I went on a couple kayaking trips on a recent trip to Florida. On one, I signed up for a kayaking group tour through the mangroves. I called in a reservation on a rainy Monday.

It turned out that I was the only person that signed up for a Tuesday afternoon paddle. As it happened, Rachel, from Orchid Island Bikes and Kayaks, was my guide on a private tour.

Unlike the weather on Monday, Tuesday was perfect. We paddled the Indian River north of the northernmost bridge to the island near Vero Beach. Rachel was delightful company, and very knowledgeable about the flora and fauna of the area. She was well informed about, in interested in, conservation issues.

I also went by myself on the Myakka River. The Myakka River State Park, near Sarasota, has a concession that rents canoes, and canoe-like kayaks. I told the young guy who rented the kayak to me that I was hoping to see some alligators. He recommended that I make a short, easy portage around the dam not far from the launch site, and paddle the Myakka River, still within the park.

I must have seen between 50 and 100 alligators that afternoon. Some were huge, longer than my 13-foot kayak. The river in parts was only 20 feet across, and very shallow. It’s weird to see a big gator sunning at the side of the river, and then watch him slip silently into the water as the kayak comes near.

I think I watched a lot of movies set in Africa when I was just a kid. The explorer would always see some big crocodile slide into the water as he approached, and croc would always attack. In the movies, that is.

I comforted myself from my fears by reminding myself that Florida lawyers would sue the bejesus out of the Florida State Parks Department for renting kayaks if the gators were eating snowbirds from Michigan.

Still, while such a thought may be soundly logical, watching a big gator come closer when you’re in a very small boat, in a very narrow, very shallow river, does tend to make one clench up. I guess that’s why I do it.

There are many things to do in Myakka River State Park besides paddling in a river full of alligators. There’s a canopy walk at tree top level, a slow ride on the big Gator Gal — a giant, slow moving air boat — a tram ride.  The bird watching is reason alone to visit this great park half an hour east of Sarasota.