Saturday 5th March
Rain and wind last night, then wind, rain, thunder and lightning this morning from 8am till 10.30am. I was inside the tent, listening and eating last nights reheated dinner. Still hungry I waited for the rain to stop and cooked myself a pot of popcorn with lashings of coconut oil and coconut sugar, then I felt better.
As it started to rain heavily again I had a brainstorm, it was not that cold outside and I was covered in three days of sea salt. I grabbed my soap, stood outside my tent and had a shower. Clean and refreshed I climbed back into my tent, got warm in my woollen clothes and had a mug of sweet hot tea.
So what do you do when there is more rain bucketing down outside and nowhere to paddle? Firstly I killed every sandfly in my tent! Secondly, in between rain showers I put my solar panel charger to work, just outside my tent door. I did some forward planning of the next section, but that still could be days away. I rearranged stuff in my tent, then when the rain eased again I went for a walk along the beach, studying the waves. There were huge green cliffs behind me and the hugest rock wall with a massive hole in the middle. I headed that way to explore, but soon it started to rain heavily again. It was not low tide till four pm today so no luck for foraging for food just yet.
Back to the tent again I went, being happy I had set up the double fly sheet system, it is the blessing of this trip, it keeps everything dry inside my tent, no leaks, nothing gets wet.
In between rain showers I went wandering and as low tide neared I headed to the other end of the beach. I waded knee deep in between the rocks, hunting. I saw a group of seals, they were startled by my presence and all headed toward the ocean, but I left them alone and headed back to my rocks. I spotted some Paua! I was happy and grabbed one for my dinner, yippee! I wandered back to my tent and right on cue the rain arrived heavily, so in I climbed to dry off and rest. There is nothing I can do to change this weather, and no need to get stressed or worried. If it was only rain and the seas were calm I would paddle but, heck, the seas are so ugly, so I am just resting.
You have to love the sound of rain on your tent, to me it is restful, and calming so I will just absorb it and enjoy. No fire tonight as it is now torrential rain, but I'll have an early dinner, wrap up cosy warm and chill inside my tent. I am hoping for less rain tomorrow to try and get things recharged more. I think I will be at Green Islets for a few days now, until another weather window arrives that I can paddle in.
My smiles today:
Paua, success!
My flysheet, it rocks.
Showering outside in the rain.
My daily diary, it helps me smile.
Wading in rockpools.
My thoughts today:
Wrap up warm and get outside. Even when it is raining if I get out in it I feel better. I feel alive accepting what each day throws at you. Going with the current is easier than fighting it each day.
Red