| catalā | espaņol | english | ||||||
| Ebre & kayak | The river | Stages | Links |
| Caspe to Flix 16 15 14 13 12 11 | 10. Ribaroja to Flix km 131. - km 116.5 PDF | | ||
|
|
||
| To Flix | ||
|
Today's layout
is like "lambda", with Riba-roja before the point, and Flix at
the end.. I went to sleep exhausted, somehow unconfortable in the little tent, some anxiety for the different noises, and also because I could see and hear the thunders and lightnings of a storm far away. And despite all this, in seconds I fell asleep and the body started to recover. Just an hour later I was awaken by the rain, and soon, as I had not tensed the tent enough, drops began to fall on my legs. I tried to relax. An hour later it stopped and I resumed sleeping. I had planted the tent on green grass and it was softer than the nights before. Again it rained and again I woke up, and waited until I fell asleep and woke at 5h. I stayed lying until 5h30 and started the same routine as the days before: brushing my teeth, shaving, preparing a cup of tea, packing the tent, drinking tea and eating biscuits, evacuating and go! The body is a wonder, just an imperfect night's rest is enough to recover and start a new day with energy. All the inconveniences are compensated by the experience of entering into the river at dawn, the pale morning light on the river, silence. Today I have in front of me a short ride, just 16 km until Flix. If I went on I could reach easily Vinebre. |
||
 |
||
|
Riba-roja dam was quite close. |
||
|
||
| Riba-roja dam | ||
|
km 129,5 You have a choice: a bad option (left) ... and another bad option (right). You can land at left, very close to the dam, but there is no trail and you have a steep ramp for some 20 meters. It is short but inconvenient if you have to carry the kayak and the bags. After that a road reaches the dam quite soon. You must follow it and turn at right more or less perpendicular to the river (beware not going back to the dam). The access is not easy and there is plenty of sewage carried by the river. From landing to entering again, around 800 m. I write some notes and again into the water. |
||
|
||
|
||
 |
||
| Before resuming down, I'm going to explore the
other option. I had seen before a convenient access on the right shore, before the dam. I cross the river and land in a place where some people were fishing and follow a track until the road. It's 1.5 km the round trip and I guess that it's 0.5km before the dam. So, it's 800m with a steep cobbled ramp, or 2 km walking. I think the left option is the most convenient. |
||
 |
||
|
It's a peaceful day, some clouds. I paddle happiply at a good pace. According the gps I'm doing 7-9 km/h. Around km 124 there is a wharf. |
||
|
||
| A fluvial insect city | ||
|
||
|
||
 |
||
|
|
||
 |
||
|
I stop for beakfast. km 123.5 (E). |
||
 |
||
| The smoke from Asco's nuclear plant can be seen. | ||
 |
||
| Island | ||
|
km 121.7 I pass between the shore and a little island (Marurici's Island). I could have spend there the whole morning. |
||
 |
||
 |
||
|
|
||
 |
||
 |
||
|
I do the last turn and I can see Flix on the horizon, with the shape of the big Ercros factory. I'm happy because I did what I intended to, I didn't knew about the weather, my energy. I paddle easy for the remaining section. On my right I see the big facilities of the factory. This area is heavily polluted from decades of the factory sewage. A costly cleaning project is awaiting to be scheduled. |
||
 |
||
|
|
||
 |
||
| Flix's dam km 116.9 | ||
 |
||
 |
||
| On the right shore there is a convenient access appropiate if you want to go to the train station. | ||
 |
||
|
On the left, where a pipe plunges into the river there is another access. It's the one to be choosed if you want to enter into the river after the dam, as the entry is on the left side and this allows you to skip crossing the bridge where there is a lot of traffic and litlle space for pedestrians. |
||
 |
||
About 400m later the access for entering into the river can be found. Check the next section, from Flix to the Sea, etap9. I remember beginning this section, two years ago. if I had more time, I would do it again now ... |
