I took The Twist to Embalse de Negratin early yesterday morning. With new outbreaks of COVID-19 occurring with disturbing regularity in many regions of Spain, and with fresh lock-downs imposed upon the worst hit areas, I thought I'd better squeeze in another quiet paddle before we got 'confined to barracks' ourselves. I wouldn't normally have travelled to the reservoir in mid-summer, just for a couple of hours on the water, but the sea was very rough when we were at Mojácar on Tuesday and I could see no reason why it would have been any better yesterday.
Reached Playa de Freila at 7:00 am and was on the water soon after 7:30 am. This week I re-discovered a waterproof thermometer from my diving days, so I can tell you that air temperature was a pleasant 21°C at that time of the morning and water temperature was 27°C, even at a depth of a metre or so.
There's a new sign at the top of the concrete ramp at Playa de Freila. Apparently, because of COVID-19, swimming from here is prohibited. No mention of kayaking so I guessed it was O.K. for me to go on the water, as long as I didn't tip over and have to swim! Obviously the absurdity of the ban is a contentious issue, as someone had tried to obliterate the notice by scratching lines across the perspex with something sharp. Can't say I really understand the reasoning behind this ban myself.
I meandered along the shoreline, in and out of all the inlets, towards the dam for about an hour and then returned by a more direct route. A gentle headwind was ruffling the surface of the water as I paddled back. As I turned a headland into one inlet a grey heron took off and flapped lazily into the safety of woodland. Very small wading birds were busily feeding along the edges, but they took little notice of me, just maintained a safe distance. Once, without spotting it myself, I got unusually close to a duck, of some sort, which, startled, perhaps from slumber, leapt noisily into the air and disappeared.
At the head of one of the larger inlets was a narrow channel, more like a muddy ditch. It led to a dry river bed that would feed the reservoir when/if there was rain in the winter. This was as far as it went.
Turned around and looking back to open water. This photo is deceptive. The channel/ditch was much narrower than it looks here. Where it necks, at centre picture, I could only just pass between the right hand side bank and a submerged tree.
Sticking out of the mud on one side of the channel was this boot sole. I hoped there wasn't a toe bone behind the sole - connected to a foot bone, connected to heel bone, connected to an ankle bone, connected to a leg bone ...... etc. etc. (as in the 'Dry Bones' lyrics). I didn't check!
It was a nice quiet paddle, which gave me the opportunity to try new ideas about stowing 'stuff' in my tiny kayak. I've become quite fond of The Twist, which was originally purchased just for fun and grabbed opportunities for a quick paddle. Now I see it as something really versatile - a step above what are known as 'packrafts', which are becoming increasingly popular, and a step below a fully fledged inflatable kayak. I think The Twist gives me the best of both worlds for simplicity and shortish paddles in good conditions.
This is a typical packraft. They pack into a very small bundle, they are very lightweight and the fabric is amazingly tough - you can bounce down rapids in them, should you wish. They are also quite expensive. You are unlikely to get one like this for under £1,000 - well over double the price of my faithful Gumotex Twist. Even if I wanted one, which I don't, I'm not sure if I would like to seen in something which looks as if it was bought in a beach shop. Nor would I like carrying my 'stuff' so precariously.
Time on the water was just over 2 hours. My GPS thingy recorded 3.5 kilometres paddled but the batteries ran out without my noticing, before I had reached shore, so I might have travelled a bit further than that. Air temperature had increased to 27°C by the time I got off the water and was approaching 30°C by the time I left for home at 11:00 am. Too much data? I won't take the thermometer with me again!
