Civilization slips behind us as we sail smoothly down the mighty Suwannee. Giant Gulf Sturgeon startle us as they crash into the water with the force of small artillery shells hurling skyward geysers of dark river water. The river widens now, the trees grow higher. The river assumes a thicker tannic consistency. The blue sky opens from horizon to horizon. The current pushes us onward. The escape from civilization is confirmed by the increasing static as the only working radio station starts to fade. Cell service was lost some time ago. We will soon be on our own, alone in this true wilderness.
Sturgeons break the surface as alligators startled by our slow approach slide from their sunny roosts atop logs into the deep water. Flocks of white water birds glide overhead as vultures sit on top of their favorite perch awaiting the inevitable death in the forest below. The thump of woodpeckers mix with strange noises eminenting from the deep forest. What we can see I am sure is but a fraction of the wildlife hiding within the darkness of the trees and beneath the impenetrable water.
The trip upstream is behind us. The upper Suwannee is a different river. Narrower, rocky, steep sandy banks, and riddled with springs and spring boils. The brown water there is often interrupted by underwater springs boiling upward like a giant soup kettle. We reached the rapids and that was far enough. That part of the river had its own attractions, but this, the lower Suwannee, is what I came here for.
On our ascent as we struggled up the river through this section of the Suwannee it was dark and rainy. Now the brightness of the blue sky is only interrupted by the occasional puffy white cloud hanging in a sea of blue. The weather is perfect, the faint humidity tempered by the gentle breeze of the boat's progress down the river. The bright green of the forested banks stands out against the sky. This is a truly gorgeous place.
We have now anchored in the middle of the primordial forest and plan to explore the myriad channels emanating from the river in our dinghy, today, and in the darkness tonight.
The forest appears thick with brush but it is not at all. Only along the bank, where sunlight can be gathered by shrubs is it like this. We landed near here and once in the forest the high canopy of trees blocks most sunlight and small plants cannot grow. When I tried to take some pictures it was so dark at 3 PM that the flash went off. You can walk comfortably through the jungle-like forest, well you could if it were not so damp and boggy anyways. Sometimes the odor was oddly foul for such a pristine place though.
We return to the well-lit Mothership after our night gator hunt. We spotted several of the beasts although none were very big. There were lots of bats out tonight diving through our searchlight beams to eat the flying insects they attracted.
The Suwannee's straight course assited our explorations.
Today:
1. We attempted to kayak up a dark little bayou. It was pretty spooky. Tamara became concerned and we had to turn back.
2. We explored some dark twisted channels off the main river in our dinghy. Crusing all alone in the wilderness, far from any help should we need it, Tamara jumped every time she heard a strange noise or splash.
3. We left the boat into the dark night looking for signs of life on the river. Tamara was not comfortable with us going very far and then started to freak out as bats started diving inches from her head as they ate insects gathering in our searchlight beams. We had to go back to the houseboat.
When we got back Tamara told me this was the best day she's had on this trip so far!
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