I was back at Embalse de Negratin on Saturday May 25th. - but I've only just got around to including it on this blog.
Days are getting a bit warm here now, so I left home at 05:30 am in order to get on the water early – and off again before it got uncomfortably hot. Launched as usual at Playa de Freila and was on the water by 08:00 am. Ate a pack-up breakfast on the water soon after.
Water level in the reservoir was even higher than the last time I was there, on April 24th. Unlike the reservoirs in the drought stricken areas of southern Spain, where levels have been dropping alarmingly, the level in Negratin has been rising steadily. These two pictures, taken at the same place, but different days, show the difference that seven weeks made :-
Water level on Wednesday April 3rd. When Negratin was at 26% of full capacity.
Water level on Saturday May 25th. when Negratin was at 30% of full capacity. As usual the shape of the shoreline was totally different to that last trip a month ago. No shortage of water in Negratin for kayaking!
Leg-stretch stop here. No doubt an experienced photographer would have refered to this as an 'atmospheric shot' – in my case it was purely accidental!
3½ hours of quiet kayaking later, and 7.6 kilometres paddled, I was back at Playa de Freila. Ought to have made it in 3 hrs., as by 11:30 am it was a bit warm to be contemplating pushing a kayak back up that ramp! I may not be visiting Negratin again until the Autumn, or in the unlikely event of some much cooler days. The coast beckons now – and there is a new plan, coming soon, to take advantage of it during the heat of summer.
