[pe2-image src=”http://lh5.ggpht.com/–SyFT6K9KrE/VP9epWosLcI/AAAAAAAAmxU/jNSmB1L-g9o/s144-c-o/IMG_1608.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/112133179186774955122/SouthAmericaSection3Stage24Brazil7UruguayArgentinaFlorianapolisToBuenosAires#6124718082791058882″ caption=”My friendly hosts at Santa Marta – Sonia and Jaimie, Rosie, Josie, Hans and Lia” type=”image” alt=”IMG_1608.JPG” ]

trip days left: 54
straight distance left: 1123,2 km
Highlights: Got some great hosts!
Lowlights: Tough hard paddle
Launch: Low wide surf
Landing: Low wide surf
Pos: here
Loc: Santa Marta
Acc: Hans and Rosies house
Dist: 36,1 km
Start: 5:55 End: 15:55

Light rain all night made me packing a soaking wet sandy tent. My fishermen neighbors wanted to tell me the sea would come up to my tent side at the edge of the grass, usually it is better to listen to them,but not in this case…the water stayed for sure far away as I “read” on the beach yesterday. I think they just liked me to camp closer to their house for”security” reasons…actually I have slept very well and felt safe here close to people.

Going out this morning took some “braveness” to launch into a dark gray rainy grumbling thunder and lightning morning with a very bad vision. Not much wind yet, but the whole scenery looked threatening and not inviting at all. Not a single person or fisherman going out either this early. I did all right, the sea was low, but sure the wind breezed up very soon to a continuous ugly 10-15 knots headwind. At the cliffs and headlands it may have been even more, plus the bumpy reflecting higher swell on these areas. I had to paddle hard all day, not many breaks possible without getting blown back with 2-3 km/h.

And then came the breakwaters of the Laguna river.Never ever did I expect such a strong current coming out of this lagoon outflow. About 3-4 km before, I saw my speed even more decreasing form the headwind fighting 3-4 km/h down to now really barely making headway 1,5-2 km/h. Oh shit!I had to paddle with my last resources and my whole body and best style to crawl along, getting at the same time washed out to sea in a wide berth. I don’t know how long I was fighting current and wind, I saw the three light houses on the break water walls moving against the background ever so slowly-but they were moving! If there would have been a fishing boat coming out close to me, I may have asked to tow me past. But there was none!

Eventually, finally I was past this horrible entrance with fortunately not many waves but current.The right approach would have been coming close to the beach along the northern wall and then cut across the entrance as quick as possible. But as usual, I was cutting across the bays, paddling from headland to headland, being further out…even if I would have decided to stop here, my position to enter the river was as bad as it could have been. But stopping was not the plan yet, although I was tempted at the next village of Passagem to do so. But I could kick my ass to keep on going for the last 11km up to Santa Marta-still ever so slowly.

But I did well to get here, as my call for a host has been heard by my previous host Alan and Nina in Sao Francisco, and via friends of friends he organized a stay with friends in their holiday house. It was feeling so great, not knowing about this solution yet when arriving at the beach, being received by three friendly woman, Rosie, Lian and Sonia. The bay was full of surfers, and the “sheltered” corner still had some lines of low surf waves, carrying me on a good ride in with high speed of almost 20 km/h fortunately straight sitting on the sand instead of a slight bit further to the left right into the rocks…

Hans and Rosies large “holiday” house was more luxurious than I could expect, thanks a lot for hosting me here! I have a room with sea view where it comes right handy to be able to see the sea state changing the next days…and to watch the many surfers playing happily in the widely rolling in waves.
I will always remember the question of a surf ski guy in Australia, just paddling out through some big surf right up to me, sitting therefor a while waiting and watching the waves, and he was asking me: “What are you waiting for? For a wave?””No, I am waiting for NO wave…!” It is just a difference sitting in a 100 kg toy becoming a dangerous bullet once sped up instead on a 3-8 kg toy board or ski…