[pe2-image src=”http://lh6.ggpht.com/-8ylu7nTpGlc/UvoCR2AUpeI/AAAAAAAAZoY/xLAhChK2HiI/s144-c-o/P2030004.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/112133179186774955122/SouthAmericaSection3Stage17GuyanaSurinameFrGuianeGeorgetownToCayenne#5979093960865654242″ caption=”I rather blocked my tent with my kayak and some sand from some washing high waves…worked!” type=”image” alt=”P2030004.JPG” ]

Camped near suspicious cows…

Pos: here
Loc: Buffalo beach
Acc: tent
Dist: 40,7 km
Start: 6:40 End: 15:45

I waved farewell to the friendly community of Yalimapo, the weekend camp days were as quiet as they could be. If all village camps would be like that…
The current was still running strong up the river when I went out, but it changed soon after high tide was over at 7.30 am. Then I made actually quite good speed! Low winds and good energy made me average the whole day relatively good 4,5 km/h. Soon I had quite a choice of beaches, more or less mud, accessible close after high tide when I had enough and was ready to pull in. The last 10 km were a huge bunch of poles planted in front of the beach, not simple ones for fishing nets, but all big solid tree trunks… why? In groups of 4-8 or such, for no obvious reason. It looks like they might be somehow helpful to enter the beach in whatever crafts? Maybe an old military training area? Really strange…

I eventually even turned around 500 m to land on the last visible sandy area reaching into the lowish tidal water, the rest ahead I saw was mud fringed. Or I had to paddle on for a while longer… no, I had enough, still coughing a slight bit. I was surfing in with even a high brace, but nothing serious, just wet. When I walked up the steep beach, I saw sometimes the waves were reaching over the top and were filling the wetland behind, so I had better chose a grassy higher spot to camp. I already had my tent up, when I noticed a huge amount of wild bees on an old log just besides me…and the group of suspicious “cows” with a big hump on the back and long horns – Zebus or Water Buffalos? – was slowly walking up to the beach just on my grassy spit.

Ok, time, to give both groups of animals their space….not sure what I feared more, the bees or the “cows”…I grabbed quite quickly my already erected tent, and chose a sandy spot which I was now convinced would also stay dry on high tide at around 7.50 pm – I hope. The “cows” slowly made their way just over my old tent spot, and fortunately are now resting calmly right at the beach, in about 100 m distance. Can’t they be gone further?? I am hoping their curiosity is satisfied once I am inside the tent…I am watching them suspiciously, especially the big dark guy with the long horns and huge balls…

[pe2-image src=”http://lh5.ggpht.com/-m1xe8ggD7WQ/UvoCTUK5moI/AAAAAAAAZoY/4JNeddPvpvQ/s144-c-o/P2030003.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/112133179186774955122/SouthAmericaSection3Stage17GuyanaSurinameFrGuianeGeorgetownToCayenne#5979093986142952066″ caption=”My camp with the cows on the sandy spit at the inlet” type=”image” alt=”P2030003.JPG” ]

I am aiming tomorrow at a suspected beach spot after about 40 km on a land spit, the sat image shows somehow a beach, though it is a bit illogical to have one there. We’ll see…or I have to stay on the mud or in the mangroves again 🙁