An individual mosquito makes a slightly annoying buzz. Several million mosquitoes make a sound that commands respect. These vast expanses of sawgrass do exist but are farther inland and rely on the freshwater flow from the northwest. It is where this freshwater combines with saltwater that the tidal mangrove islands arise. Mangroves are essentially a tropical ecosystem and exist in Florida only up to the frost line.
Mangroves are enormously productive systems and feed large populations of fish.
Although we were both novice fishermen, we spent breaks from paddling by catching and releasing hundreds of fish. Our journey took us from Everglades City on the northern boundary of the park to the Flamingo visitor center at the southern end where the Everglades drain into Florida Bay. We roughly followed a course known as the Wilderness Waterway, a passage that for the most part stays on the inside of the islands. Although we were travelling during the peak season for visitors to the park, we encountered only a handful of other paddlers in the heart of the 'Glades. In many parts we were possibly the only humans in the area for years, due to the variety of routes available among the islands, rivers and coast.