[pe2-image src=”http://lh3.ggpht.com/-yKOWHr-qohg/Uyto9LI7MMI/AAAAAAAAahI/TBWx-I32cfU/s144-c-o/P3120261.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/112133179186774955122/SouthAmericaSection3Stage18Brazil1CayenneToAmazonasDelta#5992999129318109378″ caption=”My neighbors for this night…” type=”image” alt=”P3120261.JPG” ]

Horned and hoofed camp tonight
Pos: here
Loc: Fazenda Santa Catarina
Acc: tent
Dist: 46,4 km
Start: 7:05 End: 17:15

I have met my helpful man from the arrival yesterday night on his motorbike on the street again, and tried to ask him if he’d be able to arrange once more transport back to the harbour this morning. Either he didn’t understand or didn’t understand the time, at least I was prepared that no one showed up this morning and moved to plan B.

At 6 am the streets of Chavez are still dead, just the baker delivered some bread to the houses. I have seen yesterday 100 m down the street some of those large hand drawn carts they use here for most transports, and carried my bags in two loads in that direction.

When I dropped one load at the side of the road still in sight and walked back to get the other, there were really two dogs coming along and lifting they legs to mark the new “street corner” as their territory…I could barely chase the third one away! Fortunately they must have been marking already a bunch of other corners this morning, as the amount of liquid was small. The bags were still MY territory! Scheißköter…

I was lucky then to see a man belonging to one of the parked carts and could get him for the job to transport my heavy bags the 1,5 km down to the harbour at the river. He didn’t even wanted to take money, but I gave him some. I still have no idea to who to thank more for my free Posada stay than my transporting man. It was a very nice place! Obrigada!

My kayak has survived the three nights without me close to the shop, I think boats are kind of holy here and no one would dare to touch them. Hopefully…

It was quite low water in the river, and loading via the steep mud-sandy and messy bank wasn’t easy, watched surely by many locals. But all good, no slipping on my ass, and off I was!

It was basically a calm easy paddling day, few currents, just the constant 12-15 kn headwind was annoying. Many houses along the beaches around Chavez; later beaches became fewer. On a long one displayed at low tide, two men were chasing on horseback a bunch of free running ones, eventually the whole group turned in, probably to a farmhouse I couldn’t see from my position. Their free running cattle on the beaches have definitively changed from the black buffalo type to the mostly white humpback ones. They seemed to be very shy, as they were running away when I was only paddling close to the coast.

I went in on a pieces of beach behind where the men with the horses have turned in, but I saw only a house inland far away. So beach camp tonight, here was a reasonable distance displayed on lowest tide, and I found a small good sandy spot between the later surely flooded sand and the soaked marsh land. Surrounded by pigs and one shy cow, further ones grazing inland…

[pe2-image src=”http://lh3.ggpht.com/-xzhxz0Tjxb0/UytnolT1AII/AAAAAAAAahE/upPUSSPlXgI/s144-c-o/P3120260.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/112133179186774955122/SouthAmericaSection3Stage18Brazil1CayenneToAmazonasDelta#5992997676054282370″ caption=”The cows are becoming more tame looking, as the sandy beaches do, being way more shy than the dangerous buffaloes. Watch the guy on the left though…” type=”image” alt=”P3120260.JPG” ]

Just when I finished to put up my tent, a woman with her 8-year old son came along the beach from a visit to the neighbour’s farm. She instantly invited me to come to her house, the one I saw in the distance and she was the wife of one of the horse riders. This beach is dangerous with the animals, big waves, snakes, rain…Well, ok, then I’d need transport help! She sent her son out, but he came back twice with no men. It turned out she agreed the cows are shy, no buffaloes around, the pigs are no danger, the river has no waves and won’t soak my sandy spot, she convinced herself my tent is rainproof and no snakes or bugs would be able to sneak inside. I had already decided anyway to stay, as it was late eventually and I felt no real danger here. Thanks for the effort and one hour of nice conversation!

I fell asleep well deserved, still stuck my head out occasionally to have a look for the big cows in the moonlight. Once I almost kissed a curious huge black head of a big guy sneaking close, but he was as scared by the unexpected encounter and ran away quickly, not without stumbling over my guylines of the tent. Bye, bye! He marched eventually fully away, heavy soaking steps in the wet marsh. Huaaa…….