together with 7 other men” type=”image” alt=”IMG_0954.JPG” ]

[pe2-image src=”http://lh3.ggpht.com/-mXMsfxoWB2k/VLV10MjB0BI/AAAAAAAAkpk/fkbTb0eLX6A/s144-c-o/IMG_0952.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/112133179186774955122/SouthAmericaSection3Stage22Brazil5SalvadorToRioDeJaneiro#6103914409552367634″ caption=”I love cute little boys…” type=”image” alt=”IMG_0952.JPG” ]

Is there anybody around here who may know a host for me in Puerto Segurofor a day or two of rest? I may arrive there in about 5-6days, I assume. This would be great!