Kayaking with Sonja

It is that time of year when Sonja and I find that we have a lot of time on our hands, no work, and no money! Our busy season coincides with WINTER up north. People come here to get out of the cold, so, it is during the winter months that we are busy! In fact, we work 6 to 7 days a week and have little time to do things that we enjoy! With no income during these slow times of the year, we have to do things that don't cost too much money and yet provide us with entertainment. We are easily bored and must keep busy.

We go to the gym almost everyday, have memberships to the zoo so it does not cost anything to get in there, we can walk the beach for free, and we have our kayaks! We can kayak in many different places close to our home on Ft. Myers Beach, and, for the most part, do it for free!

So today, we decided to go kayaking on the Estero River. This is one of our favorite kayaking rivers because it is "Old Florida", and full of turtles, oak trees with Spanish moss hanging from them, and, if we are lucky, an occasional gator or two!

I began the day's activities by heading down to load up the Jeep. We have two kayaks, which of course require seats, life vests and paddles. We have done this so many times that it usually does not take long at all to get the yaks strapped to the top, and throw in the rest of the gear. We planned to have a picnic lunch at Koreshan State Park, which is along side of the Estero River, so we had an additional piece of gear in a small collapsible cooler that would carry our water, diet cokes and lunch.

The last time I used the kayaks was for a kayak tour and when I brought the kayaks back home I neglected to take the seats off of them. The seats connect to the kayak with four buckles and give us much more comfort then paddling "bareback". In addition to comfort, the seat has two water bottle holders, and a zipper pocket for snacks, sunscreen, etc.

When I hoisted the first kayak, which had been setting out on our back patio for about 2 weeks unused, I noticed a foul smell coming from the seat but did not really pay much attention to it although the smell was one that seemed familiar and yet it did not touch off any kind of recognition on my part. So, carrying the 11 foot, 38 pound kayak over head, I placed it, seat installed, upside down on the Jeep. As I began to situate the yak on the Jeep I quickly realized that the seat was not going to be able to be left on so I reached up and began to unbuckle it from the kayak. The stench of the seat was real strong and I thought that I may have left a banana or something in there the last time I used it so once I got the seat off the kayak I planned on looking in the zipper compartment, which by the was was not zipped up. With my hands and arms still extended above my head, attempting to disconnect the buckles of the seat, suddenly something jumped out of the unzipped pocket of the seat, slithered down my shoulder and chest and as it passed by my face I realized it was a SNAKE!

Now, I am GATOR D! Gator D is not really afraid of ANYTHING, at least not so you can tell, especially if I can see it, identify it, and am able to steer clear of it! HOWEVER, this happened so fast, identification was impossible, size was also hard to judge (however it looked to be about 20 feet long at that particular moment and had 737 teeth about 10" long). So, needless to say, GATOR D almost messed up his pants! As the the snake slithered further down my leg, instinctively, I kicked out against it, just in case it was a black mamba or cobra! As I kicked, the poor snake flew through the air and landed, safely, against the side of our garage.

To be honest, my heart stopped for a moment. Yes, I was dead. Well, maybe not so you could tell, in fact if you had seen my knees shaking, and the contorted look upon my face, you may have thought I was in some kind of "electrocution mode". However, if a man's heart stops, he's dead, technically! So, here I was DEAD, but glad the snake was safely on the ground!

After I began to regain life, I sauntered over, ever so gently, to the vicious creature to survey the situation and determine if I needed to call the "venomous creature collection agency" or some other type of organization because I was most certainly sure it was gonna be out of our yard if it was as big and mean as I had envisioned in those split seconds that it almost took my life.

Upon closer inspection, I determined this creature to simply be a black snake. Yep, a common old black snake. However, it was 5 and a half feet long-- rather long for a common black snake! And, it did not have 737 teeth. I don't really know how many it did have, but as I was playing around with him, he struck at me several times and I got a good close look in his mouth, and although constrictors like this one have many teeth, this one did not seem so toothed! Oh, and by the way, they were not 10 inches long either. In fact, my guess is that they may have been about 1/32 of an inch. I don't really know, just a guess on my part!

Now for a few minutes, it seemed that both of us was eyeing each other and calming down from the previous few seconds of shock and rush of adrenaline.

In fact, I began to rethink the situation a little and try to look at it from the snakes point of view. My guess is that this snake had been very happy spending some quiet time in that seat, undisturbed for several weeks, coming and going as he pleased. My guess is that this snake, at best, weighed in at maybe 2.5 pounds. On the other hand, I weigh 180 (yeah I'm going to the gym but I am big boned and stocky!). So, here is a 5'6" snake weighing 2.5 pounds, and there is a 5'6", 180lb, big eyed human suddenly rocking his world! My guess is that the snake himself, may have messed himself! BINGO! YES, now I remember! YES NOW I REMEMBER WHY THAT SMELL WAS FAMILIAR! SNAKE SCAT! Yes, it was the smell of SNAKE SCAT! I REMEMBER NOW WHAT SNAKE SCAT SMELLS LIKE!

Oh, and by the way, as I was playing around with my new friend laughing at what I must have looked like in this situation, that smell, that familiar smell, was a little closer than I remember and as I looked down on my leg, there it was! The scat, of a snake! My friend, yes another friend of mine, had pooped on me! Go Figure!

Well, I hope you enjoy the pics and vids of our travels on the Estero River today. We had fun. I got to relax after my morning rush. So I bid you farewell and hope you are gainfully employed and happily working! Until season comes, maybe I can find more snakes to play with!

Oak Trees and Airplants! Old Florida at it's finest!

Nature is very artistic and my wife has a good eye for it!

Color on the river!

Sonja leading! AGAIN!

Always the "Model" paddler!

Lunch! 7-11 food is cheap!

"Estero River Outfitters" on the river! We bought our kayaks there 8 years ago.

This is like our "rain forest"!

Such a lovely creature!

Oh, yep, she let me lead a little this time! Don't happen much!

Well, got to run. I do have a Sunset Cruise tonight. It is the first work I have had all week. Very bored and ready to ride! GOODNIGHT AND GOD BLESS! Gator D OUT!

Kayak Adventure!

We woke up to a torrential downpour today, with high winds and even some thunder here and there. I did not have any assignments today with Goodtime Charters or Everglades Adventure so I decided to head out on a kayak adventure. I checked out the weather radar and it looked like it was going to pass through by early afternoon so I went ahead and did my morning chores and got them out of the way.

I packed the truck with all my gear and decided to head to the Estero River for a nice paddle up the protected old Florida tributary to Estero Bay. I love this river, especially if the weather is not so good because it is pretty well protected against the wind and even on days when we have 15 or 20 mph blows I can still have a nice quiet paddle. That is what I was in the mood for today.

I have two good options for places to put in. One at Estero River Outfitters which is just at the bridge over the river at U.S. 41, and the other is the Koreshan State Park boat ramp just down the street. I chose the park simply because I like the put-in there although it cost $4 to get into the park but it is worth it for the ease of getting the boats in and out of the water.

It only took me about 5 minutes to get the kayak in the water and get underway after I backed the truck down the ramp and unloaded the gear. My goal was to maybe get some good photos or a river gator or two but I was not successful. I did however see several turtles, a nice little blue heron, and a green night heron. One of the most fascinating things about Estero River to me is the "old" live oak trees with the spanish moss growing on them. We can also see the Bamboo growing thick and strong all over the park. When the wind blows, the bamboo rubs against each other and makes an erie sound. Every time I head up that river, for some reason I think about Mark Twain and those old Mississippi River trees, however, I know this is Florida and these trees have a rich history here.

My paddle only t00k me about 5 or 6 miles but I always take it slow so that I can really take in the sites and explore the banks to find turtles and birds who may be lurking in the shadows. It takes a keen eye to really find some of the jewels tucked away under the red mangrove roots or in the limestone rocks that make up the banks of the river. I absolutely love the ferns and the plants along the river. I cannot express how beautiful they are and photos cannot capture the beauty. You have to experience them for yourself!

Occasionally along this waterway I can see snakes, alligators, bobcats, hawks, eagles, and a plethera of other wildlife but today I was not so lucky. Thats ok, I did get to see a canoe tip over and the two girls in it panicked for a moment until they realized that the water was about a foot deep. I did not have the heart to tell them that there were alligators in these waters. It just did not seem right in light of things.

The only drawback to the Estero River is the fact that so many people can be on it at any given time because of Estero River Outfitters' rental program. Just like all "renters" they can be loud and obnoxcious and scare a lot of the animals away before you get a chance to enjoy them but today it was not that way. I only saw one canoe and two other groups of kayakers and for the most part they were quiet so I was able to take some decent photos.

The weather held and I even had sun for a good part of my journey. The river was relatively high and I was able to go quite far up it before turning around and heading back. A lovely day on a lovely river. Just in case anyone is interested in the type of kayak I use, it is a "sit-on-top", Ocean Kayak, Caper model, eleven feet long, and weighs in at about 38 lbs. We chose this model because of its lightness, and ability to steer in and out of tight places. Sonja and I are avid kayakers and we are always exploring. Plus, we have rod holders installed so that we can also fish from these wonderful kayaks.

On the way home as I returned to Ft. Myers Beach, I saw an American Bald Eagle flying over me on Bonita Beach Road just before I entered New Pass. I grabbed my camera and clicked off a few shots. They weren't good enough to post, but boy am I happy I get to see bald eagles!

As a kayak guide and kayak instructor, this is my favorite way of seeing wildlife. If you ever get a chance to come to Southern Florida, check in with Cristina at Good Time Charters and set up a kayak trip! This is one heck of a place to be on the water enjoying another South Florida Adventure!