We went kayaking on the Wakulla River this weekend with our friends Rob and Jeff. We've been meaning to do this together the famous "sometime." For about three years now. "Sometime" finally happened (possibly because I called and set a date for it).
Wakulla means "mysterious waters." While it specifically refers to the freshwater spring that feeds it (of unknown depth and length--basically forever and forever) it does seem an appropriate name for the area in general.
The river is fairly shallow, with the bottom covered in long eel grass. As it waves in the current, you can see the white sand below. As befitting "mysterious waters" sometimes a patch of sand will slowly float to the surface and take a long low breath. It's hard to say just what is so appealing about manatees. They are not by any means attractive (those sailors who mistook them for mermaids must have been out to sea for a looooong time). They're just rather blobby. But as a fellow kayaker noted "they're a big blob that make people happy." Sadly--they are easily mistaken for a patch of sand, and they move very slowly. I've never seen a manatee that didn't have scars from boat props.
And what's a trip out in the boats without an alligator. yes--that's the tip of Bob's oar there.
Cool pics -- is the blob in the 2nd picture (looking over the bow?) one or two manatees?
ReplyDeleteJust one--big 'un (maybe 14 feet)
ReplyDeleteNot as intimidating as an alligator that big!