10/27/10 Day 8: This morning, armed with my new hatch, I set about getting back to my boat. On the way, the bus broke down. It broke down on a small road next to a field, with woods on either side and fresh mountain air. I waited outside the bus while all the other passengers didn't. I don't like the insides of buses. I guess other people do.Over the last few days I had noticed a small hole in my dry bag. I examined the bag closely to find many such holes. I needed a new dry bag, but the siesta had just started so everything was closed, except for one shop that did have dry bags. They didn't have one that was right for me, but they were able to recommend another shop that would and told me it would be open. Following the direction I was given, as closely as I could, I found it an hour later and it was closed.
I was on the water by three in the afternoon. Narcis had invited me to paddle to Roses and stay with him another night. The water was calm and the weather perfect with an occasional light breeze that was just as likely to help as hinder me. In these excellent conditions, I crossed the Bay of Roses at the mouth. Along the way Ike swam behind me.
Ike spent most of his time swimming along the surface and while we didn't talk all that much, it was nice to have the company. There was a large school of little fish that leaped out of the water together several times. Once across the bay, I paddled along the base of the biggest cliffs. Towering above me was the precipice that I had hiked along only a few days earlier. As the sun set behind me and the distinguished rocks took on a colorless tone in the dark, the sea turned a purple that made me think fanciful thoughts. Pink elephants leaping out of the water as the fish had done earlier. I wrapped up Ike since I didn't want to have to deal with fishing, or trying to, by moonlight. There was no moon.I pulled into Cadaques, my destination for the day, and up onto a perfectly calm beach. I was pretty cold so I put on my dry land clothing, found my way into a hotel lobby with wifi, and am finishing warming up as I finish writing this. Now back out into the cold. I have a new sleeping bag that should keep me comfy through the night.
Current location: 42.280802,3.276576
Glad to hear that you're back on the water! Question: Do you use your GPS to track your route and navigate when you're off hiking? What model GPS do you use? (I just started using a Garmin eTrex Vista HCx.)
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing to realize that your time on dry land is more difficult than your paddling time. I, for one, hope your time in France goes more smoothly than your travels so far.
ReplyDeleteMy GPS was stolen with everything else. The coordinates I post I get from google maps. The GPS I will be using, if I ever get to a big crossing will be a an etrex H. For 85$ It's the cheapest one I could find. I should be meeting it, along with a lot of other replacement gear on Friday in Perperignan (Pronounced like your mouth if full of peanut butter). Since you're taking up backpacking, take some lessons on orienteering before you start adding unnecessary battery dependent equipment to your gear. Have fun on the trails!
ReplyDeleteThank you. I'll get the hang of dry land time eventually.
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