Pos 45:02.2S 41:2W at anchor
Puerto Madryn pics:
Commodore Puerto
Madryn
Deputy
Our Pilot
07112011 Caleta Horno
The fog
lifts
Long lines ashore
Another line run to a wire strop attached to rocks ahead
of us and the boat now sits securely between the two lines and its anchor, ready
for any blow.
Slippery
Long lines
1030 Lars and Thomas return from their "reckky" having
found a suitable landing site.
All aboard the dinghy and armed with walking boots and
cameras we weave our way through the kelps fronds to land on sand and shingle
beach.
Landing
beach
Boots on
Boots on, cameras at the ready, we climb the sloping
beach to the to the scrub covered plane above.
We set out in different directions some follow the cliff
line overlooking “Dawnbreaker” in the bay below, while others head out along a
track that runs inland.
Entrance
Up the creek
We spot a small herd of Guanacos?, foxy brown coloured,
llama like in size and shape, off in the distance and apart from a well
camouflaged lizard
and a couple black buzzards like birds circling overhead
there’s not a lot of life.
Guanacos?
Bird!
Lars and I set off to the next bay to investigate a large
structure on the shore. Following a track with signs of recent activity and
repair where past rains
have wash it away we reach what turns out to be a large
navigation lead in mark constructed of concrete pillars.
From here we are heading to the beach when in the
distance we spot the “Traffic” in the form of a quad bike and its occupants
talking to Thomas.
Paper police
Apparently they are from the Prefectura who we contacted
last night and have driven across country from Camarone some 30 kilometres away
with the inevitable papers to be signed.
Fun and games getting into the dinghy as the incoming
tide has produced a few breakers which crash over the transom as we try to board
and chaos ensues.
Back aboard and its lunch while Lars has the chart out
and having spotted the highest point on land insist we head for it this
afternoon.
Thomas ferries us ashore and continues his exploration of
the creek by dinghy. We meet up with him as we cross the sands flats and small
stream at the head of the creek.
Striding
out
How do we get across?
Shall I
jump?
Thomas up the creek
A route march across valleys and hills till we get to our
objective and add a few more rocks to the cairn that someone has started then
back.
As we work our way down the final valley to the beach it
gets narrower and starts looking like a mini grand canyon.
Then there’s a six foot drop with a dead sheep at the
bottom which either came to grief when it fell over or died of lack of water/
food trapped in the cove.
Top at
last
Late sheep
Back aboard and a well deserved beer or two and a shower
off the stern. Peter decides to try the water, we watch, silly boy! He’s out in
a flash though it is 13C .
Silly
boy
Whats the problem
The weather has been kind, hot in the sun but the wind is
from the south and the Antarctic and it certainly feels like it with a cold
cutting edge.
Bob the Blog
