Pos: here
Loc: Ensenada Totoralito
Acc: tent
Dist: 53,1 km
Start: 7:55 End: 18:05

Tomorrow:
Estimated landing: Punta Huentalauquen
Estimated starting time: Right after sunrise
Estimated landing time: Well before sunset

Estimados Armada de Chile!
We really appreciate your help and attention and that you are looking after our safety, and we realize that we are guests in your country, but what is too much is too much!
Basically EIGHT Navy teams today were looking after us, chasing us around, and were asking the same questions again and again.
I actually already answered these questions yesterday the first time on my website, and this morning the second time via the local guard Ignacio talking to some Navy person on the phone, then the third time to the boat driver waiting for us just off the beach, then the fourth time to another Zodiac boat crew about 15 km off the destination, then a fifth time to another boat crew which eventually followed us to our planned beach – the question was simply about our estimated landing spot and time for today. But please: We are not machines. We can only estimate. It all depends on the conditions of the weather, sea state, the beach landing and camping conditions, and on our physical and mental conditions.

I now have even added a block on top of the daily email and public blog entry with the estimated point for tomorrow, to make it more easy for you to read and to find. I am regularly and reliably updating since I started in Buenos Aires every night, mostly well before 10 pm. This is what was always agreed and accepted. And this is what I will be reliable doing also the next months.

It started last night already, after we eventually settled down in our tent, as a local guard for the private holiday house community obviously was alerted by some Navy people that “two kayakers were missing”, and to look for us. We were not lost. We were landing where we were saying we would, and we were updating by the time we said we would.
The local guard eventually seemed to have satisfied the Navy person on the other end of the phone he “found” us, and had reassured we were allowed to camp by the owner Anita. Thanks goodness, peace for that night!

This morning, the local guard showed up again, to wish us good bye, but also to transfer the “news” about our estimated landing for today via phone. This should be good for the day? No way…

The same Navy boat from yesterday was waiting for us just off the beach, and was asking the same questions…but luckily left us alone after that.

We were just enjoying the beautiful sunny day with easy following winds and moderate swell, when the first helicopter flew along the coast. Did he not find us?

A few hours later, a Navy plane came, and circled twice around our head – yahoo! Found! Exercise completed, the pilot can make a cross in his geocaching booklet. I hope the next upgrade on Navy planes won’t be a jet bomber using us as bomb target or such…

Just for the change, I at least could eventually show Peter his very first huge seal colony, a huge rock, populated by probably 500 seals or more Noisy, and stinky, but so lovely to watch!

The coast kept on showing it’s natural rocky beauty, a pure sea kayaker’s paradise! But approaching Pichidangui, the cliffs revealed an ugly white spot – surely a Navy car on the watch…the guys in there eventually woke up when we were almost past, they jumped out to have a better view. They kept on chasing us around the Pichidangui headland, where I was waving at them – hey, you found us! Great job!

As we were obviously not stopping at Pichidangui, but as we were planning to keep on going to Ensenada Tortoralito, like communicated a few times before, a Navy zodiac with three young guys had the thankful job to chase us and to ask again the questions we already had answered a bunch of times before. They turned off, but obviously two km later they got the order to chase us along until we would be landing…

I was not happy about a continuous noise behind me and stinky exhaust smell in my nose for the next 15 km, and told them in probably an angry voice to please STAY AWAY! We had not agreed on an escort boat.

They seemed to have got it, stayed far behind, and suddenly turned into a wide bay and were gone. Thanks goodness, you may say…but just to change crew for the day, and another highly motivated Navy team followed us to our planned landing beach, just to stop us again about 2 km before to ask where we were going and when we would be landing…

When we arrived in the planned bay, they turned off…peace for the night! You may be thinking…

We landed on a calm steep gravel beach, unfortunately located close to the noisy highway, but away from the most houses. We just made camp, and were cooking dinner, when Navy team number eight for the day came up, trying to tell us we need to report every four hours…sorry, NO! No new ideas please, just because there is a new Capitania de la Puerto or soon a new Gobernacion Maritimas responsible…we do what we agreed on since Cabo de Hornos, reporting reliable our position every night! Including the estimated new landing spot for the next day.

By the way, we have not been chased by a Navy submarine yet…or did we simply not notice???