Remembering a kayak trip to Chicken Key

The forested Chicken Key in Biscayne Bay south from Miami, Florida - Photo: Still Gravity.
Chicken Key is a forested island in Biscayne Bay, Florida. There is a landing spot at the northern tip - left in this photo -, but there were signs forbidding to land. We saw many birds all around the island. 

This trip happened eleven years ago. The small island is in the bay across Deering Estate. We launched from the small park at Deering Point - 1.5 miles away from the island. 

We paddled around Chicken Key and saw manatees in the Cutler Channel by the northern tip. By the southern tip on the east side there were two sharks having a lunch - that part had a stronger current. One of them swam close to our kayak with the fin out of the water. They were small.

Returning, we paddled close to Deering Estate. The whole trip was around 4 miles. 

It's said that the Tequesta used Chicken Key for ceremonies and as a stop when fishing in the bay. There is also a tale about pirates and a treasure hidden in the island - all the islands of Florida have pirate tales and hidden treasures. Another story is about smugglers using the small key during the prohibition to bring illicit goods to Miami. Nothing of this is backed by serious evidence. Folklore.         

During the low tide the water level gets pretty low here - we went with the high tide. Also, there are signs warning of crocodiles all along this coast.

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