It was a warm day with some gusts of wind, and with beams of sunlight coming down on us. ~ Not too hot yet, with a nice breeze. ~ The first thing that caught my attention was the color of green from the trees that shown with extreme brilliance on the banks of the river. ~ I noticed the odd-looking tree formations, which I think of as stalagmite tree stumps. They remind me of rock formations found in caves, which also led me to notice the opposing stalactite moss hanging from the tree tops. I was awed to see nature echoing itself in different forms in different environments. ~ It must’ve been 10-15 minutes before our tour guide, Paul Laurent, found wildlife. “And here in the trees we have the most dangerous animal on the river,” he said. I looked, expecting to see a snake or alligator, but what I saw was nothing of the sort. This particular animal was a slimy, lime green amphibian squatted on a leaf that was identical to the color of its slimy skin. According to our guide, the tree frog that he now held in his hand was a species unable to swim. This was obvious once he lightly placed the frog on the surface of the black water and, instead of swimming, the frog skipped across the water, like a rock, until it got back to its tree. ~ The water itself was blacker than the night sky; it was so dark that you could only see what is at the very surface. ~ The guide said pirates would come into these areas and soak their sails in the water, so that they would actually become dyed black. “Bright orange sails,” he said, “kind of stand out in the night.” ~ I observed the black river and how my oar went from piercing black to orange back to darkness as it sank lower into the water within every stroke. There was a dead catfish that smelled rancid and was missing eyeballs. ~ I felt a sense of calmness in the cold crisp water. The river just slowly takes your kayak and smoothly carries it along the current. ~ I looked down at my paddle as it started to disappear into the darkness of the water. With a twist of the handle, a beam of sun light hit its surface, and I could see how it was encased in that orange glow caused by the cypress trees on the river. ~ Along the river were cow leaf plants, little leaves with roots deep into the lakebed, that kind looked like cowtails. One of our people actually tested the notion that the roots are edible, and described them as “Good bleach.” ~ Me being the “boy of nature” that I am, I had to try it. And, of course, like the guide said, it did taste like I was “chewing up an aspirin.” It was not very pleasant at all. ~ There were turtles sitting on branches sticking out of the water, sun-bathing and chilling before jumping back in the water out of fear of the travelers making their way along the river. ~ The turtle, the guide said, was easily identified because of the two black dots on either side of its head. ~ Wasps aren't aggressive but if you mess with their nest, they will attack you then. You can spot most of their nests pretty easily. They are light grey similar to newspaper and are usually about the size of a softball hanging on the limbs on the water's edge. ~ In the distance, I saw something strange sticking out of the water. It was massive and very alien compared to the surrounding vegetation. As we came closer to the object it was almost like was looking at the carcass of an enormous animal. But upon closer examination it was the wreckage of an old steam boat that was once a beautiful large ship that was now decaying in the water. It brought the overwhelming feeling of sadness. This once useful boat that was someone’s dream was now lying in the mud, filled with water, rusting and falling apart in the water. ~ Nothing was left of the boat but the tail-end sticking up out the water with brown rust in stripes from being in the water for so long. Beside the boat was another half sunken boat, turned on its side with the words “No Tresspassing” spray painted in black. The owner of the boat misspelled the word trespassing. He spelled in a way a five-year-old would spell an unknown word by sounding out the letters. ~ The wood of the boat had a certain lifelessness to it that made the boat feel like the ghost of a boat. ~ While floating along, I noticed an osprey taking flight from the tree tops, circling around like a vulture with its white head similar to that of a bald eagle. ~ There was a scattered mess of mistletoe perched near the tree tops slowing killing its host as it took over. Three alligators were spotted at different times, sinking back into the water nowhere to be seen. ~ Along the trip, we would often see what we appeared to be a stick floating by; however, the sticks were alligators swimming just at the surface of the water. The appearance of their spine was the stick that we saw. ~ Alligators poked their heads up above the water, looking like little logs and blending in. They actually seemed pretty skittish, and our guide described them as “scaly teddy bears.” ~ We all kept our distance until the alligator was out of sight. As a way to avoiding becoming hurt by the gators and other wildlife the tour guide told us, “Don’t be idiots.” ~ Despite the sunken ship, metal signs, and pieces of rope, I noticed that the further down the river we traveled the river seemed unaffected by the world. This natural habitat left the animals to be themselves, which, surprisingly to me, was entirely unaggressive. I have always had the image in my mind of families being attacked by alligators or bitten by snakes, and the fear of these animals has kept me far away from them for my entire life; on this trip, I felt at ease around these creatures for the first time that I can remember. The animals were not looking to attack us; they wanted to be left alone. After this moment, I started to absorb more of the beauty around us, and I began to appreciate that so much of the land around us seemed virtually untouched by the people who visit. ~ I was so excited when the trip guide found a turtle and a snake! Growing up, my dad and I would go out into the woods and always end up bringing reptiles home. Doing so has made me fearless now. ~ This particular snake was a brown water snake, a murky and dirty brown to blend in with the dirt, trees and blackwater river. ~ Sometimes I found myself mindlessly paddling down the river, barely paying attention to what was around me, as if I were in a car, zoning out on a long drive down the interstate. Make sure you have eaten a sufficient meal and hydrated yourself prior to going out on the water. If you don’t, you will feel like a worm exposed on concrete. ~ I suggest that a fellow kayaker takes snacks, water, and reapplies sunscreen while out on the water. They're going to be getting sunburnt without even realizing it like I did. ~ On our adventure, I got to hear the croak of a bullfrog, I watched dragonflies drop into the water and whiz past my head, and fish jumping out of the water, none of which are something I see on a daily basis. I was constantly in wonder at the green, lush life that grew out of and around black water. Make sure you stop to listen to the world around you and looking into the trees to see what lies beyond the leaves. Without a close eye, there is a lot you could miss.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorThese are compilations. Each student contributes . Categories
All
|