[pe2-image src=”http://lh3.ggpht.com/-JFfQRJEXCdM/VN31Yx1-stI/AAAAAAAAl-c/8hum65LZ6lA/s144-c-o/IMG_1424.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/112133179186774955122/SouthAmericaSection3Stage23Brazil6RioDeJaneiroToFlorianapolis02#6115313675084411602″ caption=”Ilha Bela – dream island” type=”image” alt=”IMG_1424.JPG” ]

Highlights: Beautiful Ilha Bela!
Lowlights: Can’t stay long here
Launch: Wide low to moderate surf belt
Landing: Sheltered beach
Pos: here
Loc: Ilha Bela
Acc: Marcio and Fernanda’s house
Dist: 48,2 km
Start: 6:30 End: 18:40

The night was hot again, but not as hot as the previous one camping behind that huge rock, where really not a single breeze went. Here just the breeze of the surf may have given a bit of cooling. But what means”cool” if your skin is constantly covered with a layer of sweat.

The launch through the surf ended with a huge jump over a large swell wave where I already thought I broke my bow off, but all good. That remote beach was it worth to fight the surf! The next beaches were surely all sheltered, but full of houses. Paddling was again mostly off shore and HOT as yesterday, slow and despite the nice scenery of the far away islands quite boring. When at 1 pm a breeze came up, at least I could do more than 10 continuous strokes without the need to pour the not really refreshing 30 degrees water over my body. The breeze developed close to the entrance of the Ilha Bela channel to quite some choppy seas and solid 15 knots from the side. Still no good speed. The counter current since Cabo Frio is quite annoying!

[pe2-image src=”http://lh3.ggpht.com/-mxwwcNAXPnY/VN308X2U6vI/AAAAAAAAl-c/63g37tC-20I/s144-c-o/IMG_1422.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/112133179186774955122/SouthAmericaSection3Stage23Brazil6RioDeJaneiroToFlorianapolis02#6115313187070208754″ caption=”A huge pile of metal floating just besides me” type=”image” alt=”IMG_1422.JPG” ]

I was passing very close a huge anchoring freighter, a scary view from the sea level to see an iron monster towering up besides you making strange working noises. I rather was gone quickly…

The coast line of Ilha Bela on the side I was approaching was at least providing space for some houses. The funneling wind got down about 2 km before the coast, and the probably very expensive proprieties had all their private jetty or landing site built into the rocks, depindig on the natural conditions. Not too bad to live here! Even later in the channel, where the houses became more frequent and smaller and there were even a few small public beaches, the appealing of this island stayed expensive. The yacht harbor was full of floating white money graves, parked in many lines side by side. Probably the largest yacht harbor I saw in Brazil so far. Here is where the money lives!

I met Marcio and Fabio on as mall beach about 2,5 km before the real spot where they practiced some rolling in imported standard kayaks. Good to see eventually some”real” sea kayakers” 🙂 There are so few in Brazil… Marcio escorted me to his beach spot, where another handful of kayakers were expecting us. A nice welcome! Thanks a lot for hosting me and looking after me on this beautiful island!

[pe2-image src=”http://lh6.ggpht.com/-t5YYZ4Vg1iI/VN31aKU4HDI/AAAAAAAAl-c/m5C37_bxzhc/s144-c-o/IMG_1425.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/112133179186774955122/SouthAmericaSection3Stage23Brazil6RioDeJaneiroToFlorianapolis02#6115313698836323378″ caption=”A private chapel on a rock” type=”image” alt=”IMG_1425.JPG” ]

Marcio and his partner Fernanda are actually rather rock climbers and mountaineers, making a successful living on photography and film making. A big climbing wall is decorating the living room, and I am sleeping in an office with heaps of proofs of their successful press and climbing life.