Day 6 
Mormon Key to Sunday Bay Chickee (10 Miles)We awoke to find numerous raccoon tracks in and around our campsite. Fortunately, our trick of turning the canoe over the food and water containers prevented the critters from invading our stores. As we prepared to leave, the tide receded forcing us to portage through 100 feet of mud to reach the open water. This was an extra low tide due to the full moon, so we had to navigate over and around many shoals to reach the mouth of the Huston River. We fought the current for the first mile but then the tide turned in our favor.
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| The day was very hot and we sought shade wherever we could. Otherwise, we had an uneventful paddle to the Sunday Bay Chickee. Shortly after we arrived, an osprey began to fish a few hundred feet in front of us. We rested in the shade for a few hours before dinner, which was "rustic" pasta with sun dried tomatoes and Parmesan cheese. That evening we were happy to discover that the bioluminescent creatures were now out in force. The now waning moon rose late, which made for excellent conditions to enjoy the light show above and below the water. We saw three types of creature: microscopic plankton, which made disturbed water light up with a faint bluish glow; large invertebrates (jellyfish?), that periodically lit up under water like fireflies; and a very strange flying creature with a continuous pale green glow. We are fairly certain that this last critter was not some form of lightening bug, since it was the size of a large moth and appeared to have continuously glowing patches on both sides of its thorax. It appeared suddenly and came fluttering through our campsite on an evening breeze. Both of us saw it clearly, so I doubt it was some form of optical illusion. The mysteries of Sunday Bay continue to deepen. |
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