Pos: here
Loc: Cabo Danoso
Acc: tent
Dist: 32,5 km
Start: 6:30 End: 13:30

I started early today, full of energy loaded after the last day’s rest. It is getting light already at 5 am anyway, and I could start even earlier, if I’d need to.

The wind was down, the sea was low, spirits were high, as the wind was not supposed to go over 15 knots today…well, supposed to…

I was passing soon some wild horses, nice to see! I found frequently their horse apples on yesterday’s walk – I couldn’t believe they were all coming from an estancia worker just riding along there…there must have been a free running herd somewhere.

My usual morning dolphin greeted me, and I paddled along a few nice reefy headlands, all right, even in some low head winds out of north west. As I was generally heading south west, but was occasionally turning around headlands, it felt sometimes like stronger, sometimes even like following winds! I was working a bit, but all nice, until noon! Then it became stronger and stronger, until the sea was again full of white caps, and the wind probably 20 knots again, hot offshore.

I was heading toward Cabo Danoso, passed a nice red and white striped light house, and almost got trashed by paddling through a reef – yes, if in doubt, stay out…

I soon realized, as I’d be turning around the cape to the full west, that by then I’d face the wind even more! No way! It is simply too strong now…

I found a small bay with a tiny shelter behind a tiny reef where the beach was still very steep, but the dumper was not as violent as I noticed it being already a few long beaches before – it was around high tide! No good landing around high tide I learned…

That was the chance – legs out, rudder up, and time it right with jumping off the kayak into the steep deep water and try to drag the heavy kayak out of the back surge on the 45 degrees beach…just about! I was glad my food and water resources were already down to 1/3 of the possible load – probably 20 kg less in the stern! So I could just crawl uphill, sliding back on each step, but as the water came flooding up, but with a non-violent small dumper only, I could make it.

I’m really becoming an expert now on those beaches – reading their possibility of a safe landing, and eventually doing it. But if you really need a safe landing, it is not always handy…km before, between the reefs, there were a few very calm beaches inviting me to stay! But I felt I could push on, but just not around this headland into the full west, with no rocky reefs in sight for shelter (at least not on my chart). I didn’t feel like pushing on until the tide became lower and landing on open beaches easier…

On land, a welcome committee of two curious guanacos and 100dreds of flies were waiting for me. As long as I was walking around in the strong warm wind, it was kind of ok, but as soon as I sat down with one side of my body into the lee, it became unbearable.

So putting up the tent soon , this time I had to anchor it solidly to the ground *before* putting it up. This meant I had to collect some heavy rocks, staked pegs down into the gravel, rocks on top of the pegs, and then I could put up the fabric. Quite tricky! But all good.

I think I’ll make it tomorrow to Puerto San Julian, 55 km left, as tomorrow’s forecast is really wind around 10 knots – hope it stays like it!

Not sure if I have to paddle the detour into the dead end of the town positioned about 10 km into the bay, or if someone is happy to pick me up outside somewhere around Punta Cuevas? Would be very nice…we’ll see…thanks!