beach bum at ten thousand islands and then some

Happy New Year to you and yours !    I hope 2009 will make all our dreams come true.

To start the year I disconnected for a few days by taking a canoe-camping trip with some friends to the West Coast of Florida to a place called ten thousand islands. In order to get there we had to drive from Miami to Everglades City on the West Coast of Florida ( 2 hour drive). At Everglades city we loaded up the canoes with gear and provisions and cannoed for four hours to get to our remote destination, Lulu Key, overlooking the Gulf of Mexico. It was an excellent trip for all involved and the biggest challenge was the 5 hour paddle back to Everglades City at the end of our trip. 

The crew involved 6 people split 2 per canoe.  One of the challenges in the trip was paddling against the current in the waterways of ten thousand islands.  During the trip we camped out on a white sand beach during two amazing clear and fresh nights in the low 70s which gave birth to several shooting stars.

 This type of trip involves back country or primative camping which means no running water, no electricity and no civilization.  This was a great way to relax, detach and enjoy nature. 

We are looking at ways to travel to another key or island in the coming months and considering taking kayaks instead. Kayaks are much faster and we could likely cut travel time in half.  The canoe roundtrip was aprox. 20 miles.  One of the benefits of the canoe is the amount of storage space available for gear and provisions.  This extra spaced allowed for us to bring coolers with fresh food and drinks. During our days at Lulu Key we had exceptional meals which we prepared by hand and cooked by natural fire.  At night we saw the night sky come to life with bright still and shooting stars and saw the changing reflections of light from the moon onto the black ocean.  At night we burned fires, ate, drank, talked, laughed and danced to the almighty sounds of ToTo La Momposina amongst other classic music and gave thanks for continued blessings in the new year.