[pe2-image src=”http://lh3.ggpht.com/-TBNaRB8CUAw/VOUgJdh4WRI/AAAAAAAAmYA/MpMObM4WYZ4/s144-c-o/IMG_1468.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/112133179186774955122/SouthAmericaSection3Stage23Brazil6RioDeJaneiroToFlorianapolis02#6117331015770331410″ caption=”Still no appetite for some ceral bar crumbs?” type=”image” alt=”IMG_1468.JPG” ]

Highlights: Rescued a small baby bird floating in the water
Lowlights:It flew off twice and eventually probably drowned…
Launch: Moderate dumper
Landing:Wide low surf belt
Pos: here
Loc: Military beach Guaruja
Acc: tent
Dist: 25,2 km
Start: 6:40 End: 13:15

A good sleep, but the physical rest time was just too short after that long head wind paddle. The care taker waved me good bye, so better be gone. I was not too sure where to land today before I hit the long straight beach with my goal for the next day at Itanhaem where a friend would be hosting me again. A few small military beaches, a fishing club, a good headland with people…many options, nothing perfect.

The wind was low westerlies, nothing like yesterday! Basically no big problem, I was just physically very tired. This was obviously also a small baby bird after his first flight training having landed in the water, now floating helplessly with spread out wings on the small waves. Poor boy!It could have been only a boy…he was opening his inside orange colored mouth all the time, signalizing probably his far away mother he needed to be fed…I turned around after I already passed the poor animal and fished him out of the water.

[pe2-image src=”http://lh4.ggpht.com/-Ai4mBgzTTaM/VOUjcPTqInI/AAAAAAAAmYA/FUsmPqLcgGM/s144-c-o/IMG_1463.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/112133179186774955122/SouthAmericaSection3Stage23Brazil6RioDeJaneiroToFlorianapolis02#6117334636904981106″ caption=”My poor rescued tiny baby bird had obviously some injury and didn’t like my ‘bird food’ ceral bar…” type=”image” alt=”IMG_1463.JPG” ]

Sitting on my spray deck, I had someone to talk to, but he was not really listening to me to eat small crumbs of my muesli bar, the only “bird like food” I had to offer.He probably preferred still pre-digested mouth-to-mouth feeding…
To paddle on, I transferred him on the net of my fore deck where he had good hold and eventually left his first white tiny shit on my water bag. Good guy! Release all the seawater you may have been swallowing! And now-eat! No way, but amazingly the tiny down ball obviously soon dried out, recovered a bit, shook his head and wings after about half an hour of hitch hiking on a wobbly kayak, and flew off again!

[pe2-image src=”http://lh3.ggpht.com/-HjZbaUaL5kI/VOUgdIhBVGI/AAAAAAAAmYA/MRmfMXd-zLo/s144-c-o/IMG_1466.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/112133179186774955122/SouthAmericaSection3Stage23Brazil6RioDeJaneiroToFlorianapolis02#6117331353726964834″ caption=”Here he looked already quite dry and fit again, ready to try a new start” type=”image” alt=”IMG_1466.JPG” ]

Well, about 20 meters…then he had another crash landing on the water…I couldn’t help but turn around and picked him for the second time, promising this would be the last time if he wouldn’t listen to me and stay until we will be landing! Same procedure, he rested with eyes closed for about half an hour, got soon awake again, shook his head and feather coat and tried another flying session…it was hard for me, but I had to leave him to his destiny, as I had still 8 km to go, and how often should I pick him up again always flying behind me…and would he survive on land? I had my doubts…

I passed ugly Guarujawith an uninterrupted line of high rise buildings and sun umbrellas on the beach. A small rocky headland, and another beach, Tombo, came with such a massive umbrella presence I couldn’t even imagine to land there! But “my”beach was already lurking in the distance…well hidden behind a high headland, I spotted a fully deserted piece of sand, with the ugly yellow rock painting way before:”Military area”…it at least prevented beach people to climb along the rock sand to occupy”my” beach. No one there to be seen…but unfortunately a low flying police helicopter was just passing over that area, but I was still away enough I could have planned to land on the crowded beach…will he be back?

Another annoyance are those ever present low along the beach front flying small planes towing some advertising banner behind them,sometimes I see three at once. And they do even honk like a car when they are just over a beach! I have never heard a plane honking…but here they do. The engine noise is not enough attention? Unbelievable…but may they tell the military they have seen a kayak on “their” beach?

[pe2-image src=”http://lh4.ggpht.com/-2QpQI0F6wFs/VOUoBqzQfUI/AAAAAAAAmYA/v7nzfS6LdlM/s144-c-o/IMG_1474.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/112133179186774955122/SouthAmericaSection3Stage23Brazil6RioDeJaneiroToFlorianapolis02#6117339677986946370″ caption=”Those kind of ugly rock paintings sign post the military beaches in Brazil” type=”image” alt=”IMG_1474.JPG” ]

[pe2-image src=”http://lh3.ggpht.com/-lNu44xTlXao/VOUooaWwsGI/AAAAAAAAmYA/iySNy205q_w/s144-c-o/IMG_1472.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/112133179186774955122/SouthAmericaSection3Stage23Brazil6RioDeJaneiroToFlorianapolis02#6117340343587352674″ caption=”My hidden military beach camp” type=”image” alt=”IMG_1472.JPG” ]

I landed quickly through low wide surf when no plane was around, checked the campsites and saw the best spot would be well hidden under trees! I quickly dragged my kayak up, unloaded even more quickly and stored everything under dense green trees, well hidden from any air view. Great! I felt like I was escaping some potential air bomb attack, like being in the war. And matching, I am even just reading such a book…thank goodness, those times are hopefully over.Still I hurried to make camp, also escaping the many mosquitoes and any potential person trying to prevent me too early to camp here. When I am warm and dry, no one would tell me to go away…

I could use this early landing for a long rest, as tomorrow will be a longer day again until I can meet my new host Leo! I also had still to pack my breakfast bags, mixing oats, milk powder, sugar and chocolate powder in zip lock bags. A chore I didn’t get around to do on Ilha Bela!