My sneakers are tightened up. I’m spreading conscientiously some bug spray on my skin already greased with sun block. Here I am: ready for a hike in a swamp of the Everglades, without any special boots or a waterproof outfit. Manu has organized a « Wet Tour », and despite all my arguments, I haven’t been able to change his mind. Now, it’s too late to go back. I’m mentally freaking out while Manu seems to be living the happiest day of his life, talking to the guide – Chris – like an old pal, arguing about ecosystems and river flow. What am I doing here? Ah yeah… vacation.
The guide is a tall guy with tanned skin, neglected beard, walking bare foot and wearing beige clothes with tons of pockets. He’s explaining us that we will walk in the water for one hour, in the middle of a “cypress dome” – some sort of wet tropical forest. He gives us (we are 7) a long stick, and attempts a joke: “It’s meant to repel alligators and snakes”. Everybody stays stoic and quiet, probably picturing a lethal Man vs Wild fightin their heads. Seriously, the stick will be used to push back the snapping turtles under the water (great, I’m completely reassured now), and to feel the holes in the ground in order to not fall into the water (super, again). He checks if we have all signed the responsibility waver, the one stating that you can end this tour paralyzed, or worst. One of the girls starts crying; I think she just realizes what we are about to do, for fun. Thanks to her, I won’t be the chicken of the day. Okay, it’s time to re-focus: stop thinking, breathe and smile. I’m following the rest of the group and go into the deep forest…
The water is tepid, goes quickly into my shoes, and reaches right under my knees. I walk with my stick in one hand, and be careful not to touch the trees, where snakes can be hiding (I mean, they live here, they are not really hiding and waiting for us). It’s complete silence, nobody is talking. The forest is surrounding us, the thin and high white trunk trees, where wild plants hang, look like a wild maze. There’s no time to linger, I need to follow the line, the guide is walking fast though… and nobody wants to be the last one in the line. Unfortunately it’s Manu who volunteered to take pictures. I can see that he’s looking around to be sure nothing is behind him, I’m afraid he might get lost, but well, he can be on his own, we’re in the jungle and we all need to be in “survival mode”.
I keep going, not without herbs and algae tickling my legs. The girl behind me falls because of a branch: she has water below the waist. I don’t want to laugh (I have a soft spot for falls), because I may be the next one on the list. Focus: stop thinking, breathe and smile. And don’t touch the trees.
I’m starting to feel pretty good, it’s truly gorgeous, and walking with my shoes in the water following a guy who thinks he is Indiana Jones makes me feel like being a kid. We are now close to a clearing, there’s an alligator resting a few meters in front of us – I say that as if it were safely contemplating in a zoo. We also see a snake all rolled up on a nest. The guide asks us to stay as quiet as possible. Fortunately, that’s the last stop, we are now leaving the forest.
I kept my sneakers on causing me to make strange and gross noise all day long, but it serves as a reminder for me that I have survived a wet tour! It was so magical and unique that I think I could do it again!
Do you see the snake on the bottom right of the picture?…
To be continued…
