An Autumn Morning on Embalse de Negratin

   I got back to Embalse de Negratin with my folding kayak yesterday.  The weather has been very changeable recently, but the forecast of light winds and a zero chance of rain looked promising - however, I hadn't expected fog!  As I approached the reservoir at about 8:30 a.m., and could look down into the valley, I saw a bank of dense fog lying over the water.  Fortunately, by the time I reached the bathing and picnicking area (where I launched on my last visit) at the foot of Jabalcón, it didn't look so bad at the waters edge.  By the time I had assembled the kayak, and was ready to go afloat, the early morning fog was dispersing nicely and blue sky was appearing.

Plan for the day was to paddle down that big offshoot of the reservoir, which runs to the north west, opposite  Jabalcon.  One of the two areas of the reservoir I hadn't covered on previous visits.

I'm headed right down there.

Low cloud and some fog was still hanging around in the upper part of this offshoot.

Nearing the top, the water was getting very shallow and it was necessary to be watchful for submerged obstacles.

Must have been some big trees here before the valley was flooded.  Stumps like these were only just below the water surface in some places.

Couldn't get much further than this.  Too shallow and too many obstructions to look out for.  The water level has dropped by about a metre since I was last on Negratin, mid August.  I had expected to get much further up the valley than this.
Might have to make another visit next spring, when winter rains might have topped up the reservoir again.

Turned round and looked back towards Jabalcón.  A haze around the mountain gave the impression that fog might be reforming.  I believe that keen photographers would call this 'an atmospheric shot'.

Herons have built nests in those part-submerged dead trees.

There they are.

I had paddled into this stretch of water following the north shoreline and was paddling out along the south side.  A couple of hours had now passed, it was time for leg stretch and a coffee break - but where to stop?  This shoreline was muddy.

Another of those 'atmospheric shots'.

I finally found what looked like a firm bit of shoreline - but I was wrong!  Stepped out to find, too late, that a shingle surface hid the sticky stuff underneath.  Much cleaning up of kayak later (couldn't avoid carrying it back into the kayak on my sandals) but I had my coffee break regardless.

Blue sky, just a few clouds and not too hot - it was turning out to be a lovely day for a quiet paddle.

Lots more nests as I came back out into the main part of the reservoir.  The herons like these dead trees and there's plenty of dry twigs around.

   

Heading back to my starting point, at centre picture.  The haze had cleared from Jabalcón by early afternoon. 

Before I got there I came across this sticking out of the water.  From a distance it looked like a sculpture in steel.  It leans towards the shore and, to me, gave the impression of a multi-headed creature that had risen out of the water and was trying to reach the shore on spindly legs.

But it's just the top of an old electricity pylon!  Surprising that this was left standing when the dam was completed and the valley flooded.  I didn't see this the last time I passed this way.  Perhaps the water level was high enough then to cover it.  A hazard to watch out for in the future.








Time on the water was near enough four hours, including the coffee break.  Distance travelled was 11.5 kilometres.  It was a lovely day out.  Only a very small part of Embalse de Negratin now not seen.

The C15 camper van conversion (re. previous blog post) came into its own - could have a bit of a siesta on the sleeping platform before the drive home.  Quite comfy!

And Now Something Different!

This may well look like an ordinary Citroën C15 van, which it was for the past 14 years, but it's had a quick, cheap, makeover and now it can be (tongue-in-cheek) a one person, plus one folding (or inflatable) kayak, camper van!  For day trips and the occasional overnight stay.

Porta-kitchen and bedding are stowed in the space behind the front seats.  Kayaking stuff has been removed for clarity.

Mmm - sleeping platform wouldn't suit a tall person!  It is extra wide, and by laying diagonally it is just adequate for someone like myself.

Centre panel of sleeping platform lifts out.  Underneath are four shallow storage bays for the curtains and other light items.

Storage boxes on both sides.

Handy, folding stool/table.  A bargain from Ikea.

An awning for that extra bit of shade, or some protection from rain.

O.K.  Not a thing of beauty!  But the fabric, PVC oilcloth table protection material, was an end-of-roll bargain.  No other design was available at the price I paid.  And there's enough left over to make another two or three of these, if the fabric doesn't wear well.

Porta-kitchen - or, Kitchen-in-a-Box.  A little gas stove is suspended inside, inverted, attached to the lid.

Lid flipped over.  'Panniers' were another bargain from Ikea.

That cushion was a bag for diving equipment.  A folded up redundant exercise mat provided the padding.

Incorporated in the edge rail of the awning is a drying line.  I do occasionally get a bit wet when kayaking.

And so to bed.  The mattress is made from pillows that were surplus to requirements and pillowcases that were past their best.  The pillow cases were sewn edge to edge.  A lot of stuff got recycled in this makeover. The black cotton for the curtains came from Ikea.  And that's not a pepper grinder on the sleeping platform - it's a wind-up torch from Ikea.

Ikea helped a lot with this project!




No harm came to the C15 for this project.  No parts were removed, nothing was drilled or welded, and no alterations were made to the vehicle.  The van can be returned to its normal state in not much more than 15 minutes.

It's been a fun project.

A Trio of Little Trips in The Twist

Since my last blog post, 'The Maiden Voyage of The Halibut', I've had a trio of little trips with The Twist.  All were early starts, to beat the heat, launching soon after the sun came up and getting home again by mid morning.  Just short excursions, to shake the dust off the paddles (so to speak), to places I was familiar with from last year's paddling trips.


Wednesday Aug. 22nd.  Garrucha seafront.  Was last here Aug. 23rd. 2017.  Was lucky to find a parking space by the promenade. Very little wind but a bit of a swell from the S.E. Paddled the length of Garrucha seafront (both ways) and then had a little sortie into the harbour and marina.  Always interesting to see what boats are moored at the jetty for visiting craft, and where they come from.  On this day they were French, German and Spanish.  One ship was loading in the harbour and I watched another dock with the help of two tugs.  By the time I got back to the beach, where I had launched, there were quite a few people having an early morning swim - from the sound of the voices they were mainly Spanish.  Evidently Spanish women like a sunhat when bathing - heads with hats were bobbing around all over the place!  Had a swim myself before leaving the beach.  Time on the water 1½ hrs. but that was a bit too long - it was getting uncomfortably warm when I landed and started packing up.


Wednesday Aug. 29th.  Extreme southern end of Mojácar seafront.  Was last here Sept. 22nd. 2017.  Quite a swell form the S.E. and a bit of surf on the beach.  Had to carry the kayak to a calm corner in the shelter of the rock and concrete mole to launch - and returned to the same spot later to land.  Stayed well out in deep water behind the surf line - riding the swells was lovely.  Was on the water for about an hour.  Had a swim afterwards.

Too much surf, here in front of the car park, to launch comfortably.

Developers have ruined these mountainsides.  Little boxes of apartments stacked on top of each other.  Reminded me of the hit song "Little Boxes" from the early 1960s about developments in the USA.    The main road passes at the back of this development so I guess you can only see it like this from out on the sea.







Tuesday Sept. 18th.  Villaricos - the little harbour/marina at the northern end of the seafront.  Was last here Oct. 11th. 2017.  Tried to launch from the patch of sand just outside the harbour entrance (as last time) but waves were breaking rather too heavily on the beach, and not long enough gaps between the big ones, to launch without getting very wet.  'Plan B' was a short walk, and carry the kayak, to a concrete slipway within the harbour - only hazard there, was very slippery seaweed on the underwater surface of it.  Pootled around the harbour a few times with the occasional sortie out of the entrance into deep water - no problems with the bit of swell but an unexpected fresh wind off the land was a slight concern.  A capsize there, or a broken paddle, could have been a problem - next stop could have been North Africa!  Inflatable kayaks are a bit susceptible to wind.

That slipway saved the day.  The harbormaster's office is to the left, and behind those palm trees is a bar and restaurant.

 A view from just outside the harbour entrance.  The tops of those palm trees on the seafront show the direction of the wind.  A stiff offshore wind in a small inflatable kayak is not a welcome thing.










Footnote:

Autumn is here now.  Days and nights are gradually getting cooler.  Thoughts are now turning to getting the folding kayak out again and returning to much longer paddles on Embalse de Negratin.  There are still bits of it I haven't seen.

                                                                         

Maiden Voyage of The Halibut.

   I just couldn't wait for cooler days in order to try out my recently purchased Gumotex Halibut kayak.  So I left home very early yesterday morning so as to be on the shore of Embalse de Negratin soon after sunrise, when it was still nice and cool.  I used the same launching place, at the foot of Jabalcón, as my last kayaking trip.  Unloading, inflating the kayak and preparing it for the water took less than 45 minutes.

Loaded up ready to go.  Bear in mind that the Gumotex Halibut is designed for anglers - so it has plenty of easily accessible stowage space.

Spare paddles and my 'what if' bag stow nicely behind the seat.

 Jabalcón, the Los Banos restaurant and the Banos de Züjar (Züjar Baths) adjacent to the restaurant.  I have paddled this route before, but this side of the mountain was in deep shade on that occasion.  The Baths is a public swimming pool through which natural thermal waters flow - in which to relax and benefit from the water's therapeutic properties - so it is said.  The restaurant is also said to be pretty good.

Feet up, anchored in a shallow bay for a coffee break.  This, of course, is a 'staged' picture - it was really far too early in the day to have lunch laid out!  It's just to demonstrate how useful that 'thwart', which is intended for mounting fishing rod holders and perhaps a fish finder, is going to be for a picnic.  Those plastic sandals (Crocs) are also new.

The view ahead of my 'picnic table'.

At anchor.  The Halibut has an anchoring system favoured by anglers on their sit-on-top fishing kayaks, it's called an 'anchor trolley'.  The anchor warp is attached to a loop in an endless rope that runs through rings at the bow and the stern - thus allowing the kayak to be anchored by the bow or stern, or all points in between, at will.  I didn't think I would ever need such a thing, and considered doing away with it, but had to try it out first.  When I anchored in the bay, by the bow, a gentle breeze blew me round until the sun, still low in the sky, was shining in my eyes - but a few tugs on that endless rope soon had me anchored by the stern and more comfortable.  I'm converted, the 'anchor trolley' stays.  Not that I'll be anchoring very often on this reservoir, most of it is far too deep for that.

My anchor.  Because Embalse de Negratin is a flooded valley, and who knows what debris and snags lie on the bottom,  I decided against a conventional anchor, which was liable to get irretrievably entangled, and settled for a heavy weight.  If I ever fail to retrieve this one, and have to cut it loose, I'll only loose a 3 euro, heavy duty plastic, wide necked, screw top container, a bit of sand and cement, a bit of old rope and an hour or so of work.

 My 'turn back it's getting uncomfortably warm' point.  I passed these rocks on a kayaking trip on June 7th. this year, but on that occasion I didn't look back and notice how sculptural those great big rocks are.

 Back at the start.  Distance covered on this trial paddle was 3 km. and time on the water was 2 hrs. - but quite a bit of that time was spent experimenting with anchoring.

Verdict:  The Halibut is quick and easy to assemble, it's very stable, very comfortable and paddles a lot better than I expected.  However, I don't think I would like to paddle it against a fresh headwind for very long.  For a bit of quiet, lazy pootling around on sheltered water it is going to be ideal.  I now have a kayak for every occasion.

   

A New Kid on the Block

   Today I took delivery of another inflatable kayak - a Gumotex Halibut.  I'd always thought that when the day came that I found it difficult getting in and out of my folding kayak, then the Halibut, with its raised seat and good stability would be the answer.  Well, I'm glad to say, that day hasn't come yet - but when I spotted the Halibut on special offer on the Francobordo (Madrid) website, I couldn't resist!  The discounted price was too good to miss.

   The Gumotex Halibut is really designed as a fishing kayak - but I think it will be excellent, and very versatile, for pottering around on quiet waters.  It's not going to replace either of my other kayaks.  My Neris Valkure - 1 folding kayak will still be used for longer distance paddling, and my Gumotex Twist has proved its worth for snatched opportunities, and a bit of fun, on the sea.

Anyway, here it is:-

   Won't even have to find somewhere to go ashore for a leg-stretch and to eat lunch with this one - the plywood flooring in front of the seat makes it possible to stand up - and there's even a handy little picnic table!

   If you go to www.nastrahy.com/inflatable-kayak-halibut there is a nice photo gallery of pictures of this kayak in use - for fishing, of course, but they do demonstrate the versatility of this particular Gumotex model.

   I have also put details of my Halibut on the My Kayaks page of this blog site.

Can't wait to try it out!