Day 46 – Not the high point of the day – 16 April

Day 46. 16th of April. 45.2 km, 6.4 km/hr average speed. From Kråkelund to Stora Björkskär north of Vestervik.

Another good day for covering distance. Almost no wind, misty and partly overcast and about 5 degrees, makes for good paddling conditions.

Nights are still chilly and humid, so our woolen clothes doesn’t really dry up. However, moisture moves overnight and concentrates in the lowest hanging part of the garments. This makes it possible to cringe some of yesterday’s sweat out before putting the clothes on again… Not the high point of the day. But once we get paddling everything warms up.

Since about Oscarshamn we have left the washed out moraine landscape and moved into “skjærgård” made of proper, mostly granitic, rock. The water has become clearer and lost its brownish tint.

The islands are still tree covered, but less oak and dominantly pine. Some smallish trees are almost ready to open their leaves, so spring is underway. However, as we passed Kråkelund there was still ice remaining on the seaward facing cliffs.

The sound track of spring round here is provided 24/7 by the gray geese. Noisy birds indeed and very numerous here.

We have decided to try to paddle seven days instead of six, before we take a break. For two reasons, first we will then get to Arkösund which has reasonable facilities (i.e. Grocery store), second we will be in a good position to make the about two and a half hours crossing to Oxelösund. We are a bit worried about getting stuck waiting for weather. This means a couple of days around 40 plus km. If our bodies hold up and weather permits.