Hi, all. Hope your Summer is going well and you are finding the time to get out there and get your paddle wet. And, no, I don’t mean from the scattered thunderstorms. It sure seems like the weatherman has the easiest job going. Today it will be hot in the morning and scattered thunderstorms later in the day. How about that, and I am writing this article a month before you will be reading it. With that thought in mind, and knowing that things are slowing down at Gulf Coast Kayak here in Matlacha for the season, it’s that time when I get the bug to find new waters to paddle, and I run out of things to write about. So to stay fresh we hit the road. This time I found myself on the east coast of Florida, near Singer Island, in a state park called John D. MacArthur Park.

Now if you follow my column you may remember me writing about it last year when I went on tour with a group that calls itself Visit Palm Beach. They have their hands into every tourist trap you can think of. Sailboat rides, catamaran rides, snorkeling trips, and, of course, kayaking tours. Well, last year I made a mistake; yep, I fell in the trap and went kayaking with them. Now don’t get me wrong, it was not all that bad; the place was nice where I went, but the guide was a bus driver, and I think the boss said who wants to take a bunch of folks out kayaking, and he drew the short straw. Therefore, this year we did things a little different. We signed up to go with a state park ranger.

This was quite different from the year before. I called the park and spoke to a very polite girl ranger, and I told her that I would like to go out with some one who knew the park and its plants and animals. She said than you want to go with Ranger Scott; he will be going out on Saturday in the morning if the tide is right. She suggested I be there at 8 o’clock, when the gates open, as it is on a first-come first-serve set up. I waited all week, praying the weather would be ok come Saturday morning. Saturday comes and I am up at 6am ready to go. Now not to steal Satchmo’s line, but, “skies of blue and clouds of white... what a wonderful world.”* The sun was shining and it was going to be another great day on the water. I arrived at the main gate (10900 SR 703 [A1A] North Palm Beach fl 33408) by 7:30am. At 8am promptly, a ranger showed up and opened the gates, and waved me on. I pulled up to the ranger’s station and was told today’s paddle was a go, and Ranger Scott would be leading the pack. After paying the $4 parking fee, and the $20 kayak rental fee, I was directed to another gate. As I waited a few more folks showed up; we wound up having about six on the tour, plus Ranger Scott and a very nice volunteer named Valerie Gora. Val helped set the yaks up and got out the jackets and paddles, and in short time, Ranger Scott Duncan had us all on the water and on our way to Munyon Island. It was a short paddle to the sandy island were Ranger Scott got out and told us the history of the island. Munyon Island is a 15-acre island and was the site chosen to dump the dredged sand from the intercostal waterway in the 1930s and 1960s, and it now is 45 acres in size.

A fellow named Dr. Munyon built a large hotel and spa named Hotel Hygeia, named after the Greek goddess of health. At the hotel he sold his world-famous Dr. Munyon’s Paw-Paw Elixir, bottled right on the island. Now this stuff fixed every sickness known to man. I wonder if the fact that it was nothing more than fermented papaya juice made you forget what your pain may have been. Any way, it’s not there any more; it burned down in 1917, and the island has remained uninhabited to this day. Well, that’s not quite true; you see, there are no humans living on the island, and there are some of the biggest wild hermit crabs I have seen. In addition, the butterflies are all over the island. We must have seen at least six different kinds of butterfly. However, the one that stands out the most is the Zebra Longwing. The Zebra was designated the official state butterfly in 1996. The butterfly is found throughout Florida, in the hard woods, hammocks, thickets, and gardens, and particularly in the Everglades National Park. You can ID this butterfly by its long black wings with thin stripes, and its very slow graceful flight. It also makes a cracking sound when alarmed. Something pretty cool is that the butterfly lays her eggs on passion vine leaves, then the young eat the leaves which have a toxin in them, and the babies becomes poisonous to their pray. The brush and trees are also neat on the island; there are so many different kinds, it’s a jungle out there with strangler fig, pigeon plum, blolly, Rougeberry, nickerbean (watch that nicker bean; the pod is full of stickers. I know, and that’s another story.), the cabbage palm (Florida’s State Tree), and my favorite the gumbo limbo. The red peeling bark of the tree is the reason the nickname the tourist tree. After a walk on the island, we paddled up and down some canals with mangroves on each side and came to an open bay area where we saw a few spotted eagle rays, some rosette spoon bills, and many other birds.

I must say this was a trip you all should try to do, if you happen to be on the other coast; just make sure you hook up with Ranger Scott; he has been a ranger for only 2 years, but really knows his stuff. One other thing you could try, and may like, is a paddle over to Peanut Island, they now have rest rooms on the island, and the snorkeling is great. Well, my week is over and I am back at the hotel. It’s afternoon and, guess what, we have scattered thunderstorms. Who could have guessed. Ok, we can live with a few months of rain; that’s what makes it so green the rest of the year. Thanks for paddling with Mel, the Guide, soon to be back in sunny downtown Matlasha. See you on the water. By Mel the Guide gulfcoastkayak@msn.com Gulf Coast Kayak is open all year 24/7 941 661 8229 239 283 1125 for rentals or to book a tour with Mel the Guide *What a Wonderful World © 1967 Quartet Music (ASCAP)