[pe2-image src=”http://lh4.ggpht.com/-OTy2yuGdVlI/VRhDErTVIJI/AAAAAAAAnTw/HRonYXYTdVM/s144-c-o/IMG_1672.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/112133179186774955122/SouthAmericaSection3Stage24Brazil7UruguayArgentinaFlorianapolisToBuenosAires#6131724640287269010″ caption=”This turtle has seen already better times” type=”image” alt=”IMG_1672.JPG” ]

trip days left: 48
straight distance left: 1023,19 km
Highlights: lower surf than expected
Lowlights: less good wind than expected
Launch: River bank through wide moderate surf belt
Landing: modedrate to low wide surf brelt
Pos: here
Loc: Balneario Gaivota
Acc: tent
Dist: 45,8 km
Start: 6:10 End: 15:40

A good sleep on my cool windy river bank tried to heal my sore body. Four days of no paddling and feasting on too good food got me out of training! Some fishermen walked by my tent shining a flashlight on me. I hate that…

The exit out of the river mouth was no where surf free and looked all the same, so I tried to just paddle out to where I saw no surf, at least when I looked. When I was there, magically yet another breaker fell down in front of my kayak, and I had to wait, accelerate, jump, wait, accelerate, jump….and out I was after a while!

And then for once more a boring endless paddle along a boring endless beach. At least today the surf eventually looked lower than yesterday and not so wide, some distant dangerous unexpected outer breaker line was not there today. I felt comfortable going in any time. Maybe this made me also not so desperately wishing to reach the possibly safe landing at the river mouth at Torres today. The lower wind than yesterday made this idea also not really reachable before 7 pm. And this felt like too long paddling, especially with a sore body. I was paddling with closed eyes most day, forcing myself to make a reasonable distance to have only little left tomorrow. I will also land not in the river, but about 10 km further relatively parallel to the lagoon. In this way I will have to carry over only 3 km which I could walk…

I was just nicely reading and relaxing, when i heard three cars honking besides me,loaded with kayaks. Leo Esch and four friends were looking me up again! Even without knowing my position, they found me by driving just along the beach. Gustav and Leo will then paddle tomorrow the last few km with me. See you then!