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| I heard the roaring of engines. Another forty-footer was heading our way at full throttle. I did my little routine: get up, wave, shout but the big boat was not slowing down, even though they had seen us with ample time. Darn! I sat and prepared myself for the big wakes. Useless! The wakes pushed the canoe and crashed it on the rocky shore! I turned and looked at the boat. The mate was standing aft and he was laughing. What do you say to someone like that? I refuse to call them animals because to do so would be an insult to the animals. As far as I was concerned, these "whatever-you-want-to-call-them" were so low in the scale of creation and so despicable that they were not even worth the energy required to flip them the finger. I just looked at the mate and shook my head. |
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I checked the canoe, the fittings and the windsurfer board. The board had cracked. I made a temporary patch , but I knew it wouldn't hold for long. We had to find a place to camp as soon as possible. To my left, the bank rose about ten feet and I could see a long stretch of land. I pulled unto the shore and walked up with the dogs. It was a strip of grassland, sitting at the base of a slope. We climbed to the top. I could see cattle grazing in the distance and glimpsed a deer before it darted on its way.
I pondered as I explored the area, trying to figure out the best place to set up the tent. The slope along one side and the small trees and bushes along the river bank would make a perfect wind tunnel if we got hit by another storm. The site needed to be slightly higher than its surrounding area to allow a run-off, should it rain. I finally found a spot and nestled the tent against some small trees. I did not like the idea of having the tent so close to the water's edge but loosing the tent to the wind would have been disastrous. |
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About a mile back, I had seen a house under construction. I had noticed that in the trash there was insulation foam. Next morning, I paddled back to check and see if it could be used as flotation foam. When I got there I explained to the construction workers what had happened and asked if I could have the foam in the trash. The foreman said I could help myself to all of it. I thanked them all and returned to camp.
When I got back, I took some pieces of foam, set them in a bucket of water and left them overnight to see if they would become waterlogged. |
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Next morning I went down to the water's edge, dismantled the board, set it on the beach and began to saw it lengthwise. I'm not one of those people who love their tools but you gotta do what you gotta do. I sawed and sawed while a fat, eight-footer hung around, twenty feet. It swam back and forth in front of me in a semi-circle - stopping occasionally to blatantly stare. I took the dogs inside the tent where they would be safe while I worked. This was the first alligator to keep a constant guard on us day and night. It held its post for the duration of our stay. I kept one eye on the saw and one eye on it.
On the third day, I was still sawing. The alligator submerged as a man in a dinghy rowed over.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
I told him about the trip I was making and the damage done to the canoe by the boat wake.
"I saw you and thought you might be needing help," he said.
"Thank-you for your concern - that's very kind of you. But I think I am going to be okay," I replied.
"Just a little further up there's a marina," he said. " The people who live there are very nice and if you need anything, they will be glad to help you."
He went on his way and, once again, I was in the company of the alligator. |
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Bars & Arrows:
Celine's Originals |
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INDEX |
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Beatriz Socorro |
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Photo:
South Florida Water
Mangement District |
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DISCLAIMER |
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