This is one more trip, Doi No Maes, starting again and apparently each trip starts with
a key turn.
This trip should be no different, although we are living in New York City about two hours,
two hours and a half late, we are ready to go.
As always the most difficult part seems to be breaking away from the inertia of the city.
All this traffic, all this commotion, I can't wait to break free to the open space.
It will take some time before we can actually leave New York City behind, probably another
time.
Where is the serenity of Highland Beach?
Where is the serenity of Rogers River Chiqui?
I can't wait.
We are miles and miles away, but getting closer by the minute.
Even by the hour?
By the hour.
Cannot wait to get there.
Goodbye New York City.
That's it.
We broke free.
From now on, we're going south, first on New Jersey Turnpike and then I-95 all the way
to Everglades City.
It should take us about 24 hours, but tomorrow, this time, we'll be in Everglades City.
Oh, yeah, I thought you could work that back.
Yeah, you just learn the basics of the way, I guess you're doing it right now, man.
How about it southbound?
What's with the traffic?
The end of the wheel, guys, you know?
The torch goes.
Yeah, go ahead.
Look out here.
I don't want to go out and change the wheel.
It's got to wait for me.
I'm trying to get away.
Nah, that's tomorrow.
That's right.
But yeah, everybody's fucking running for their life again.
What's the end for?
Oh, boy.
Oh, yeah.
We've got to be in trouble, you know?
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Oh, yeah.
We have about 410 miles done behind us and only about almost 900 miles ahead of us.
So we are not even close to the midpoint.
It's raining and we are contemplating a storm in Georgia.
Well, whenever comes our way, we'll do it.
Good morning, Florida.
6.54 am, surprisingly it is very, very cold and I'm not even sure if our power tech will be enough.
Anyway, let's hope we're not gonna freeze.
We didn't need this morning traffic in Jacksonville.
Now we're gonna be delayed even further.
There is nothing we can do.
It's not gonna rain anymore.
We were afraid it will be raining today and tomorrow in the Everglades.
But the weather app is indicating that the chance of rain is 0% now.
So other than a little bit cold tonight and tomorrow, we should be okay.
This is the longest we ever took to reach the Everglades.
It was almost 26 hours, but we made it.
We are still on time.
We can get our permits.
And this is what we're gonna park the car on that little mound there.
And this is the rain gestation where we will get our permits, hopefully.
So let's see if we can get our permits.
Okay, we are all set.
We got the permits.
We registered.
We got the fine charts, so we are ready for the adventure.
We are at Everglades City.
Tomorrow we are gonna spend the night at Picnic P.
The next night we'll be at Pavilion.
After that we go to Watson.
The next place will be Lawson and Spive, Rogers River, where is it?
No, here.
Rogers River.
Then we go on to Helen Beach.
We spend two nights there.
Then we go to Turkey, Pavilion again, Joel and Everglades City.
And that's our abbreviated itinerary.
Tomorrow low tide is at 5.31 a.m.
And high tide is at 11.42 a.m.
So we have to assemble the boat and put it on water sometime in between so we can start
going out with the tide instead of paddling and we don't have to struggle.
Are you excited to be back in the Everglades?
Yeah, it's always relaxing and it's such a break from the craziness of everyday life.
After 26 hours in a car driving, the bed feels like heaven.
In my head I jumped much better than this.
We never jumped in bed at home, but we can do it while we're on vacation.
This is our room, this is the first night, only the first night, starting tomorrow we're
going to be in the wilderness.
We're being silly and tired and hungry.
Can we go eat?
Let's go.
Like now?
No, not now.
How about the luggage?
Let's go eat.
Good morning.
Our first day we are about to put on water.
It's December 22nd and it's chilly.
It's really, really chilly.
It's cold front.
It's interesting, but we'll bundle up and we'll be okay.
Yes, indeed it's very, very chilly.
It's unusual.
We were told that it's very, very cold for this time of the year.
It's actually freezing and it was below zero.
So it would be interesting to get in the water today and pack the kayak and paddle and all
that.
Plus it's going to be very, very windy.
So we'll see.
It's December 22nd, it's our first day of the year, and we're going to be in the wilderness.
It's December 22nd, it's our first day and it doesn't start very good because we just
realized that we did the wrong tent, so basically the equipment doesn't match and we will have
to do it again.
This is our first night. We are at Picnic Key and although we had mishap with our equipment,
we managed to improvise with a tent. So we have the body of the tent and the poles belong
to a different one. But Romanian style, we managed and now the tent is tending. It's
getting colder so we have to eat and we have to go to bed.
Good morning on December 23rd, our second day on the water. We are about to leave camp.
We slept okay last night and we are having breakfast, a bit of pastrami and a beer.
Sure. Okay, a bit of pastrami and a beer. That's our diet I guess so anyway.
We do that to unload the kayak, not for any other reason. Oh yeah, absolutely. I don't want to
speak with my mouth full. That should be all the energy we need to paddle 13 miles to Pubilinky.
It's a long day. The wind doesn't seem to exist. So can you see this? This is the first bluster
of the trip. Looking forward to many many more. How about my beer? Finish your pastrami and then
we'll go have some beer. The first two of 24. How's it going mate? Good mate. What's with the pelicans?
Yeah, I think there are lots of fish here and that's why there are all these pelicans but
um good for them, not so good for us because we don't have the fish bowl. Okay, let's go.
We made it to Pubilinky. It's kind of chilly but we are gathering wood for the fire right there.
All that I mean. Well that's only the beginning. I would continue if you would stop filming me.
What are you gonna set up the camp? Probably the tent will be here no? Right there I think, right
like this. Right here? You don't think that the water will come up to here? No. You sure? I hope so. We'll find out.
It's too far in the long stretch. Right here, it's a long stretch. So this is low tide. High tide
will be at 10 o'clock and it will be 2.7 feet high. So higher than this that means 2.7 feet?
I think it will come up to here. No it won't. That's not 2.5 feet. We should hurry to
repair the tent and also make a fire. Okay, cool. So that's it, Pubilinky. Second night
we made 13.5 miles today paddling only because there was no wind at all.
Probably good. I think we're good.
Okay, let's go. So nothing like a campfire, especially when you're cold and wet.
So we're going to get dry and we're going to get warm, right? That's the plan, sounds good to me.
This is what we call good life. I'm not sure if you can hear me but this is what we call good life.
Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you and happy birthday to you,
happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you.
Now we got things to do. No, I was about to say you know what your present could be letting me sleep
longer. What time is it? December 24th, 2012. The world didn't end and we just woke up on day three
of our trip. Today we're gonna leave the ocean side and we'll go inland to Watson Place. Yay,
lots of mosquitoes. Anyway, it's ironic because now on a day when we don't want to sail, it's a bit windy.
We can never win. But it's fun. This is our life. This is what we love to do, is it?
I guess so. All right, let's get moving. Come on, let's get moving. Come on.
How's it going, mate? Good, mate. How are you feeling? Okay. I feel like I'm ready to
put up for the night. Happy birthday again. Thank you. It seems like you're paddling
against the current, though. Yeah. I should help a bit. So we are entering Chatham River, right?
Good. We made it to Chatham River.
So we made it to Watson's Place, which, you know, this place has a history.
I suppose the guy was killing people somewhere in the backyard here and there are ghosts around.
Well, we'll see. We saw an alligator with a crocodile. I'm not sure exactly. I think it was
an alligator. You think? Yeah. Okay. I thought it was a crocodile, but apparently it was an alligator
who was floating right by our launching point. So tomorrow we'll be in the water trying to load
the kayak next to the alligator or a crocodile or whatever. T-rex. Anyway, we're in good spirits.
Christmas Eve, I wonder what Santa will bring me tonight. More paddling, perhaps. Oh, no.
I was a good girl today. Yeah, but you had a moment when you were kind of giving it up.
I know. At some point I was so tired. I was like, why do I go through this every year?
It was a long day today somehow. It wasn't that long in terms of a distance, but it felt long
and tiresome. Why? I don't know. I think for me it was because we started late. So when we started
was already midday. It was kind of hot. We were going against the tide, so. Yeah. But we made it
all the way to Watson's Place. We made it to Watson's Place. We had dinner. We had beer. So now we are
ready to turn it in and wait for another day. And tomorrow we'll be paddling all the way to
Lost Men's Five.
Christmas morning. And this is our Christmas breakfast. Ramen noodles.
We are leaving Watson's Place and we are going to make our way towards Lost Men's Five.
For the dolphins. I don't see the dolphins. They should be around.
I just cut my finger. It's an ugly cut all the way to the bone, unfortunately.
But I'll survive. I'm not going to die. And mate, this is going to get busy now. I see white caps.
There it is. They're running hugely.
So
this is the type of paddling that I find. No wind, no current. No alligators.
It's so quiet.
We definitely might be an El Enchuk, I'm telling you. There are no alligators whatsoever.
This is El Enchuk, the Danube Delta.
I have to be careful here because this is alligator land and it's full of alligators.
I don't want one to grab my feet, so I gotta be careful here. But anyway, I have to sacrifice
for the beer. Here's the cold beer coming up.
Oh, the alligator got me. No, I'm kidding. Just catch the beer. Even if the alligator gets me,
get the beer because the beer is more important. The first time we were here was four years ago.
So we came on a canoe and it looked different. There were two platforms and it was in a better
shape. I think the ground is kind of soggy and the platforms are sinking, so that's why they dismantled
one of them. But that's fine. One platform means only we get to put a tent. Yay.
Are you catching fish?
I'm hungry.
I'm preparing dinner and guess what's for dinner tonight.
bits.
Flour milk chili chunky with beans yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yummy yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yum
We don't want to make any food mess here, because we don't want the raclons to come.
This is the fourth night and Losmans 5, it's a bit buggy, lots of bugs, although it's
cold, it's still buggy.
We're not even midway yet, six more nights to go and quite a few miles and tomorrow will
be the most difficult day.
Okay, don't go further, I'll go under too.
I don't know if I should turn it.
So we are leaving Losmans 5, I'm getting really deep into the mud in here.
I don't know if I should turn it, I don't know if I should turn it, I don't know if I should
turn it, I don't know if I should turn it.
That was horrible, the first section was just horrible, we wasted two hours and a half, almost
three hours for less than two miles.
The wind was so strong, it was about 14 knots, we got up to 18 knots or 19 knots or so and
we were basically stationary.
We paddled as hard as we could and we couldn't advance at all.
We had moments when we thought we lost the battle because the current was pulling us back.
Just me saying let's turn and go with the wind towards Everglades City.
I know that's not an option.
This is a game changer as they call it.
I like the Gulf side better because even if the weather turns there are lots of beaches
where you can just pull up and stop.
Here you don't have that option.
Look at the current.
This calls for a drastic change of plan.
We will abandon the Rogers River route and we'll try a shortcut to the ocean via Losmans.
Although again, who knows what the ocean looks like.
Very, very windy.
And the current, the title current is crazy.
This is a game changer.
This is a game changer.
This is a game changer.
This is a game changer.
This is a game changer.
This is a game changer.
This is a game changer.
This is a game changer.
This is a game changer.
This is a game changer.
This is a game changer.
This is a game changer.
This is a game changer.
That's a highlight point.
Good morning on December 27th.
It was rough yesterday. All that wind derailed our plan.
We didn't make it to Rogers River anymore.
And last night we had to land right about here.
And we were lucky because we knew the area from two years ago when we had another landing here.
This is an abandoned camp.
They are not using this camp since about five years ago or so.
Which gives you a very nice feeling of wilderness.
We spent a good night. It didn't rain.
It was about to rain but it didn't rain.
We were lucky.
It's very cold again. Very chilly.
It's another cold front. Thank you Florida.
And tonight we're going to Highland Beach.
Which is that way about four to five miles.
Which is not bad.
That would be a short paddle.
Compared to yesterday at least.
At Highland Beach we will settle camp for two days.
And relax.
We are on our way to Highland Beach.
Which is going to be our resort time.
And that's because for two days we are just going to rest.
And tan.
And swim.
And just do nothing.
Which is my kind of vacation.
Oh come on. What do you mean your kind of vacation?
Our vacations are always busy.
And nice. And filled with adventure.
Yeah. Our vacations are so fun and action packed.
That you need a vacation after the vacation before you go to work.
Well what would you like then?
Some Club Med or? Hell yeah.
Hell no. Two Nomads.
Don't go to Club Med. Sorry Club Med.
Two Nomads like this kind of thing.
Half of the Nomads like Club Med.
Breaking news. 50% of the Nomads like Club Med apparently.
And 50% don't like Club Med.
Here you go.
Yup. Go, go.
Take that camera.
Turn it on.
Turn it on.
Turn it on.
Turn it on.
Turn it on.
Turn it on.
Turn it on.
Turn it on.
Turn it on.
Turn it on.
Highland Beach is always the highlight of each of our vacations.
It's so remote there's nobody here.
It's so quiet.
And it feels like the beginning of the world.
For Saturday night, Northwest winds 15 to 20 knots.
Seas around two feet.
Neershore waters choppy.
Isolated showers.
And for Sunday, North to Northeast winds 20 to 25 knots.
Seas to the three feet.
Neershore waters very rough.
Unfortunately our stay in Paradise will get short suddenly.
Abruptly because a new cold front is coming to southern Florida.
We are about 32 miles away from Everglades City.
And we have to cover this in a day and a half, two days tops.
Otherwise it will be difficult.
No luck.
Very early wake up today.
December 28th, the storm is coming.
So we must leave very early today and find refuge up north.
Before the wind will make it impossible for us to paddle or sail.
We have to go this way.
And then we have to flip over the map.
And basically we would go this way.
All the way to Pavilion.
We should be able to make it to Pavilion today.
They are 19.5, roughly 20 miles.
And it depends pretty much on the wind.
We have to wait for the high tide because right now the water is so low we cannot even take off.
How's the tide?
Now I have to bring all the shit out the shore.
Ready? I'll go to the shore to bring the stuff.
We are finally sailing.
Too bad that we had to cut short the stay at Highland Beach.
I was looking forward to some exploring but that's that.
It's a better decision because we want to be safe.
Hopefully this wind will take us closer to Pavilion Keep.
We are sailing to Pavilion Keep.
We are sailing to Pavilion Keep.
We are sailing slowly but I think we are going to be okay reaching Pavilion Keep.
It will take another two hours or three hours.
Yeah, but it's inside so I'm not worried.
Yeah, Pavilion Keep, we know the area. We can do a night landing easily.
So it will be okay.
The water is a bit cold.
Hello Florida, this is the southern breeze.
Very chilly breeze that is.
We made it all the 20 miles.
Paddling, sailing, whatever we could do.
And now we are happy to be here.
We are going to have our campfire, drink a beer.
Tomorrow we go to Pavilion Keep.
Or if we make it before 11 a.m. we are just going to continue all the way to Everglades,
get on the car and drive home.
Or maybe we should spend the night in Everglades.
Maybe we should spend the night in Everglades.
It gives us a chance to regroup.
Eat a little bit at some good restaurants, some alligator tail.
Here we go.
Pavilion Keep
December 29, we are leaving Pavilion Keep.
It's 7 a.m.
They are trying to make it out early so we can hopefully reach Everglades City.
Which is that way.
That's Jewel Keep.
Yeah, Jewel and then Everglades City that way.
And what are you doing here?
I'm trying to check in and upload a picture of us.
Usually I don't like to endorse any products, but I have to say that the light proof case
for the iPhone 5 is really, really good.
We submerge it in the water and no problems at all.
I wouldn't put my iPhone in the salt water otherwise.
What's for breakfast?
I'm going to have some soup and maybe some granola bar and red bull.
Oh, red bull again?
The poison.
I'm going to have some soup and maybe some granola bar.
I'm going to have some soup and maybe some granola bar.
The birds followed us, it was so cute.
Yeah, somehow the bird likes us.
That right here is Everglades City and this is the end of our trip.
What's next?
Glad to be back in New York after 20 something hours of driving, but sitting next to a person
driving.
I cannot wait to unload the car and just rest a little bit.
Now we just have to make sure that we avoid the morning traffic and get home.
Take a shower and go to sleep.
