6 Days in the Everglades
10.000 Islands and Beyond
February 1-10th 2004
By Eva Nichols

Jan and I had had such a great time on our kayaking trip with Crystal Seas in Costa Rica that we decided that our next adventure should be with Crystal Seas in the Everglades where neither of us had ever been. Here are my notes from our 6-day kayaking trip in the Everglades and our 4 days touring the Keys afterwards.

We started out from Everglades National Park at 9 am after having spent the night at Barron River Resort in Everglades City. The day before we had flown in from SFO to Miami, FL. We had a bit of trouble finding our way out of Miami, but were put on the right track by a gas station attendant. Soon we were zooming along "Alligator Alley", amazed at all the birdlife we saw along the highway. This was indeed promising! We could just imagine how many birds we would see once paddling the Everglades!

After checking in to Barron River resort we crashed for a nice, long nap after flying most of the night before. After the nap, we walked into town and had a late lunch at the Oar House. We then took the car north to Naples where we went for a nice stroll along the beach and then wandered through the shopping district on 3rd and 5th. We bought some stuff (jewelry, etc.) at a nice Haitian store. We had a light dinner at an Irish pub and then we drove home to pack for our adventure, and get a nice, long night's sleep!

While we were waiting for our guide from Crystal Seas to arrive at the Park Headquarters the next morning, we tried to figure out whom our fellow paddler would be as we knew one additional paddler would join us. We studied the people arriving and finally decided on a guy around our age who also looked as if he was waiting on someone. It turned out we were right in our assumption and we got ourselves introduced to Rick from Tennessee. Soon we saw a van with 3 kayaks pull up and met our guide Tim and his buddy Mark. Mark was along to help unload the kayaks and gear and see us off before he drove off, planning to meet us again at the end of our 6 days in the part of the Everglades called 10.0000 Islands.

We spent a good portion of the morning getting the gear packed and stowed away in the 3 kayaks – 1 double and 2 singles. We had to pack everything we would need for the 6 days, including water, so the kayaks were fully loaded! Finally we were ready and headed off into the maze of the red mangroves! Jan and I in the singles, Rick and Tim in the double. We had already agreed on taking turns paddling with Tim in the double, as all 3 of us were fairly skilled paddlers.

We paddled out through the Indian Key Pass way, stopped at a shell mount to grab a quick lunch and then continued out among the many mangrove islands to Picnic Key campground, which is a nice, sandy beach on the edge of the mangrove. The weather was pretty nice, but we did get a few raindrops from the little shower that caught us about half an hour before we reached our campsite, but not enough to get us really wet. Along the way we saw a number of Ospreys and a couple of their nests. We also saw a couple of Bottle-nosed dolphins swimming among the islands as we paddled. Winding through the islands we saw White Ibises, Blue Herons, the Little Blue Heron, some Royal Terns, Brown Pelicans perched in the mangroves, a few Glossy Ibis, Snowy Egrets, White Egrets, Turkey Vultures, Yellow-crowned Night Herons, Double-crested Cormorants, and probably a few other species which I have forgotten in the meantime! It was certainly a promising paddle this very first day! We stopped many times for Rick and me to take advantage of photo opportunities and later I was happy to see that some of my shots came out pretty good!

After setting up camp, I went for a quick dip with Jan, got the tent arranged and my chair set up just in time for appetizers and the sunset! It felt so wonderful to have left the busy life behind and just be! I think that is really what I love the most about these kayaking trips – the tranquility, no rush, time to just be – contemplate – observe the wildlife – have the time and peace of mind to scribble my thoughts down, take in the moment, draw, paint – whatever comes to mind! Having somebody else worry about meals, etc. is not bad either...and Tim did an excellent job of caring for us! This our first evening Tim cooked us a nice and tasty dinner of tuna with couscous and spicy bananas on top – another Crystal Seas addition to my repertoire to be used at home and always bringing back fond memories of wonderful days kayaking to remote areas.

The next morning we woke up to a great cup of coffee, tortillas w/egg, sausage and potatoes. I had slept really well for the first night in the tent. Jan had opted for sleeping outside and said she had a good night too, not bothered by mosquitoes, etc, so I had had the tent to myself. After a relaxed morning we headed out for a day paddle to Tiger Key where we were planning to have lunch. On the way we explored a lagoon to which Tim knew a narrow entrance. We saw a couple of bottle-nosed dolphins swimming between the keys and we also saw lots of birds in the mangroves, such as Tri-colored Heron, the Little Blue Heron, Great White Egret as well as the Snowy Egret, White Ibises, Glossy Ibises, and lots of Ospreys and King Fishers. I got a couple of good shots of most of the birds, except the King Fishers, they were always ahead of us and too quick for me to catch! At Tiger Key we had a nice lunch of sandwiches with chicken breast, cheese and all sorts of good stuff after the principle "built-your-own"!

On the way back to our campsite we took a detour around Stop Key and landed on our beach at Picnic Key late in the afternoon. Too late to practice the Eskimo roll, which I was anxious to try in the warmer water, even tough I must say it looked a bit murky for rolling! I did go for a very quick dip, and that inspired Jan and Rick. They went for a long dip and swim. After being refreshed, we had a delicious salad for an appetizer while we watched the sunset, which was beautiful. For dinner we had Orange rogue with Teriyaki veggies and Cadbury fingers for dessert – pure heaven!

The next morning it was time to break camp and I got to paddle the blue single. I had taken my turn in the double with Tim the day before, which I actually didn't mind at all, because it had given me an excellent opportunity to really focus on photographing all the birds we saw! I could leave the paddling to Tim when I saw something interesting; being in the front of the double gave me a perfect vantage point!

As I walked towards the port-a-potty that morning before we were breaking camp I saw some movement in the bushes and spotted 3 Red Cardinals – bright red! Too bad I didn't have my camera! I chatted a bit with the group of 3 German campers, who were also headed for camp at Rabbit Key, which was our destination for the day. They got off a bit before us, and when we landed on Jewel Key for a lunch stop, they were already there displaying the "family Jewels" in typical German fashion, (you'll know what I mean if you have ever visited a Danish North Sea beach in the summer! No offense Hansi!) So Tim suggested we rename the beach to Family Jewel Beach! After a quick lunch of sandwiches, cookies and fruit – I was still kind of stuffed from the pancake breakfast Tim had cooked up for us in the morning – we set out again.

We had seen a bottle-nosed dolphin earlier and now we spotted something mysterious bobbing in the water then disappearing, and then popping up again, only to disappear when we approached! We decided it had to be attached to something alive – probably a transmitter attached to a manatee – and Tim and Jan actually thought they saw a glimpse of a manatee head. After a while we paddled on, and it seemed like we were really in Osprey territory – we saw a couple fishing – and another couple mating, while others were just cruising around the skies! As we were getting closer to Rabbit Key we reached a sandbar with a colony of white pelicans, and we moved in on them carefully. Right when I was in position to get some really good close-up shots a motorboat with some young men moved in and the pelicans etc. took off. I was quite put our at such rudeness and let the guys know – but I still think I managed to get some good shots. Among all the pelicans were some Black Skimmers, with their big, prominent beaks – a bird I had never seen before, so I was really excited at getting a few shots of them as well.

As we were heading over the last crossing to reach our campsite at rabbit Key we spotted our German friends in their canoe, and decided we wanted to try and beat them to the campsite. We paddled as fast as we could and only because the Germans got stuck on a flat did we manage to get ahead of them and land before they did, so we got first pick on where to camp. The beach at Rabbit Key is rather small and narrow and a bit smelly from the exposed mudflats at low tide, so we where happy to get first pick of a camp spot! We had to walk around to the other side of the key to see the sunset, but even though it was a bit of a muddy walk, it was worth it. We found an osprey nest at the tiny beach we sat on to watch the sun go down, and the 2 ospreys made quite a racket and checked us out, before they settled down again, probably deciding that we did not constitute a threat to them or their nest.

When we got back to our campsite Tim already had dinner ready for us and we built a nice campfire to keep the mosquitoes at bay while we ate dinner. We enjoyed the almost-full moon and the stars that started appearing on the darkening sky. Dinner was a delicious Thai chicken dish followed by Lindner chocolate! We really savored the beauty of the night, the light and warmth of the campfire, and life in general!

As we turned in the Germans seemed to come alive, just like the night before at the previous camp, only this time they were a lot closer. In spite of that I soon dozed off and only awoke now and again, hearing fish jump and probably raccoons pattering around searching for food. One of them had managed to steal one of Tim's melons while we were sitting enjoying the campfire – or so we think! Tim was quite perturbed by this!

In the morning I actually managed to get a shot of the rising sun from my tent door, but then I laid down again for a bit of a morning snooze. I got up later to yet another great cup of coffee and omelet with cream cheese, smoked salmon and fried potatoes and wedges of orange! Living like royalty we were!

That morning the tide was extremely low, so we took it easy – read, I wrote in my notebook, and just watched the birdlife on the exposed flats. Even the raccoon was munching his way out to the tide line. The raccoons here in the keys sure are looking pretty scrawny compared to the raccoons I have seen in California!

After launching around all morning waiting for the tide to come in, we finally could take off for a paddle to Rabbit Key grasses and we saw a Roseate Spoonbill and dolphins along the way. We went back to our campsite and planned on a late lunch there, but I really wanted to try to roll. Tim humored me and went out with me, but I really found it difficult in the murky water – it sure didn't taste good either - yikes! I had trouble with my set-up and fell out of the boat numerous times. As our kayaks were expedition models, the fit was not as snug as what I had tried rolls in earlier. Finally Tim got out of his boat to guide my paddle and I had a couple of decent tries, but nothing even came close to an unassisted roll!

In the meantime it had gotten so late that we decided to skip lunch and just snacked on some crackers and decided we would do an early dinner instead. After seeing my futile attempts at rolling neither Jan nor Rick felt compelled to try – especially when I expressed how bad the water tasted. The 3 of us took a walk around the entire Rabbit Key Island to watch the sunset instead. We saw a bunch of wading birds in the outgoing tide, and 2 osprey nests, and just as the night before they expressed their unhappiness with our intrusion into their territory.

On the way back we all gathered firewood for another evening campfire. We had a bit of trouble lighting it, but again Rick's perseverance and Boy Scout tricks paid off, and he got it going! In the meantime Tim had a great burrito dinner ready for us, and boy were we hungry! The treat of the evening was Cadbury with caramel! Yum! - I was really tired from all my unsuccessful rolls in the murky water, so I turned in as the now full moon was rising and the stars were coming out. I didn't wake up until the sun was taking over from the moon, and I snapped a quick photo – snoozed a bit more, but was quick to get up when I heard the coffee was ready! We had fruit and yogurt served with granola for breakfast.

After breakfast we packed up – positioned the kayaks in the tide line and packed them as the tide move in, so we could launch by the time we were ready and packed up. It was a really windy day, so we had a fair amount of headwinds along the way, but it didn't cause us any problems, other than a bit more workout. We saw some Bottle-nosed dolphins fishing, a few Ospreys, Ibises and Great Blue Herons as we paddled our way towards our last campsite on Lopez River. I was hoping we would catch a glimpse of the elusive alligators while there, as it should be a good spot!

Just as we had pulled up to Lopez River campsite and were getting our tents out of the boats a powerboat pulled along to chat. All of a sudden I spotted something in the water behind their boat. I shouted out and Tim saw it too. It was a Manatee! I had never seen one before, other than on TV and was surprised at how much of the head was visible. It was only up for a few seconds before it disappeared in the murky water again. We waited around for about 10 minutes to see if it would surface again, but alas it was gone.

We quickly got in the kayaks and took off for a paddle to see if we would be able to spot the Manatee again, and possibly also see some alligators. We headed up Lopez River and saw the usual birdlife along the mangrove clad shores of the river, but no sign of neither alligators nor manatees. We headed up a narrow creek until the double, which Tim and I paddled today couldn't get through the tick mangroves. We turned around, which was no easy feat in the tangled roots and branches of the thick mangroves, and we headed back out taking another trail back to camp through Crooked Creek. All of a sudden Tim spotted a Roseate Spoonbill and tried to paddle up close, so I could get a good shot of it with my camera. It got startled, and flew away, so I just got at quick shot of it in the air as it flew over our heads. But at least we saw one!

Back at camp we finished unloading the kayaks. We had already set up our tents before we went on the paddle to make sure nobody else would occupy the tent sites we wanted. Jan thought she would camp out on one of the picnic tables, if the bugs didn't get too bad. Tim started baking the pizzas as the sun went down, and we had pepperoni pizza for dinner and fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies for dessert! Not bad for roughing it!

Just as we were ready to go to bed a few raindrops fell, so Jan decided to share the tent with me after all – her first night in a tent this trip! She always prefers to sleep outside under the stars whenever possible. The rest of the night it stayed dry, but pretty warm and humid. I think I added more mosquito bits – two around my right eye, so it got a bit swollen. Good thing I didn't have a mirror, so I would scare myself! I am sure I was looking pretty crusty by now! That's the beauty of a trip like this – just don't bring a mirror and you'll never know.

That last morning Tim baked cinnamon rolls for us and they turned out perfect they were delicious! We packed up camp for the very last time and headed towards Oskaloosa Island where Mark would meet us with the van. As we were paddling all of a sudden I saw a Roseate spoonbill flying overhead and the rest of the group were up ahead so I shouted "a pink one – a pink one" to alert them. Tim and Rick thought I shouted "penguin – penguin" so Tim teased me saying "There are no penguins here!"

Soon Oskaloosa drew close and headed for the landing spot where Mark was waiting with the van. We pulled out and started to unload, sad that the trip was over, but thinking a shower would be welcome! After loading up the kayaks and all our gear we drove the short distance to the park headquarters where our cars were parked. After changing into cleaner clothes and repacking our paddle gear from the dry bags to the cars, we had our last lunch prepared by Tim right there on the grassy parking lot. Tuna wraps – excellent food right down to the very last meal. Tim sure took good care of us!

After exchanging email addresses it was time to say goodbye and get on the road. I think we were all feeling a little sad that a great trip had come to an end! Rick was heading back to Tennessee, Tim back to Naples, and Jan and I were heading down to the Keys for a couple of days to explore that area of Florida, before we had to head back to California. We were still eager to see alligators in the wild, one of the few animals that had escaped up on the kayak tour, so Mark told us to make a stop at Shark Valley – a nature reserve on our way down to Key Largo, right off Hwy 41.

We stopped for gas right before we reached Shark Valley at an Indian gas station and market. In the swamp right there I saw an alligator gliding across a pond of open water! About a mile further down the road we saw the entrance to Shark Valley, so we pulled in, parked the car and walked along the trail. Already before we even got to the booth to pay the fee, we saw a big alligator at the side of the road. As we started down the path it was teeming with life! Birds of all sorts – lots of alligators and turtles! I was really excited to get some close-ups of Wood Storks, Herons, Egrets, etc.

We spent about 1 1/2 hour there and could have spent all day. You can rent bicycles and bike the 17 miles or so of trails, but we wanted to go at least as far as Key Largo before dark. We got back in the car and headed east and then south. Jan called in advance and secured a room for us in Key Largo. We pulled in a bit before 6 pm, took our first shower in 6 days, washed our hair and put on fresh, clean clothes! What a great feeling! We walked just down the road behind the hotel and found a nice outdoor restaurant and ordered a Margarita – something we had been longing for all afternoon! We ordered a couple of appetizers and key lime pie – and another round of drinks – reminiscing about our great adventures in the "Glades"! We went back to the hotel, and soon we were enjoying the nice soft feel of a real bed!

The next morning we had to get up at 7 am because we wanted to make the 9 am snorkeling trip out to the reef at Pennekamp State Park. The night before the receptionist had told us that we should aim for the morning trip as the wind was going to pick up in the afternoon. We also wanted to make it all the way to Key West before it got too late, so an early start was necessary!

We got to the park and got signed up for the morning tour. I got a mask, and soon we were heading out to the reef 5 miles out. The reef was pretty shallow and the water wasn't all that clear, but ok. I saw the corals and a lot of different fish swimming in and out of the corals. I am curious if any of the photos I took with the underwater camera came out since you can't really aim and shoot with the goggles on. (I've had them developed and they really aren't that great, partly due to the unclear water.) We spent about 1 /1/2 hour snorkeling and that was just right. I was beginning to get chilly and headed back to the boat just as the captain whistled as a sign to get out of the water and back in the boat. Back at the park we rinsed off and changed and checked out the souvenir shop. We then headed south on Hwy 1 towards Key West.

We got into Key West in the afternoon. It was Saturday and we still had to find a place to stay. The town seemed crowded, and we decided we wanted to find something in walking distance to downtown, which we deemed to be Duval Street. After doing a drive-through we stopped at a couple of places to see if they had rooms available, and find out what the rates were. Not cheap as we quickly found out. We ended up at the Truman Hotel, where we decided to go ahead and book for 2 nights. After some negotiations the clerk gave us a bit of a break on the rate from what he had originally quoted us. His name was Zach, and he turned out to be a really nice and friendly guy, as we started chatting with him. As I was busy filling out registration card, etc. Jan noticed the guy standing in the reception area waiting for us to finish up was wearing a Crystal Seas T-shirt. She started talking to him and found out that he was Leo – Crystal Seas Key West operator/tour guide! He was doing his rounds to the local hotels with brochures, and we soon had a lively conversation with him and Zack about our adventures in the Everglades and Costa Rica last year with Crystal Seas! What a coincidence to bump into him right there! We had already talked about calling Johannes, the owner of Crystal Seas, to arrange for a paddle the next day, so we could experience the waters of the Keys which are much different than those of the Everglades. Turquoise and really clear in the Keys most of the time. After discussing the possibilities with Leo we decided the sunset paddle would be the one we would like to do. That way we could sleep in and hope for the wind to die down a bit. It had been picking up all day, and was predicted to blow for the next day or so, but hopefully it would calm down by the next afternoon.
We called Johannes after we had checked in to our room. The room, by the way, was quite charming – located in the back of the hotel and facing the courtyard with the pool and hot tub. Johannes was happy to hear we had enjoyed our paddle of the Everglades with Tim and thrilled that we were ready for a paddle with Leo.

About 1/2 hour later Zack from the reception came up to tell us that Johannes was in the lobby so we went down to meet him in person for the first time. Leo was there too and we had fun exchanging stories. We were thrilled to finally meet Johannes in person, as we had talked to him and heard about him, seen his house in Costa Rica the year before, but never actually met him. After Johannes and Leo left, Jan and I were ready for dinner. We had skipped lunch, so we were hungry! We decided to ask Zack for recommendations for a Cuban restaurant and he sent us off the beaten track to a typical no-fuss Cuban family style restaurant. We had a pitcher of Sangria and fried pork with rice, beans and fried plantains – lots of food, and good, home-style cooking. Afterwards we had the obligatory Key Lime pie! We were so stuffed we decided to walk down Duvall Street to let the meal settle a bit before bedtime. We roamed the various shops – mainly souvenir and T-shirt shops, and a number of shops with beautiful glass wares. It reminded us a bit of the French Quarter in New Orleans – lots of drag queens and gay bars. We hadn't realized that Key West is a favorite hangout for gays.

We soon headed back to our hotel, exhausted and full, and we were in bed by 9 pm. Not exactly taking advantage of the undoubtedly flourishing nightlife! The next morning we took it easy – walked down Duval in search of coffee and an ATM. Found both and had breakfast down by Front Street at the end of Duval. Then we went to search for Hemmingway's Mansion. We finally had to stop by the hotel to ask Zack, and then we found it – only a few blocks from our hotel!

The wind had really been blowing all morning so we were a bit skeptical about the kayaking tour, but at 2:30 pm Leo pulled up and a couple of guys showed up too, who were scheduled to go out. We discussed the wind and weather a bit, but decided to give it a try. Leo had to pick up 2 more couples, who also decided to give it a go, and off towards Sugarloaf Key we went!

It did look a bit choppy, but with only 4 feet of water it couldn't get too bad, especially if we went into some of the mangroves for shelter, so we headed out. It was nice being on the water again, but because of the wind we didn't get to see much wildlife – a few birds and fish. Also because of the chop we couldn't see as clearly as on a calm day, when the water is clear as crystal. We enjoyed it nevertheless and saw the sun setting as we paddled back to the boat launch. Back at our hotel we changed into dry clothes and went out to find a place to have dinner and a margarita!

The next morning we packed up and headed north first to Pine Key to find the endangered Key Deer. It proved quite difficult to find the Preserve – we ended up passing it by 6 or 7 miles because there were no signs from our direction, and nowhere to turn around once we were certain we had missed it! After asking several people we finally found the trail that goes into the habitat – we walked it, but saw no deer. It was probably not the best time of day – midday – but we at least had a nice walk through pine and palm forest. We also stopped at the Blue Hole on the way out, and saw a couple of alligators.

On the way out of Pine Key we stopped by the shopping center where the Visitors and Park Info office was located and got a bagel, and stopped in to see the little exhibit at the info center. Then we headed further north to stop at the Dolphin Research Center just to check out their gift shop. We took the detour route off Hwy 1 north of Key Largo and went past Crocodile Lake and then rejoined Hwy 1. We wanted to spend the last night in either Coconut Grove or Coral Gables. Not because we knew either of these places, but they sounded really good in our guidebook! After much driving around we finally found the road we were looking for, and checked into the Doubletree Hotel in Coconut Grove. We were both ready to get off the road, so we took a room there, even though it was a bit more expensive than what we would have preferred!

After changing into more appropriate clothing for our new surroundings we walked into Coconut Grove. It mainly consisted of upscale chain stores, restaurants and bars – but nowhere could we find a view of the setting sun! We got a margarita at the Margarita Mamas bar– the closest to a sunset we could find. We then went down the street where we found a small, French cafe where we had a Kir Royale and dinner before we headed back to our posh hotel to get a good night's sleep before our trip home. Our heads and dreams full of beautiful memories of our journey into the Everglades and beyond!