[pe2-image src=”http://lh4.ggpht.com/-Lri0JpulU3E/UT0R6IFSZgI/AAAAAAAATfQ/D_eTtAY0htw/s144-c/P3071849.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/112133179186774955122/SouthAmericaSection2Stage13PanamaBoarderColombiaPacificToBoarderColombiaCaribbean#5853854780951258626″ caption=”Pelicans, pelicans and their white shit…” type=”image” alt=”P3071849.JPG” ]

Pos: here
Loc: Isla Bartholomé
Acc: tent
Dist: 00 km
Start: 0:00 End: 00:00

Tomorrow’s estimated landing: Panama City!!!

When I had a look outside my tent this night, the starts were bright, but no moon. Many, many lights of  fishing boats were flashing far out at sea, including the g guys who spent the day in the shelter of my island, four boats in a bunch.

I had a light early morning rain, and it was a real pleasure to turn my sore body around again, anticipating a lazy rest day. I woke eventually at 7 am from lovely dreams to some bird song sounding like little babies crying, blubbering and “talking”. What a peaceful place to stay!

But my peace was also disturbed by a motorboat landing on the other side of my beach at 8.30 am, unloading a bunch of logs. They came back, again and again, unloading the logs for probably a complete hut! This can only be temporary for some project, I hope? This island is so close to people, but so clean and free of human signs…

[pe2-image src=”http://lh5.ggpht.com/-NXTV4T2whqY/UT0RheDSznI/AAAAAAAATfA/jWlTLeTdpRs/s144-c/P3071845.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/112133179186774955122/SouthAmericaSection2Stage13PanamaBoarderColombiaPacificToBoarderColombiaCaribbean#5853854357351747186″ caption=”One corner of Isla Bartholomé” type=”image” alt=”P3071845.JPG” ]

I didn’t really care much about those guys, but I may have gone swimming once or twice, just quickly jumping in with no clothes, but the fishermen and the construction crew…and putting on clothes everytime was too much of an effort for me 🙂 I fortunately had enough fresh water for a shower every time, but now I used it only on a swim before sunset, where I eventually jumped into my paddling stuff. The shower after wards was even unintentionally warm, with the water bags all day in the sun. Good, as the sea water was even refreshing cool!

They left one night watch at the construction site, and I eventually bothered to walk up to my obvious lonely night’s neighbor for a short chat. This hut was to be for the TV-series “Survivor”, the Argentine version (In German: “Dschungelcamp”). I was actually thinking something like that, as my yacht friends had been talking about that they had filmed on another island also and had left nice walkways in the jungle…I left a card signed with “Best wishes from a “real” survivor from Germany”…if they’d ask me to participate in the German version, I doubt I’d agree… but who knows? If they’d pay well and if I’d not to have to eat worms and spiders… :-))

My food was just sufficient until Panama City at this speed, also I had enough fresh water. I was able to top up with four filtered bags on my last mainland beach freshwater puddles, and got one more from my yacht friends. All good! But I am really, really looking forward to shop some “new” and fresh food…it’s so easy to get sick of the stuff you have on such a trip! And you need energy for your muscle engines…

The whole island is full of tiny ants, one reason I rather was sweating inside my tent all day reading, instead of sitting nicely on a rock in the breeze close to the sea. They don’t really bite, but all rocks are full of them, crawling incesantly over your feet and body once you sit down. I even had to stuff a cloth in the junction of my three tent zippers to cover the last tiny whole as an entrance. Still I was killing a few inside my tent… I covered my tent as usual on such open beaches in sunshine with my black blanket for a bit of shade, but I was rather worried I would take it in tonight spotted with bird shit like my tent was this morning. Amazingly the birds did *not* shit on the blanket at all! But on my shirt after my shower… good luck!

I will launch tomorrow very early again, even earlier if the moon would be out, see how light the night is with stars only. But I probably have to paddle into the night to reach Panama City/ Balboa Yacht Club. It may be quite fun with all those lights! No idea how the wind and current will affect me tomorrow! But sure it will be a hard working day – 65 km straight line, and if pushed off line, it may be even close to 70 km…Panama City is not an easy trophy! 🙂