First Paddle of 2022

 I was late getting out with a kayak this year - and very late adding the trip to this blog.

Saturday April 16th. at 10:00 am and Embalse de Negratin was glassy calm with barely a breath of wind.  It was an ideal morning for an open water crossing from Playa de Freila to re-acquaint myself with the 'badlands' side of the reservoir.  The last time I did this was early in May 2017.  On reaching the other side I turned left and followed the shore towards the dam - much the same route as nearly five years ago.  However, as always, the shoreline looked totally different because the water level was much lower than that last visit.  When I got within sight of the dam I crossed back to the Playa de Freila side and meandered back, hugging the shoreline, to my starting point.  One of the highlights of this trip was coming across a terrapin which appeared to be as curious about me as I was about it.  On the few occasions I've seen terrapins on the shoreline of the reservoir they've 'plopped' into the water long before I get near them, never to reveal themselves again.  This little fella did 'plop' into the water but couldn't resist, it seemed, bobbing back up at intervals to see if I was still around.

I didn't expect the little terrapin to surface again quite so close to me.

A few photographs of the 'badlands' area:

On this trip I used my Gumotex Halibut kayak.  Time on the water was just short of 5 hrs. and total distance paddled was 10 kilometres.

My folding kayak is now for sale.

My Neris Valkure-1 folding kayak is now for sale.  Purchasing it in 2016 was a brilliant re-introduction to kayaking but for the sort of kayaking I do it is too sophisticated and hasn't had much use these past couple of years.

It is no longer with me in Spain.  Simon Bolze of Neris Water Sports U.K. (email: info@neris.co.uk ) at Reading is selling it on my behalf.   

 

December Kayaking

 I've had a flurry of kayak outings this month, to make up for the months I didn't get afloat.  The energy sapping heat of summer, followed by a time consuming autumn project, had kept me away from the water since June 21st. (blog post 22/6/21).

On the morning of Saturday Dec. 4th. I took The Twist to Villaricos and enjoyed a pleasant warm up paddle, pottering around in the bay in front of the Chiringuito (beach bar) Las Brisas and the flock of motor homes of the Northern Europeans, who head south at this time of the year to escape the less inviting weather of their home countries.  Time on the water was 1½ hrs. and distance paddled was 3.9 kilometres (according to my gps thingy).

Heading back to the starting point.  What a nice December day to get back into kayaking!

Chiringuito Las Brisas as seen from the sea.  Closed for the winter.

On the morning of Tuesday Dec. 7th. me and The Twist were back at Villaricos.  This time launching from the beach at the north end of the town,  Another beach which is popular with the migrating motor homes.  After a bit of dodging among the rocks I paddled northwards along the coast, until a freshening wind made it prudent to head back.  Time on the water was again 1½ hrs. and distance paddled was 2.7 kilometres.

Another nice December day.  The sea got a bit choppier than this for a while. However, the only time I got wet was when I tripped and sat down in the shallows when landing in front of those motor homes.  Luckily no one was around, or paying enough attention, to witness my misfortune! 

A favourable weather forecast encouraged me to return to Villaricos yet again on the morning of Friday Dec. 10 th.  Getting afloat in The Twist from near the Chiringuito Las Brisas again.  I was only on the water for an hour this time, as the wind, which was forecast to be fresh but blowing off the land, didn't act as predicted.  Soon after getting on the water the wind decided to blow, quite strongly at times, parallel to the coast, making paddling a bit more challenging.  Distance covered was 2.7 kilometres.

On Tuesday Dec. 21st. (the Winter Solstice) I had a change of venue and kayak.  At long last The Halibut got an outing, on Embalse de Negratin at Playa de Freila.  The last time I used this kayak was Feb, 2020 (blog post 11/2/20), before I got enthusiastic about the simplicity of using The Twist.  However, very nearly two years on, when it comes to comfortable kayaking on Negratin, I now find that the extra effort of assembling The Halibut and getting it (it's too heavy for me to carry far) to the water, is worth it.    Time on the water was 2½ hrs. (incl. eating lunch on the water) and distance paddled was 8.3 kilometres.

At last The Halibut gets an outing.  That trolley makes it easy to get it to the water.  Getting back it back up the concrete ramp takes longer!

The water level in the reservoir was extremely low, the lowest I've ever seen it, so all the nooks and crannies of Negratin looked totally different, again.

This scene wasn't so attractive earlier in the day.  It was grey and spitting with rain when I first arrived - then, just after I had assembled everything, it rained enough for me to take shelter for a while.  But I took the gamble and launched as soon as the rain stopped.  Then the day just got better .... and better .... and better.

Today, Friday Dec. 31 st., The Halibut and I were back at Embalse de Negratin for another 3 hrs. of quiet paddling.  Distance covered was 8.8 kilometres - from the slipway at Freila towards the dam and back again.  Since my last paddle around this area much has changed, because of the very low level of the reservoir:  a new island has appeared, an old island is now joined to the shore, ruins of an old building show sticking up out of the water, the remains of an old dam has become apparent at the head of one of the side inlets and trees, which stuck out of the water in photographs on some previous blog posts, are now high and dry.  With the fluctuating water levels the shoreline around the reservoir looks different every time I go there.

The Halibut at rest while I have a leg stretch on a recently uncovered spit of land.  Even an inflatable seat pad starts feeling hard after a couple of hours of paddling.  The water wasn't quite this glassy calm when I first got on the water at 11:00 am.  It was another day which just got better ....and better .... and better.

Much of the shoreline is steep and muddy, so it's a bonus to be able to step out onto gently shelving stony ground like this.

The view from that spit of land back towards Freila slipway at about 1:00 pm.  Not a breath of wind and not a cloud in the sky - a perfect day for quiet paddling, 

Past water levels can clearly be seen on that headland on the right.  According to the website of reservoirs in Spain, Negratin is only at 27% of capacity.

  

AND SO ENDETH MY KAYAKING YEAR

Out and About Again

Travel restrictions, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, kept me away from water deep enough to paddle a  kayak for several months.  However, when Spain's 'State of Alarm' came to an end in April, freedom of movement across regional and provincial borders was reinstated - and now The Twist is out and about again.  I've had a trio of little trips since then:

On Sunday May 2nd. I went to the Embalse de Negratin,  Got on the water at Playa de Freila and spent three hours quietly paddling along the shore, in and out of every inlet.  On my last visit, September 2020 (blog post 19/09/20), the water in the reservoir was very low but now it is back to where it was about this time last year.

Mid morning and I had stopped for a leg stretch.  That little cloud was the only one in the sky!  In the three hours on the water I paddled a total of  8.5 kilometres.

On Wednesday June 2nd. I went back to Playa de Freila for another three hours of quiet paddling, checking out all the inlets in the opposite direction to my previous visit.  Total distance paddled this time was 7.5 kilometres.  I think this will be my last visit to this reservoir until the autumn.  Even with an early start it is getting too hot to spend enough time on the water to justify travelling so far from home.

On Monday June 21st. - the Summer Solstice and the day after Fathers Day (U.K.).  I made a very early start and got to Villaricos beach to see the first sunrise of summer - but not early enough to see it from my kayak.

Here comes the sun!  The Summer Solstice had occurred just a few hours earlier.

A few minutes later the sun had cleared the horizon.  I was on the water not long after this.

1½ hours on the water and I paddled 3.5 kilometres - fueled by my own personal snack bars!  Pity a fog didn't come down so I could make use of a shiny new compass.  Thank you Fathers Day!
  
   

An Equinox Paddle

 The autumn equinox on September 22nd. was another good excuse for a kayaking trip.  By starting out early I had hoped that on my way to Embalse de Negratin I might see a memorable equinox sunrise, but it was a bit of a grey morning and the sun was quite high in the sky before it eventually broke through the clouds.  After such a hot summer I didn't know what to expect regarding the water level in the reservoir - so I went to Playa del Freila, where the water is always accessible, and I took The Twist, the lightest of my kayaks.  Both turned out to be good choices.

   On the water about 9.00 am.  Bit of a breeze coming from the N.E. so I paddled along the shore in that direction.  If the wind continued, or even got stronger, I would at least have it behind me on my way back.  The water level was the lowest I've ever seen it, so the inlets, which I ducked in and out of , looked totally different to previous visits.  A secondary reason for hugging the shore into the inlets was looking out for a yellow kayak and a red kayak.  Earlier I had met a Belgium couple, who had left their kayaks on the shore at Playa del Freila and had come back later to find them gone.  May have been stolen - or maybe just pushed out into the reservoir.  I had said I would look out for the kayaks.

This a good indicator of how low the water has dropped.  I may have seen tips of the branches above the water on previous visits - but never as much of these trees as this.

After 1½ hours of shore hugging paddling I stopped for a leg-stretch.  Even an inflatable seat pad feels hard after a while!  By now that north-easterly breeze was dying away.  I had new batteries in my Garmin GPS thingy - so, when in the shelter of inlets, I'd checked out paddling speeds:  3 k.p.h. gentle paddling, 4 k.p.h. steady paddling and 5 k.p.h. if paddling hard, but only for a short period.

By the time I got back to my starting point the wind had died completely and there were the usual stunning reflections on the water of the mountains.  Time on the water had been 3 hours and total distance paddled was 6.7 kilometres.

It's now a very long way down to the water.  Fortunately the concrete ramp still reaches it.  The Twist is light enough to carry on my head and taking it down to the water was simple - the return wasn't as easy!  I'm glad I didn't take a bigger kayak, on a trolley.  For now I can't see my bigger and heavier kayaks getting much use here.

After packing up the kayak I had a trial run with a birthday gift of Brew in the Bag gourmet coffee - just add hot water.  Strength of the brew can be controlled by the amount of water and different brewing times.  I compromised by filling it to the 'mild' level but letting it brew the extra minutes for 'strong' coffee - which gave me a good size mug full of very acceptable coffee.  It works well, but you do need to be careful where you hold it when filling with near boiling water, and finding somewhere safe to stand it while it brews for several minutes.  This one was organic, roasted coffee from Ethiopia.  I have four more like this, with coffee from other parts of the world.

It says that the bags are reusable, but I found that it took a lot of water to flush out the used coffee grounds and the inner filter bag dried very slowly - maybe not worth the effort.  But for a cup (or mug) of good coffee, without the faff of a percolator - excellent.  

Where has all the water gone!  Before heading home I went to an access point I've used previously at the top end of the reservoir.  I've launched from here and paddled (to the right) 3 kilometres or more to the upper end where a river flows in.  Now, other than a shallow pool, it is mud flats.

Apart from the high ground in the distance, this would all have been water twelve months ago.  Now        long-legged wading birds are walking  across what water little there is in the middle.

Again, apart from the distant high ground, this used to be all covered in water.  The old bit of road, on the left, was visible a few months ago, but four years back even that was under water.  According the the website of reservoirs in Spain, this one is now down to 31% of capacity.  It is going to take an awful lot of winter rain and mountain snow to bring the level back up.  Each spring, for as long as I've been coming here, the level has been progressively lower.

  

   So, my 'welcome to autumn' paddle was quite eventful.  The low water level could be quite a game changer for my kayaking.  The only spot where the water is still accessible is Playa del Freila - but that long concrete ramp, rather steep at the upper end, is a bit daunting for a solo paddler!  My bigger and heavier kayaks might be 'mothballed' for a while and more use made of The Twist, and the coast.

   Shame about the Belgium couple and their kayaks.  When I last saw them they had reported the loss to the police and were about to go to a viewing point on the other side of the reservoir, where they might spot the kayaks from high ground.  They were in the area on holiday and had to return to Alicante before the weekend. 

 

Back on the Water

    A birthday is always a good excuse for a little treat.  So, on Wednesday this week, I had an aprés birthday outing with a kayak.  Just an hour or so of gentle paddling with The Twist at Villaricos.

   I made one of my usual early morning starts, hoping to be on the sea not long after 8.00 am.  However, there was a touch too much 'lift' in the water to get afloat where I hoped - and I looked at a couple of alternatives before finding somewhere more suitable.

It was not a morning for meandering among rocks, but these had at least provided a sheltered bit of shore for launching.  I don't like to get wet at a start of a trip!

Villaricos from the sea.  Out here in deeper water it was pleasant paddling, gently rising and falling on the swells as they passed under me, to break on the rocks and the shore.

   It wasn't a very long paddle - just enough to get back into the swing of things, now that the heat of summer has passed.  Hopefully there will be longer trips as the days get even cooler.

Embalse de Negratin Again.

   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 be 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!