The Real South, Big Bayou Canot

(Tuesday, Nov. 9 - Dist: 37.4 mi; Avg Speed: 8.5 mph; TTT: 4:30 hrs)

Alligator Alert

Beware of Alligators

Never mind about the trip down, this is where we saw our first alligator.  As we were inching our way into deliverance country, Linda was at the bow readying the anchor.  There on the shore before us was a 5-6 alligator; not in a pen but just 60 or 70 feet in front of us.  As we got closer it just slowly slid into the water.  As our friend put it when it showed up again behind us: it is one thing to see them in pens or the zoo but quite another to be sharing the same little stretch of water.

 The river as we got closer to Mobile Bay (only 16 miles further) really did look like what one would image seeing in Louisiana and the bayous of Alabama.  Besides are gator neighbour, the undergrowth changed from shrubs to palm fronds and grasses.  Frequently, you could look past the shoreline and see swamp, with lots of water, trees with the roots showing and these palm like short bushes.  I am so glad that we stayed here.  There were more birds and different noises all night.  I think that it was a screech owl that was the noisiest though.  It really was different. 

To close off I'll post some random photos of the area.

Happy hour was aboard Q's End as we invited another Canadian couple on board.  This couple left Bath, near Kingston and are headed for Dunedin, FL.  What makes them a bit remarkable is that they are doing it in a 27 foot sail boat.  We have run across them numerous times and have left them behind because of their slow speed but they keep catching up somehow.  Their days are usually twice as long as our days.