Pos: here
Loc: Isla Navarino, across Islote Della
Acc: tent
Dist: 28,2 km
Start: 6:25 End: 15:00

After the last formalities this morning, I could go today by myself again! Freedom!!! Thanks to Navy officer Gaston Lopéz helping me with all the stuff, and to send me off this morning! It was a pleasure to stay in your nice house with you, your lovely wife Jessica and your nice kids! Staying with all those idyllic families the last days, made me yearning to have one again, too…but you can’t have it all…but it is a pleasure to watch the kids!

The paddle from Puerto Toro to Puerto Williams is actually a beginner’s trip along the sheltered coast, as I will expect most of the fjordland for me, inside the sheltered waters. Unfortunately, there was a really ugly headwind all day, and it was increasing to 15-20 knots. Not that I could not paddle against it, but I was honestly tired of fighting the wind today, and tired from the last night’s late sleep.

I already made about an hour’s lunch break with even cooking some hot potato soup in the shelter of the Holger’s islands, and then carried on sticking my head into the wind for some more km. I stopped once more, feeling the tiredness in my body, probably the pressure of the exciting Cape Horn trip gone, and all the formalities around it was a big part of it as well. Then I saw a nice green meadow with some shelter from some bushes in a wind protected bay, and thought here you’ll have a quick nap! I stretched out on the lovely meadow at 3 pm just in my dry suit, the sun was just shining a bit, and I was not even freezing…I probably napped for an hour, then the traffic noise of the nearby highway Puerto Williams – Puerto Toro was waking me up – the one and only car of the day was passing by! probably the farmer of the one near by house…

I was walking up and down again, checking the still strong headwind, and though I knew it probably will calm down in about an hour, I decided to put up my proper camp and to stay. Before heading to Puerto Williams and just after that to Ushuaia, being around people again, I felt I needed a bit of private quiet rest and an early sleep! If I’d arrive in Puerto Williams tonight, I’d only be tempted to go into the Micalvi yacht club for a glass of wine, and no sleep again…and then I’d be in the “big city buzz” of Ushuaia soon :-))

I set up my tent, with some mixed feeling regarding this “house” – the last time I was inside my actually brand new Hilleberg Staika tent was on my rescue island Isla Deceit…the tent has some holes and rips on the bottom flaps from the 100+ knots wind and the shaving rocks, but besides that, it’s fully ok. I found some little repairs to do on my kayak as well, and soon could dive into my own “Home, sweet Home!”

But I felt I’d better write my update soon, not that I was presumed missing Puerto Williams…and I thought right! While I was typing this, a Navy car drove up to me, the second car of the day, and they were already looking for me at 6 pm…hey, guys, I’m not always a “paddling machine” in headwinds! Sometimes I’m even human… 🙂 And half an hour later, my update would have been on the web…thanks for caring about me anyway!

I’ll arrive in Puerto Williams with easy winds tomorrow, will get my exit stamp from Chile, pick up two parcels, and will continue paddling into the direction of Ushuaia a bit, until the wind becomes ugly again. I’ll stay on the beach some where, and will arrive in Ushuaia on Monday afternoon with low winds. I will send my ETA on my blog about two hours before I’ll arrive, so that the Prefectura will know! If they are not driving along the shore anyway to watch me…I think you wanted to send out a TV team on my arrival?

Tuesday, Wednesday and probably Thursday will be off in Ushuaia, and I think the wind is ugly strong west those days any way…I’ll do my office work there on proper internet, with uploading all the pictures and tracks, go shopping, prepare my paddle through fjordland toward Punta Arenas, and eventually enjoy the flair of an international city!