January - Nada
Periods of high winds, essential tasks, eye surgery and other 'stuff' rather got in the way of mucking around on the water.
February - Nothing, again.
Normal activities restricted by the eye surgery recovery. Very late in the month before being told I could lead a normal life again. However, did use last days to check over both kayaks and the packraft ready for use.
March - Still nothing.
Olive tree pruning got in the way of getting on the water. 43 trees were long overdue for attention. Took most of the month to complete the task before they started flowering.
April - Yes, yes, yes!
Three trips to Embalse de Negratin this month with my Gumtex Halibut kayak.
Last time I was at Negrtin was on September 22 nd. last year. The capacity of the reservoir was then about 25% full. Now, after a winter of considerable rain in the nearby mountains, the capacity has risen to 63% - and it is still rising. There's now much larger areas of open water and a whole new world of side valleys and inlets to explore.
First trip was Saturday 4th. Launched at Playa de Freila and paddled north-west along the shore, dipping in and out of the now much larger bays and side valleys. Start time was 10:00 am and time on water was 3¾ hours. Total distance paddled 10.5 kilometres. Length of ramp down to water now considerably shorter – so much less daunting pushing a kayak on it's trolley back up after a long paddle!
Second trip Wednesday 15th. Again launched at Playa de Freila. This time heading south-west along the shore and back again. Start time 09:45 am and time on water 4 hours. Total distance paddled 9.5 kilometres.
Third trip Wednesday 22nd. For the first time for many years I was able to launch at Playa de Zujar, near the head of the reservoir. There hasn't been sufficient water here to float a canoe for a long time. Paddled north-west along the shore, towards the river which feeds the reservoir. Got much further up the reservoir than ever before. Bit of a headwind on the return journey made paddling hard work. Start time 09:30 am and time on the water 4 hours. Total distance paddled 9.7 kilometres. Much easier getting on the water here – can comfortably get a vehicle right down to the edge of the water.
May -
