Kayaking Around Boot Key

After Boating Around Marathon it was time to get back on the water, but this time with a little less noise (and speed) and use a few of our own muscles to get around.  The good folks at Keys Kayaks dropped off a couple of rigs at Our Summer Beach Vacation House where we launched right off the dock and headed down the canals.

The only real bummer of the outing was that this was the only manatee that we saw.

We also found out that iguanas can swim!!  Sorry for the grainy photo, it was a crop of the best picture I was able to grab on quick notice.

It was pretty darn warm out there and it took a long time just to get out of the canals and heading over to Boot Key.  See the inlet from the NE corner of the key as shown in the picture on page 3 of this PDF to see our route into this uninhabited key.

The towers you can make out above are broadcast antennas for Radio Marti (like Radio Free Europe, but for Cuba).  As you can see above to Gretchen's right, we spotted several Great White Herons along the way.

Eventually, the mangroves lining the inlet got too tight to navigate the kayaks (and we were drenched with sweat!), so we turned around and headed back.  Thankfully, we still had smiles on our faces until the end.

What a great day on the water and so glad Gretchen was there to enjoy it with me!!