Today Spain's State of Emergency and the resulting lockdowns, first imposed on March 14th. to combat the Coronavirus COVID-19, came to an end - it was also Fathers' Day. Both being good excuses for a little treat, I took The Twist to Embalse de Negratin for an early morning, beat-the heat paddle. There's no better 'social distancing' than paddling solo on a vast expanse of water!
I left home at 5:30 am, arriving at Freila beach just before 7:00 am - in time to see the first sunrise following the Summer Solstice of yesterday evening. It was not a very spectacular sunrise, but still worth waiting for.
By the time I got on the water it was daylight. The low sun created shadows emphasizing the folds and gullies in the rugged landscape on the other side of the reservoir. This landscape looks its best in the early morning or late evening light.
There was a gentle breeze blowing down from the head of the reservoir, creating a steady procession of small waves. The water was a lot smoother in the shelter of inlets.
That might appear to be a big slab of concrete - but it is natural, in a sort of unnatural looking way.
This is one of the longer inlets near the beach at Freila. I'd been in here before - but due to the variations in water level these inlets always look different. At the moment the capacity of reservoir is just below 50% of full.
As the sun got higher and hotter, these areas of deep shade in the inlets became very welcome.
Heading back towards my starting point after about 1½ hours on the water. Feet up, sun on my back and a following wind - what more could an early morning kayaker ask for? My return leg only took 30 mins. and I was off the water by 9:45 am. An early start had been well worthwhile as the heat of the day was already building up.
This was a 'first'. The first time I have used The Twist anywhere other than on the sea, for grabbed opportunities and beat-the-heat early morning paddles, like today. Can't beat it for speed to get afloat - it inflates quickly and can be carried easily. No trolley needed. Rucksack of gear on back, lift and invert kayak onto head, pick up paddle - and go! Simplicity itself.
There was no great purpose behind today's quiet paddle. Just a little treat after many weeks of lockdown. Most of the time I followed the shoreline at not much more than a paddle length. Quiet kayaking at its best.
There was another 'first'. For the first time since coming to Negratin I was able to get quite close to a group of wading birds, before they took off. Black and white birds with long, spindly, red legs. which trailed behind them when they flew away. I'm no ornithologist, but it seems, according to a bird book, highly likely they were Black-Winged Stilts, apparently common summer visitors in Spain.
Time on the water was 2 hours. Total distance paddled was 5.3 kilometres.
