[pe2-image src=”http://lh5.ggpht.com/-jLSnUjEow_A/UX1rD8eE8EI/AAAAAAAAU-M/vz-tMDlKv1g/s144-c-o/P4260042.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/112133179186774955122/SouthAmericaSection2Stage14Colombia2BoarderPanamaToBoarderVenezuela#5871967204677054530″ caption=”My kayak on the transport to the police station, padded by a car tyre and a boat fender and tied up creatively” type=”image” alt=”P4260042.JPG” ]

Pos: here
Loc: before Cabo de la Vela
Acc: room in police station Puerto Bolivar

I think there was a good reason that the Navy guys decided not to drive back to Puerto Bolivar with me and my kayak loaded that same afternoon, but rather preferred to go at 4 am, when the wind and waves are at their lowest.

I caught a bit of sleep after the talk with the boss, and woke in time to pack my gear, ready to load at 4 am. The boat had meanwhile anchored a bit off shore and didn’t stay close to the beach like last afternoon. The guys may have feared they’d be sitting too dry in the early morning, I assume. But now they had to find a way to the beach through the reefs in darkness, which worked only after the second attempt.

[pe2-image src=”http://lh4.ggpht.com/-BlJW9bZcgdc/UYEAbBIaPmI/AAAAAAAAVF8/VtICdKEoPDM/s144-c-o/P4300012.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/112133179186774955122/SouthAmericaSection2Stage14Colombia2BoarderPanamaToBoarderVenezuela#5872975853228015202″ caption=”A great roof rack! THULE needs this model… :-)” type=”image” alt=”P4300012.JPG” ]

But eventually my bags and kayak got loaded, padded and strapped, and we started driving toward Cabo de la Vela at around 4.30 am. The moon was shining bright, and on the other side of the sky the first careful lights of the dawn came up. I was expecting high waves around the cape, but combined with the now maybe 15 knots wind, the swell waves were not really bad. They were actually quite long, and the large open boat did not jump a single time.Thanks goodness for my poor kayak. I assume if I’d be paddling close to the cliffs, the waves would be even more tame, and I would *just* have to fight the headwind. Sure on a moving boat I could not really judge the strength of the wind, but at least I saw no whitecaps.

The long almost straight stretch of beach after the cape was boring, but had beaches to land on, with more or less surf I couldn’t see from where the boat was driving.

The forecast for now is on Sunday night wind around 11-12 knots, with gusts to 15 knots, almost 5 knots less than this night. I decided to give it a go, starting again at night, latest at 4 am, better earlier. I may not get fully to Puerto Bolivar in the short weather window, but I either just land and camp at a beach or jump on the boat again to stay another night in the police station in Puerto Bolivar. Paddling into the bay is a long detour anyway, and quite ugly industrial. Monday to Wednesday looks similar on the forecast, and Thursday to Saturday, as good as the forecast can be so far ahead, is actually quite low wind!

My plan is to paddle still the “correct” direction, just in smaller legs, as much as the wind allows. The time pressure is now gone with finishing my trip any reasonable time, and not precisely on my 50th birthday… I may or may not reach the boarder of Colombia before I will fly home.

I booked my flight for Wednesday 8th, and see how far I’ll get until then! I’ll be home on Thursday 9th, like last year! 🙂

I spent the day in a room of the police station, which is before the private area of the mining company, where the coast guard station is. My room here has a bed, and when the electricity is not just gone like it was all the morning when I arrived, also a *working* air condition and light. What more do I want? All morning, I just had to imagine I was in a dark cell in solitary confinement… 🙂 And yes, the shower was working also all right. The only water tap spit even almost warm water out, probably heated through water pipes lying just under the hot sun shined surface. I did my laundry by hand, as the existing laundry machine first needed the non existing electricity, second was tiny, and third had to be filled with water be by a long separate hose for each cycle, then spinned again separately. Way too complicated…

The rest of the day I selected my gear I really need for the last few days, counted the food carefully, and slept long and sound. I really needed to recover before tackling the last headwind section! Thanks to the police station to host me here in the “wilderness” of the mining area!