Pos: here
Loc: behind Punta Casamayor
Acc: tent
Dist: 37,7 km
Start: 7:35 End: 15:20

I may be a bit trip-sick today…paddled only 37,7 km again. I felt when I saw that nice beach and only high cliffs in the distance, and the tide was still 2 hrs before lowest, and it was HOT in my dry suit…and…and…and lot of reasons to excuse myself to go in already. About 100 km left to Cabo Blanco, still can make that in two days, if…well, if I’m not going in already after less than 50 km both days. Hope the weather holds up. And if not – it can’t be helped…

On launching, I dragged my boat on to the shallow sandy area about 30 m short of  the water line, the tide was rising, and I thought I rather drag it back than trying to drag it fully loaded over the sticky fine sand…which I’d eventually would have to do, as I was loading faster than the tide was coming in.
But you can’t move the heavy loaded kayak a single centimeter meter on the sticky fine wet relatively soft sand, it simply sucks itself to the ground. Higher up, the beach became steeper and more gravelly, but not here on low tide. So I did unusually have my breakfast already, and waited about 10 min for the incoming tide to lift my kayak off the ground. Hmmmm…

I had to paddle quite offshore all day, as the coast had long reefs sticking out here and there, causing breakers which I rather liked to avoid. But this meant the paddle was quite boring…thank godness to my e-book…but I should not complain, I had low following winds all day, flat water, sun shining…but I was boiling in my dry suit! How I’d love to paddle with a shirt only here…but I feel I’m better off most of the time in a dry suit on a day’s long expedition paddle by myself, with about 13-14 degrees cold water, where the weather can change any time and the sea can come up in no time as well and there is not always a safe landing close by. When it’s a bit more windy, I’m quite all right, but in almost no wind and 20 degrees and burning sun I may soon go for a swim in between my paddles one day soon.

This is one of my personal excuses I’m not paddling as long as I could and am used to…I’m quite sure when I’m changing one day to jacket and pants, it will be different.

After landing, I was climbing the highest cliff again for an overview, and I sat there a long while in the strong, but warm wind, admiring the colors of the sea and the deserted hinterland. No picture can capture this feeling of being alone in the wide desert and sea… No single sign of humans or animals, apart from a tin shack in the other bay, probably belonging to a near by estancia. Plus a badly maintained estancia fence.

I was calculating the remaining distance to the Magellan strait – about 660 km – if I’d paddle only 40 km a day, I’d have only 16-17 paddling days left until the strait…plus the coast of Tierra del Fuego, then it would be Chile already…the west coast, and probably a fully different climate. It may be rainy, chilly humid and foggy in fjord land…and I’d be happy in my dry suit again! And I’d be missing the so nice dry desert of Argentina… 🙂 – at least it was ages ago I was packing a wet and sandy tent in the morning!

What was looking here from the distance as white sand, is actually some sticky stuff causing the rain possible one day not to soak into the earth, but flood over the surface, it would fill the dry river canyons in no time, and release all the nice rainwater quickly into the sea again, giving plants no chance to really grow…it’s simply just desert!