[pe2-image src=”http://lh5.ggpht.com/-U5qfgKUTwdk/Ukq89yqPuSI/AAAAAAAAXSo/MGQgBZXSNe0/s144-c-o/P9250005.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/112133179186774955122/SouthAmericaSection2Stage16VenezuelaTrinidadGuyanaCaracasToGeorgetown#5929759629143685410″ caption=”My “ideal” campsite entry to the gravel beach river mouth. Looks calm, but is rocky around two corners and the swell keeps the motorboats out” type=”image” alt=”P9250005.JPG” ]

The perfect campsite!

Pos: here
Loc: behind Chirimena
Acc: tent
Dist: 35,9 km
Start: 5:35 End: 14:20

I felt better this morning, though sleeping at night was hard due to many little snoozes during the hot day. You don’t know where to turn any more lying all day. My coughing is not over yet, but my nose and head is better. Still a “sick” taste in my mouth. But good enough to paddle!

The paddling day from Caraballeda I had to be wet from hair to toe all day due to no wind or following wind before I landed. Probably not good for my developing sickness. Today was a light to moderate headwind breeze all day, which rather calmed down in the afternoon, which kept me at least cool enough not to be wet. Still got a bodywash on launching though the moderate surf this morning. But no problem, not cool enough for a jacket on my fleece shirt. This may take a while…way behind having crossed the Equator again!

The paddle was slow, but I had it worse. No more current in my favor like the other day! After paddling through the wide bay there were a bunch of magnificent beaches, smaller and wider, more or less sheltered. Only one or two were really protected, and there you saw already facilities for weekend beach people. No persons on it though today. No motorboat traffic either, besides maybe three fishing boats. Good.

I was actually aiming for a sheltered beach two kilometers further, but I should have either listened to Antonio telling me this is a beach with water taxi traffic, and the long one before is a taxi beach for surfers. Or I should look at Google Earth more carefully, as soon as a beach has a name, there are facilities and most likely people, even during the week. I was tempted to already land on a beach before I turned around a headland, which was empty and a bit out of the way, though I saw a simple hut on it. But I wanted to see the “named” beaches, as not a single boat with tourists was passing me so far. I asw already from the distance huts and a few colorful things, umbrellas or surfboards, and knew then I’d had to try the small beaches around the next corner. If there wouldn’t have been this secret gully…

An entrance around two corners between rocks to a mixed sandy gravel beach, which was just a bar of a wide dry river lower behind. In bigger sea conditions I doubt I would have wanted to go in, but in the afternoon the sea was quite calm, and I could see the open narrow path. I think no motor boat will make the way between to the shallow rocky beach. Perfect just for me!

I unloaded and picked a shady spot behind the gravel wall which was lying even a bit deeper and somewhat hidden. There was no traffic today anyway… or? Just when I started to relax and to put up camp, one boat passed, full with people. Either it came back quite quickly to have a look at what he could see of me, or another one came just from the other side. He was actually driving the second time too quickly to be just curious – I hope… maybe they haven’t seen me? A third boat came quite quickly and also fast along, maybe it was the same again who had just forgotten a passenger on the surf beach. or really wanted to see what was going on on my hidden beach. By the third passing by I was invisible. WHY can’t I just be by myself on such a seclude beach?

I preferred now to put up my camp deep into the dry wide flat river mouth in the bush, fully invisible now, nice and shady also, and even without many mosquitoes (yet). Hoping no more curious boat drivers are passing by or even dare to stop and trying to land! I also preferred now not to have a swim or a climb on the rocks, I am still sick anyway…resting now deep in the bush in my private dry river mouth. Hope it is not raining heavily this night…I doubt it.