I was back at Embalse de Negratin again yesterday. Despite all the rain we've had these past couple of weeks, the water level hadn't changed much since I was here last month. Evidently water has been going out as fast as it was coming in. A lot of water is now needed for agricultural irrigation after such a dry winter.
9:30 am at the bottom of the slipway at Playa de Freila, ready for a morning on the water. Only a gentle breeze to contend with this trip.
Nice new piece of kit for this outing: a heavy duty, tapered, zipped waterproof bag for all those bits and pieces normally in an assortment of bags. It's made by Grabner (Austria) to fit their own range of excellent, but expensive, inflatable kayaks – and it fits perfectly in the bow of my Gumotex Halibut and also just as well in the stern of my Neris Smart 1. Purchase was part assisted by the sale of a welding set, which I regret I never mastered using, to a neighbour with welding experience.
I followed the shore to the north-east. Within an hour the breeze had died away completely, leaving the water mirror-like near the edges. But it didn't last – when I turned back after 2 hours of quiet paddling, in and out of side inlets, I was surprised by a bit of a headwind to contend with when I was expecting (from the weather forecast) a gentle tailwind. However that didn't last long either, These gentle breezes were all over the place this morning.
On the way back I had to stop in this inlet for a leg-stretch. Even an inflatable seat pad feels pretty hard after a couple of hours of paddling, however gentle.
Time on the water was 3½ hrs. and total distance paddled was 9.5 kilometres.
