Wednesday, May 8

North 28° 12.976'
West 112° 48.718'
Distance: 13.6 miles

I paddled 13.6 miles on my first solo day. We woke up at first light and Jay packed up and headed North to make the best of the tide. I had breakfast at the kitchen and spent some more time talking to Chary. I think she wants to set me up with her daughter Dori. She spent a lot of time telling me about her and that she can't find a guy who likes to do outside things with her like fishing. It was really cute. She forgot to pick up the apples and bananas she had told me she was going to give me. I told her not to worry about it since I could go to the tienda in El Barril. I also spent some time talking to Curt and Sybil - a retired couple who live in San Felipe. They said the live in Campo Ocotillo a couple miles from Pete's Camp. I had also met Sam and Wally - two guys from Denver who quit their jobs and are touring on motorcycles. I hope to see them again since they will be around the peninsula a couple more months. About 11:30 I pushed the boat down into the water and started going. I almost missed El Barril since 7 miles passed so fast. There was a really nice place a mile or so North of it which looked like real money. El Barril was interesting but the store was a bust. All I got was four cans of beans and a couple candy bars. Not even any beer. The people there were very nice, though. It was a short stop, then on the water again. I started trolling along the rocks after a couple miles. There was nothing to see in the rocks and nothing bit. Near the point I started seeing just a few fish and finally hooked a large trigger fish. I had him hooked by the bottom fin. I don't much like trigger fish, but it was better than nothing. I pulled into the first beach which was a nice cove with rocks followed by sand and a nice canyon. A few cordon cactuses. I cleaned Mr. Trigger after setting up the camp. When I finished a ponga drove by and they stopped to see if I needed any help. They were from El Barril, too. Nice people. Then I cooked up some beans and the fish. After cleanup the sun was going down. The days sure go quickly! With nobody else here I wasn't as interested in the food. It seemed more like a chore than a fun thing to do. Maybe I will stop getting so fat! It is fun and interesting being alone out here. I imagine I will be tired of it soon since it has only been a half a day so far. I am sure I will be writing more on this topic in the next week. The last glow of sunset is lighting the sky. I intend to watch that, read a little, then go to sleep so I can get an early start tomorrow.