It was a beautiful morning. The wind was calm, which made paddling a pleasure. I felt safer with the outriggers in place not only because of the alligators but also because of the boat wakes.
I had been thoroughly enjoying the calmness, the beauty and the meditative peace that make up some of the pleasures of canoeing when an eight-foot alligator appeared. It was at about 80 ft. in front of us and swimming leisurely across the river from the right bank to the left. When it reached the other bank it stopped. I got as close to the right bank as I could to keep as much distance between us as possible. I covered the dog�s Tiki hut with a tarp to keep them from seeing the gator and to keep them out of the gator�s sight. This section of the river is about 100 ft. wide.
To my great relief, a motorboat showed up from the opposite direction speeding towards the gator who, in turn, quickly swam under the water - never to be seen again by me.
After I was able to relax and get back into meditative mode, I realized that the only way I would be able to continue on this trip would be to paddle at a leisurely and comfortable pace regardless of the weather, current, wind, time and circumstances.
According to the Wilderness and Wildlife preserve, in the last 56 years, over 300 �unprovoked� alligator attacks on humans have been reported; 13 have been fatal.
Even though I had been paddling for about six hours, I was not as exhausted as I was on the first day of our trip. We had been making brief stops wherever possible to relieve ourselves. I am sure that all that all that paddling around the island in Alva as well as the leisurely rate at which I was now traveling, helped.
Next morning we woke up at sunrise and after eating breakfast, continued on our trip. During the first few hours there was no wind. Paddling was a pleasure except when the big motorboats would come by.
A forty-foot boat came from the opposite direction. Upon seeing me, the captain slowed down. I had been catching the boat wakes at 90-degree angles, as I had read and had been instructed to do. I headed into its wake and watched, in terror, as the gunwale at the bow of the canoe came level with the water. I was certain we were going under. We were miraculously saved by a fraction of a centimeter.
After recovering from the shock, I said to myself, "Screw this! I am never doing that again!"
