Day 1
We left on January 4th from BWI to Fort Myers. Flight went pretty smoothly and we were picked up no problem by this interesting individual named Fred. He was our 'taxi' driving. We stopped at the Naples Wal-Mart to get food and supplies. But guess what... they were out of propane, as were all the surrounding Wal-Marts. What are the chances. Around 8:30pm we got to Ivey House which ended up being really nice. But I wasn't so sure at the beginning. They wouldn't let me rent out the canoes until I had a back country camping permit from the park, but the park was closed when we got there, and I had no way to get there. They girl at the front desk said to me "well its only a mile and a half walk". Awesome way to start the day I suppose.
As I finished up the paperwork, I told everyone to bring the gear into the rooms and then head off to dinner (seeing as how everything at Everglades City closed between 8:30 and 9). The one guy Pat (who was a really great guy) told me that tomorrow I could just borrow a bike to ride to the station. I was really grateful. At the restaurant I had fried gator tail! It tasted pretty much like chicken, but tasty none the less :)
Day 2
The next day I woke up bright and early! Just kidding, I only got up around 7. I got to the ranger station right around when they opened which was nice, but when it was all said and down, it didn't really buy me anything :/ The strange thing with the Everglades National Park is that you can only reserve campsites 24 hours in advance. Needless to say, there were no campsites for us. But Pat helped me find some other sites.
We headed out around 11, just as the tide was going out. I was so excited to be finally getting out on the water after all of the planning and waiting. I absolutely love to paddle. But when Dr. Holt gave me the nautical map, GPS and said tell us where to go... I was definitely nervous. Anyone will attest to the fact that among the things that are not my top qualities, navigating along with grace. But hell, I went for it.
We started off at the boat launch at Everglades City and made our way up the moterboat channel known as Indian Key Pass. We saw a bunch of boats and some other paddlers. The funniest thing was this site seeing boat called The Manatee Two which seemed to be almost zig zagging around. You could hear the captain say "on the left side we just saw a flipper" and everyone with the cameras would run to that side. Flipper sighting! Ha ha. But some people in our group actually saw a dolphin! We all saw a couple of dolphins as well ahead of us swimming around. Most definitely a great way to start the trip.
We made awesome time. Going almost all the way to the Gulf by lunch. After that we decided to cut through Gaskin Bay to seek some protection from strong winds coming from the north into our faces. But protection was relative. We really had to fight and to be honest, I was worried for a while that we weren't going to make it. I can't even imagine what it would have been like right in the Gulf of Mexico. But we pushed through it and just barely made it to our first campsite by dusk. We spent the night outside the park. Across the channel we could see Tiger Key which is still in the park. The key we stayed in was called Camp Lulu Key. It was great, there was a little fire ring on the beach, and we had a little cove in some sea grapes to set our tents and stove up :) Pretty much the perfect beach campsite.
That night the stars were amazing, it was so clear and they were so bright. It may have been bright, clear and beautiful, but man was it freezing! No one was really ready for the cold at all. Most of us had sleeping bags rated at around 40 degrees, but it easily got to the 30's.
Day 3
The next morning I woke up fairly early and walked around the island. It was neat because the tide was going out and I could walk out onto the mud flats while the sun rose. There were many beautiful shells, my favorite were the Lighting Conch. Dr. Holt joined me and we started to collect Giant Atlantic Cockles. And as time went on, more people showed up as we explored the exposed bed. Later I cooked the cockles for lunch, a bit gritty, but tasty :)
So before we left, we decided to purchase a cast net. A group of us decided to spend the
afternoon trying to figure it out. Finally we did, but didn't really catch anything. So it was suggested (by Dr. Holt I think) that we get into a canoe and paddle out into the bay were a pylon was located. One person would hold said pylon while another threw the net. Seemed to me like a good idea, so Phoebe, John Knepp and I headed out. There were a few problems with this plan.
- The pylon was a lot further out than we though
- The pylon was whole whole lot bigger than we expected and there was no way anyone was holding onto it
- The wind had picked up and started to push us away from Lulu and into the Gulf.
Awesome... I think not.
Well, long story short, I threw the net a few times, caught nothing, we almost tipped like 4 times, and we called it quits. I must say though, it was pretty hilarious both at the time and now looking back. How silly we must have looked.
So we get back and I start to teach Chris how to use the net when the group besides us casts out for the first time (they had just gotten there about and hour and a half early on top of this) and pulls in a huge freaking load of fish. I was like 'you're kidding' and Chris and I ran over. The group was an outward bound group of middle schoolers from West Virginia and they had two guides with them. After a bit of small talk, the guide said they had more than enough fish and asked if we wanted some, I said sure. Apparently part of the deal though was that we had to kill the fish. So after learning how, Chris and I grab a fish and go for it. To kill a Mulllet (the type of fish) you just put your fingers under the gills, your thumb on their forehead, say thank you fish, and yank back. Just like that.
I struggled with my fish flopping around, I ended up squezzing it between my knees and almost wrestling it. But Chris just went at it. Bam, first head snapped and fish blood everywhere. It was a squirter. The looks on the middle schoolers face when they saw Chris standing there with blood dripping down his hand giggling, me also with blood all over me seeming slightly confused was enough to make them all take a step back mouths agape. Their leader asked them if anyone wanted to try. Big surprise when they said no? Nope. Even bigger surprise when they took another step back? Nope.
So Chris and I returned to camp with 8 very dead, bloody, slightly decapitated Mullet. Thankfully John was there to teach us the ins and outs of prepping fish. And my, were they the tastiest fish ever? Maybe? Probably? Most definitely.
Paddling out to Round Key
Day 4
That morning, Chris, Andy, Emily and myself went to go and scout out our next proposed campsite. Round Key. It was about a 45 min paddle North, and there was almost no wind! Amazing! The site was amazing and we called on the walkie talkies to tell everyone to pack up. We got to this new site in great time and were able to walk and explore the extensive sandbar that jutted out from the island. Dr. Holt help John Knepp, Chris and myself harvest some wild oysters :)
While we waited for the fire to heat up enough we all explored the very tiny island. It was rather lovely with many weathered trees, amazing views and an osprey nest. The sunset that night was absolutely amazing. The colors were so bright and vivid and we had an uninhibited view out onto the Gulf of Mexico.
Let me just take a moment here to say how painful oysters are. Harvesting them, cleaning them, eating them. They may taste delicious, but my hands hated me! I think for every 14 oysters I harvested, 6 I cleaned, and 18 I ate, there was at least one cut on my hand. It was a blast sitting there with our knives prying them open, eating them, and then chucking the shells over our head.
Well, I think that half way for the trip is enough for now :) I shall finish this up Thursday perhaps. And just a quick New Zealand update, exchage rate is for every US dollar I have 1.4 New Zealand dollars! I received my plane tickets in the mail the other day as well. Only 12 days till I leave. Oh my indeed.
No comments:
Post a Comment