Mangrove Tunnels

On the second day we canoed for fourteen hours through a mangrove swamp. The going was extremely rough and we averaged around a half a mile an hour (opposed to three miles an hour in the ocean). The total distance that we traveled through in the tunnels was five miles. Once the tunnels ended it was a two mile paddle to Fakahatchee Island. The Mangrove swamp was difficult to maneuver through because branches connected overhead and formed tunnels, as you will see in some of the pictures we had to move around quite a bit to get through these tunnels and in some spots it was very narrow and dense. To add to the difficulties of the overhead canopy there were submerged obstacles in the shallow waters. Further more the last five hours of the journey were in total darkness. As you can imagine, it was very hard to see any obstacles and this further slowed our progress. There was also an additional spook factor because it was impossible to see any nocturnal animals and a few angrily hissed at us.

We saw a variety of birds, as well as an alligator, sea otter, and dolphins. One rare bird that we saw was the  Woodstork, we also saw a night heron, a moor hen, a pileated woodpecker, and others. The alligator was scary, but very cool. We had no other option but to paddle within five feet of it.When Alex Henderson passed by, it sunk into the water. It was anxious to eat him, fortunately for Alex he got away. The sea otter was seen after dark, as well as the dolphins.
Although challenging this adventure was fun and a good experience. I don't think any of us realized we would be paddling through a swamp such as this, especially at night. When we arrived at Fakahatchee Island we were all very exhausted and Jacqueline was very eaten by bugs, as well as others (but especially Jacqueline). It was a very welcome relief to eat dinner and go to sleep.