Tue 14/01-2014 Day 565

[pe2-image src=”http://lh5.ggpht.com/-9dY0d55zPNQ/UuETma7GHjI/AAAAAAAAZMU/HTJXC-16jg0/s144-c-o/P1140035.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/112133179186774955122/SouthAmericaSection3Stage17GuyanaSurinameFrGuianeGeorgetownToCayenne#5972076131653131826″ caption=”The friendly local family supplying me with water across the Nickerie river wall. Thanks!” type=”image” alt=”P1140035.JPG” ]

 

What a paddle!

Pos: here
Loc: Nickerie River mouth
Acc: tent
Dist: 33 km
Start: 3:50 End: 14:15

I couldn’t say I liked the sometimes intense smell around my tent, depending on the wind – I had a check and found a rotten large sting ray. Well, if those guys are lurking in the mud I had better be careful! Rain came with stronger wind early night, and then it was raining all night, sometimes harder, sometimes less, but continuous. I would have rather liked to stay inside my warm cosy tent until the rain stopped, but I had better be out with high tide! Even though I could have launched from this higher grassy river bank a bit later, I am scared to be stuck offshore until I reach deep water .

One boat was gliding out of the channel into the night, while I was packing in moderate rain. Yuck! I was on the water early enough, still almost got stuck once in a mud field just after dawn. I turned back a few hundred meters and out where I sensed deeper water. Just about again! Being stuck now would have messed up my nice plan to easily cross over the 30 km to Suriname! One fish jumped under my arm at night, and left a smelly spot for a long while. Glad the rain washed it off again soon! The wind was 15 knots, the water relatively calm while I was still on the mud bank. But I had to endure eleven fat flashes of lightning with moderate thunder. It is always so scary in darkness! Due to the rain, the night was almost pitch dark, no navigation lights to be seen. Not very pleasant paddling! It got quite chilly, my light wind breaker jacket on top is just about warm enough when it is raining heavily, but it is not waterproof. I should have guessed it would be more chilly than when I left Georgetown in November. I will try to get my paddle jacket sent from home.

[pe2-image src=”http://lh5.ggpht.com/-0XVUEGJMgjM/UuETvUnKMYI/AAAAAAAAZMU/Tb2TuHHSNGQ/s144-c-o/P1140036.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/112133179186774955122/SouthAmericaSection3Stage17GuyanaSurinameFrGuianeGeorgetownToCayenne#5972076284577722754″ caption=”My small sandy rescue landing spot below the sharp rocky sea wall in Nickerie” type=”image” alt=”P1140036.JPG” ]

 

The rest of the day was tough, but ok with the usual slow 3-4 km/h pace. The Nickerie River mouth came closer and closer, I thought well, that was it! But surely no way…those f£$%^& river entrances always have their own current tricks. As long as the water went out, the wind pushed me in enough and I could stay on a straight course. On running up tide, the water was streaming in so heavily, plus the 15+ knots wind pushing me in that I could not keep course any more, not even with ferry gliding. No way the outgoing river current was this time compensating the tidal effect. So I hit the shore about 3,5 km short of the river entrance, and was hoping to find an eddy which made work a bit easier. Surely what I found was a straight line rocky sea wall, with no eddy at all.

[pe2-image src=”http://lh4.ggpht.com/-UL1Mi5mEwuE/UuETx_nHq9I/AAAAAAAAZMU/urs0F8_9seg/s144-c-o/P1140038.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/112133179186774955122/SouthAmericaSection3Stage17GuyanaSurinameFrGuianeGeorgetownToCayenne#5972076330480020434″ caption=”Camping on top of the sea wall in Nickerie” type=”image” alt=”P1140038.JPG” ]

 

The last 10 km were the hardest, paddling against strong ingoing current and wind. I crawled first close to the sea wall, then was eating up meter after meter, one landmark after the other with maybe 2-3 km/h maximum on highest power. What a shit job at the end of a tough day!

Fortunately, this dreaded sea wall was eventually friendly and showed in a corner a sand bank about 1,5 hrs before high tide at the bottom before the rocks started. I didn’t have to paddle into the Nickerie River mouth with whatever current. My rescue! I landed easily and safe on the hard sand, had enough time to unpack my boat and to drag it slightly up on the bottom rocks of the wall before that water came up higher. I was looking over the wall for where I could possibly refill with water. Thank goodness, a road with a line of nice houses just behind! I was knocking at the door of the nicest looking and closest one, and a very friendly family was happy to help me with filling my bags. Here in Suriname they told me tap water is very fine to drink. Thanks very much! I also had a quick shower under the garden hose, even washing my hair, this felt great! “My” family was escorting me over the sea wall to see my kayak, and we took some pictures. What would I be without the help of the friendly locals!

[pe2-image src=”http://lh4.ggpht.com/-3Qgo6OpBvHA/UuET_NiaMXI/AAAAAAAAZMU/CArND8rvQN8/s144-c-o/P1140039.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/112133179186774955122/SouthAmericaSection3Stage17GuyanaSurinameFrGuianeGeorgetownToCayenne#5972076557556658546″ caption=”The red house across the sea wall was where I was asking for water” type=”image” alt=”P1140039.JPG” ]

 

I am camping on top of the sea wall on a grassy area, but with the noise of the street in my ears and being easy visible. But people are not so intensely curious here as in Guyana’s villages (I guess…), just a car with noisy music dumping five or six guys from Paramaribo climbed up the wall to see me and to look curiously into my tent cage…I talked friendly for a short while, told them I need my rest now and they shuffled off with their beers in their hands.

I checked the weather forecast for the next week, it is not really looking great. Wed and Thu winds around 15 knots, then up to 20 knots for three days. All garnished with much rain. Why are these wind just there when I have perfect tide times during the day? But I am sensing they are rather there all the time… I filled even two more water bags to be on the safe side and to maybe skip one or two days, we’ll see. Food is still plenty. No idea when I will be reaching Paramaribo! But at least I will be paddling inside the big river at the end before the capital, this will help finding camp sites and it may be a bit more wind protected and interesting. There is one lock when the waterway turns off the big river into a canal until Paramaribo. But first I have to get there!

4 comments on “Tue 14/01-2014 Day 565

Randall Lackey

Don’t you just love packing it all up in the rain. tough paddling day! so sorry. that lightening is something I and I guess all Kayakers hate on the big waters. Did you see the post above from Cees, that is something to consider, in that the dreaded wind does keep the biting critters away.but I certainly understand you wouldn’t mind some time without the damned hard blowing wind, but figure in the currents that might be there.Old saying around her… Pick your Poison! Hope your choice is good for you. Safe Paddling.

I hope she does not get into that river mouth on to the lock and the Canal. Local Kayakers disadvised that heavy current, heavy mosquito infested route. Out of the wind means you’re food for insects…. Freya should stay on the ocean and paddle on to Leonsberg a bit further than her original planned landing point which is very shallow.

Tom

Hey Freya, am 23.1. und 19.2.14 ist die Küste bei Kourou Sperrgebiet wegen Start einer Ariane 5.

Karen

Doesn’t sound like to much fun today.
Great that you could have a shower with the garden hose.
Hope your doing your stretching.

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