[pe2-image src=”http://lh4.ggpht.com/-eP6FKw2PjFg/UjUPZdfBW-I/AAAAAAAAW8g/WiZp07D8d3U/s144-c-o/P9030040.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/112133179186774955122/SouthAmericaSection2Stage15VenezuelaBoarderColombiaToCaracas#5923657814961642466″ caption=”The "bloody" scratch mark from the motorboat running over my stern” type=”image” alt=”P9030040.JPG” ]

Trashiest beach in all Venezuela

Pos: here
Loc: trashy beach behind Adicora
Acc: tent
Dist: 42,9 km
Start: 5:55 End: 16:45

I kind of enjoyed the hospitality and camp in the fishermen’s family’s backyard, but to be honest, I rather have my peace at night. Bright light all night in the court, goats, cats, dogs and crabs messing around, the family happily chatting, all natural, but not good for my rest. I am also very sorry I rather felt like refusing the offered dinner dish with surely some fish, but their kind of preparation may be too different to what is good for my instetines and I am not that experimental. I hope I haven’t offended the housewife’s pride. I already accepted a piece of cake with thick bright blue sugar icing…I was lucky to see the four year old boy eating only the outer rim of his piece, and happily offered him my blue treats which he was happy to accept, and the rest was good. Still I am not sure what local food my stomach likes. They were so kind to refill three of my water bags out of their open water tank, every now and then refilled by the water truck, where everybody scoops his need out with a bucket. No running water here, so I was thankful for that gift.  I have no idea how much their water cost them and how long it has to last.

The family was so friendly to help me down to the water early morning, thanks for your hospitality! I could leave the natural harbor over the reef, and was out on a dark thunder storm morning. But again, no storm, just lighning and a few grumbling sounds and very little rain. Still the forecast 10 knots ESE wind was first a solid 15 knots, before it calmed down. The sea was quite high out here closes to the headland, even higher than yesterday as the wind was blowing all night. It was to be expected, but still quite unfriendly in those confused Caribbean two meters waves. It gradually calmed down, but I was still not getting faster. An unexpected very strong current played her game with me holding me down to to 2-3 km/h. On brief rests, I drifted back wards with more than 3 km/h! Despite the wind was low now, still this current…where did it come from? Will it last all along the coast of this dreaded peninsula? I already thought so, as I assumed I was already around all possible corners turning straight in. But there was one last round headland which eventually made the difference – the current all of the sudden disappeared!

[pe2-image src=”http://lh5.ggpht.com/-l895xLISuNc/UjULk_u4kqI/AAAAAAAAW8g/YFMrF_UCEtk/s144-c-o/P9030036.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/112133179186774955122/SouthAmericaSection2Stage15VenezuelaBoarderColombiaToCaracas#5923653615087030946″ caption=”This coast must be dangerous!” type=”image” alt=”P9030036.JPG” ]

Also I saw the last of four huge ship wrecks, the first one before Puerto Escondido yesterday you can even see clearly on Google Earth. It must be a wicked corner here! No landing possible all the time, a fat break over a solid rocky reef closed up the coast. As soon as current and wind were gone, my paddling world was ok again, and I at least didn’t have to paddle ass off for very little progress, as I had to do the first twelve kilometer and probably four hours. I’d be able to reach Adicora before sunset, which I was not sure about for a long while. The reef break now ends in a shallow pool all along the coast, more or less wide, with fishermen standing on the reef catching whatever. An occasional gap in the reef would open up the coast, but you would have to look careful to get safely in.

I saw the huge cone shaped mountain again on the southern side of the peninsula, this time just from the other side, and it feels like I had been here already? Thank goodness this peninsula is soon done.

I just enjoyed the rest of the days paddle on calm seas with not too hot sunshine now, with my spray deck open, and relaxed from the morning’s tough job. the coast was inhabited all the time, but now the reef opened more and more and let a few boats out. I waved at the usual fishing boats with 3-4 people, until a fast boat with a single guy ran out about 500 m in front of me. He didn’t look at me, and I didn’t wave. He seemed to be immersed in his own business. After a few minutes I saw the same boat turning in again, again this time in high speed, and fully perpendicular to my path. a motorboat on high speed has the bow up, and sometimes another person stands at the bow, at least on reasonably flat water and reasonable speed, to direct the driver, as he can’t see over the bow. Where is this guy heading to? I stopped paddling briefly, but he was rather heading straight at me. I accelerated, and he  turned and again came straight at me. I didn’t see his head at any time, so he must simply not have seen me and his course corrections likely was coincidently. But now he came rapidly closer and closer…still fully perpendicular at high speed…I had only one or two seconds to decide what to do. My spray deck was open, so going intentionally over would have still been an option, but would have probably been ending in swimming. But better swimming than dead…

But I didn’t even had time to opt for that, I just about stuffed my Colombian Tumaco police whistle into my mouth hanging right under my chin on my sweater zipper for emergencies and blew in panic loud and long, but with the engine noise the only chance were two or three more of my hardest strokes ahead to get out of the way. Just not run over!! I caught the full side spray of the fucking boat hard in my neck and into my open cockpit, fortunately not much water found the way inside. I didn’t even have to struggle to stay upright, still the boat ran  over my stern – which I noticed only later when I turned around and saw the red paint scratch marks on the last 30 cm of my stern. I was only shocked that I was just about NOT dead, and was probably cussing loud in German at this blind, deaf and probably only fully testosterone pumped guy. When the bow of a boat at high speed goes up, may be the brain in his trousers does also and he is twice blind and deaf.

At least he eventually noticed the shave and stopped to turn around just to hear me continuing cussing loud. He also said something which didn’t really sounded like “sorry”, and with a straightforward sign of my hand I waved him off, as I had obviously just survived and my boat seemed to be ok. I’d have rather shown him both middle fingers, but better didn’t…

This is the absolute nightmare of a kayaker. I already had a close encounter I Peru once, but only close… this WAS a shave. I took pictures of the paint scratch marks, I can hang it next to my shark bite pictures from Australia… both times I noticed only later I had really an encounter leaving marks, this one fortunately didn’t damage or bite like the other shark, just scratched.

With adrenaline and temper returning to normal, I was approaching Adicora, and  the wind changed eventually to the regular afternoon NE, and I decided to now I had to enjoy some light paddling instead of taking up the offer of a free Posada room in Adicora, organized this time by David Bottome. Thanks very much, David, for your great effort, but you know how a sea kayak day goes…first Plan A, then Plan B when conditions change, then back to Plan A when they change again… and I was definitively today after last night and this encounter  up for a quiet beach camp by myself than for the happy music coming from the kite- and windsurf village. No surfer out today on the low wind, so they rather must party… I still have enough food and refilled water to be independent at least another week.

[pe2-image src=”http://lh3.ggpht.com/-iuRzSHgJbdQ/UjUPQcgUlXI/AAAAAAAAW8g/Ef7–1oIeHQ/s144-c-o/P9030044.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/112133179186774955122/SouthAmericaSection2Stage15VenezuelaBoarderColombiaToCaracas#5923657660079838578″ caption=”Trashy beach with ants” type=”image” alt=”P9030044.JPG” ]

The only thing I had to do this night was a surf landing on the wide long beach, but as I already had these kind of wide surf belts on the western side inside the Gulf, I knew the wave zone is wide, but low and without force. There is simply no swell rolling, just wind waves. My camp is wide open to be seen, and  filled with many donkeys, just  next to the beach track and about 500 m off the highway, but no other choices. Well, I could have raked up the trash and plastic bottles here on this wide beach for a shelter from view… what a massive mess of rubbish of all kind! Looks like the whole Caribbean trash collects on this beach!