Fri 16/03-2012 Day 200

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1612 took care of me right after I left Puerto Aguirre

Pos: here
Loc: Isla Luchin
Acc: tent
Dist: 30 km
Start: 8:15 End: 17:05

A dry start in the day is always appreciated, but though my camp was fully sheltered, I heard all night the sound of the increasing wind in the trees on the mountains. It took as well a while until the boat traffic had decreased, where were they all going to?

I thought I was clever to pick a beach not too close to the village, as the beaches around it may be “occupied”, and there was another salmon site around the next corner.

It was windy, very windy actually, funneling with 15 knots through the channel and with 20 knots at the corners. I was fighting all the way the my mere 12 km to a possible food supply. Actually, I haven’t really had Puerto Aguirre on my radar… bad planning… and I was kind of proud to be able to make it to Puerto Montt without resupplying. I could have…but I already experienced the last three days what it means to eat less food than I could fit in my stomach, and maybe this was the reason for my bad mood and shorter days.

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The helpful Navy officer in Puerto Aguirre on Islas Huichas - quite a village with 2000 people! No road access though...

Seeing Puerto Aguirre on the map told me this was a much bigger village than Puerto Eden, and it was – 2000 instead of 200 inhabitants, with even some paved roads and thirty cars on Isla Huichas! I was already expected by the two Navy guys, and had a quick visit in their office right besides my landing place. About three times before today and yesterday, a very, very fast Navy closed top zodiac boat was already passing by me, but without even waving. The guys probably enjoy their ride…

Puerto Aguirre had even *two* food shops, the one I was shopping in was relatively small in size, but perfectly organized, clean, well stocked, with friendly young staff and included a small hardware shop. The one in Puerto Eden was just the opposite in everything and actually very disappointing. It seemed like the people there supplied themselves via the ferry (out of necessity?), and here, they really use the shops…

They didn’t have much fruit though, just apples and carrots which I bought, and potatoes and onions. But I couldn’t help to visit the other food shop as well to see if they’d have more fruit, but the also friendly lady there in a much less well stocked shop told me there would be a bakery around the corner which also carries many fruits! I eventually could add bananas, plums, avocados there and even got a pineapple donated after I presented my card! The pineapple had to travel under my helmet :-), there was no more space left in my boat after I quickly packed, and it started to rain!

Probably every one else would have stayed with heavy rain now and 15 knots head wind, with a 10 km crossing upcoming, but I was not up for sightseeing, and had no personal contacts there who may have invited me to stay. I didn’t really need to recharge my batteries or to do laundry (well…), and the internet stuff can wait until Puerto Montt. I just want to be HOME soon! 🙂

But today I even had very much energy to paddle into these ugly conditions, as I knew I had enough and some yummy food! I also got plenty of oats for my basic daily breakfast, so plenty of energy to spend!

Just ten minutes after I left the harbor, I spotted a big Navy boat, obviously waiting for me…the guys from the Gobernacion Maritimas in Aysen were up to check on me! The knew I’d be going to shop today, and that I announced I wouldn’t stay…well, I should have changed my mind! But no question if the conditions are not “a bit tough” for a kayaker…they launched a zodiac boat with three guys to come up to me to talk, and I wonder if they were very happy with this exercise in the rain…actually, the just asked if I needed something – water, maybe?…well, I had enough water! In my water bags, under me, in my kayak, with rain from the top, and I just came from a village where I should have filled up if I’d not do it on most beaches with small rivers…thanks!

But their main job was to take a picture with me in front of the big Navy boat as a proof they have found me…as the zodiac with me was drifting in the chat sideways away from the big ship, I simply had a ride alongside the zodiac back to the boat. they could have gone like that just across to the islands with me! But no cheating…

I also took a picture, the guys wanted a card with the website, and I kept on paddling into the one meter steep wet and windy chop.

Slowly but steady I reached the islands and the calm Canal Luchin. The beaches were useless, big rocks and sharp boulders with some grass at the back, but I needed to stay some where! I eventually even turned 600 m back after the last chance was the same ugly beach, and even worse on low tide. The beach I eventually picked was obviously one of those ancient mussel sites. It had a man made landing channel, means a small gap where the biggest boulders were shifted to the side and I could drag the boat up easily.

I checked on possible camp sites, and found about three or four old sites in the bush with broken remainders of huts, but they were all not really clean or inviting or too much over grown. But obviously plenty of people had stayed here once! The pile of empty shells was quite a job in ancient times.

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The concrete camp platform I was so lucky to find in the bush!

The beach itself was not inviting either with sharp smaller rocks on the top end, but then “BINGO”! Obviously for the same job in the bay, but from more modern times, some people had made a perfect horizontal concrete platform just at the edge of the other side of the beach! Now it was a bit mossy with some soil on it, but not much overgrown and reasonable clean! They even had a second landing channel there…sometimes civilization is not too bad. I left the moss and soil as padding, but it will stick yucky to the bottom of the tent…well, think about that later tomorrow.

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Who would think of a concrete camp platform here at this ugly beach?

Not sure when the last guy had camped here, the salmon rearing site just across in the middle of the channel was without a human site like a hut or such I found at the other places. Not even sure if they are related. But just perfect now for me! It is amazing how the beaches change in quantity and quality along the different islands! The last three days, I had many and good ones. here are only big and sharp rocks, but at least they even *had* beaches! Other islands don’t have any, and I had to camp on huge rocks. But actually, I always found something…

I feasted on my new food, unpacked, repacked in ziplock bags and organized it into the bags. Quite a job…time to sleep now! Southern wind is waiting tomorrow! Good!

5 comments on “Fri 16/03-2012 Day 200

Meike

Gut, dass Du in Pto. Aguirre proviantieren konntest. Ist doch wichtig, dass Du genug dabei hast. Wo soll die Energie sonst herkommen? In Montt kannst Du alles kaufen was Du brauchst und das wird weiter nördlich auch kein Problem sein. So langsam kommst Du wieder in die Zivilisation mit all den Vor und Nachteilen. Aber schön, dass Du wieder Obst dabei hast.
Der Südwind bringt immer gutes Wetter, hoffentlich bleibt es ein paar Tage so.
Freya nun wünsche ich Dir weiterhin gute Winde , pass auf Dich auf 🙂
Hier in DK wird es langsam Frühling, das bedeutet für uns, dass wir auch wieder rauskommen um zu paddeln. 🙂 Die lange dunkle Zeit ist vorbei, hurra

Ron Wagner

Good to hear that you are doing well, and have people following your progress. You are a great example for the lazy ones like me.

Frances Price

Happy to read that you were able to replenish your food supply! Sleep well now, and thank you for sharing your adventures.

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