We know the bad-news reel gets old. It’s good to stop and remember what we’re working so hard to protect. Here’s your dose of Everglades zen.
To the end of the world, and back again
When environmental icon Maggy Hurchalla calls extending an invitation to launch kayaks from her backyard for an after-hours adventure to the “End of the World,” we make a habit of trying to drop whatever it is we’re doing to take her up on it. Last week was one of those opportunities.
What follows is usually a mixture of spectacular sights normally hidden from view, valuable history lessons, story-telling that leaves you belly-laughing, and arms so sore that you wonder if you’ll actually make it home. There are always moments of magic. Like the tunnel of mangroves that acts as a secret passageway, just feet from the normal traffic of boats and yet out of sight from those who pass by, busy and unaware of the quiet world just beyond the curtain of leaves and roots. Sometimes there are (hilarious) mishaps, like the time a hole in one kayak got the better of it, leaving its passenger stranded in dark water, lit only by the moonlight, until another paddled by to rescue them and tow their waterlogged boat home.
Last week we shared special moments like these in the St. Lucie Inlet Preserve with visitors from ARTSail, a nomadic multi-faceted platform that brings artists into Florida waterways to engage with the climate crisis. To be seduced by home waters is a wonderful thing. To share them with others is even better.
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: if this isn’t what it’s absolutely all about, we’re not sure what is.
Watch our instagram for more moments of Everglades zen.
