Kayak and Paddle Board Eco Tours- Paddling with Max and the Mangroves

I left the office today for a couple of hours to go paddling with Max. Sometimes you can do things like that when you live in paradise, especially when you work for a company named Fun!
Seeking peace, I usually go out on the water alone. I'm almost fearless in the waters around Anna Maria Island, I fear only underwater missteps onto crustaceans, and mud. But Max knows everything about these waters, and the incredible creatures that live below and above them, and after 7 years here, I still have so much to learn! Max is our Eco Tour Guide at Fun and More Rentals, and he's got Anna Maria salt water in his veins.  He's a true native son, who somehow never lost his sense of adventure and awe for his own back yard.  At 25 his patient nature and inherent reverence for these waters and the life teaming all around belies the age of one much older, while his face belies the age of one much younger ( I would certainly card him for beer.)   

I was hoping to spot some dolphins today, so we checked around a bit before settling on a place to push out. I always go out hoping to see dolphins and manatees, but of course marine mammals don't take appointments, so an encounter is never guaranteed. Dolphins or not, I always encounter living things, and I always find peace, so I've never gone out in vain.
Ever the klutz, I've been known to do things like fall up stairs and off of flat surfaces, so I usually go out in a kayak. But I decided to try a paddle board this time, as long as Max agreed not to laugh that I would be doing the paddling sitting down (Which I hypothesized might make me look about as cool as one may look making a two handed, between the legs basketball shot, which is to say- not at all.) 

We pushed out into the bay and went about exploring. The first creature we met was a black long necked bird I had seen before. I  thought it was a type of duck, Max explained that it wasn't a duck at all, but a Cormorant, and pointed out the birds eyes- the deepest emerald I have ever seen. We paddled on, he went right and I went left, both of us hunting mammals. I soon remembered that in looking so intently for one creature, I was forgetting to see all of the other creatures around me. I paddled back toward the shallows and looked around. The Mullet were jumping here and there, schools of shining Pin Fish swam below, and at the surface the pelicans were catching their lunch. There were clam beds and mangroves, twisted gnarled roots and driftwood. We explored a little island, hunting for treasure. He found a huge piece of driftwood and thought at first he may bring it home for his girlfriend who paints, but it was very large and cumbersome, so he left it behind instead. There were several expired horseshoe crabs, a fascinating and ancient animal whose blue blood is useful in medicine. 

Back on shore the conversation turned to the Mangroves, an incredibly diverse life giving Eco system. They are the nurseries for baby fish, and the hatcheries for baby birds. Mangroves prevent erosion, and protect from storms, providing safety for animals and humans. They filter water, fight pollution, and protect the climate. They produce medicine, fruits and seafood, and they are the only home and hope for countless organisms.  Mangrove forests are threatened worldwide. Locally they are in real and present danger from development. Many protesters are anxiously awaiting a county commissioners ruling on whether a newly proposed development that may compromise the integrity of the local mangrove Eco system will be allowed.
I wondered to my self on the ride back to the Fun and More Rentals office if he knew that his Eco tours and others like it may very well be the best hope for the future of the mangroves. You protect best what you love. You cannot love what you cannot experience. Max takes people there, children, adults, and the elderly, often accompanied by his best friend, his dog. Those who experience the Eco Tour will meet some of the wild creatures that stake their existence on those mangrove forests. They'll paddle the tunnels and feel the safety of their shade. They'll see, and touch, and learn, and almost universally they'll love.
Then maybe... they'll protect. 
Please gather your family and friends,
and book an Eco Tour today 
by calling 941-462-2719 9941-462-271