Today was one of the days I was most looking forward to on this trip. When we did this trip with our friend, I was in awe the whole time and I couldn’t wait to do it on our boat. It’s one of those places that you truly have to experience to fully appreciate, and I totally get that it’s not for everyone but to me, the Alligator River/Pungo River Canal is one of the gems of ICW travel.
The sunrise was gorgeous over the cypress swamp we anchored beside, and we decided to make the run relatively early to enjoy the morning light. The Alligator/Pungo Canal was as beautiful as I remembered it, and I absolutely loved every second. We saw eagles, a great blue heron, a bunch of turkey vultures, hawks, and kingfishers, but sadly no bears or alligators. The miles and miles of swamp, marsh and forest that line the canal are incredible, and I wasn’t sad to take the roughly 20 mile trip nice and slow.
This morning was chilly, but I couldn’t have asked for a better day. It was perfectly cloudless – what we refer to as a silent sky – all day and while the breeze kept it cool, it steadily warmed throughout the day. We’d hoped to avoid the cold, but the next few nights are supposed to dip into the 40s.
We have a reservation at Dowry Creek Marina from Wednesday – Saturday morning, but for now we’re anchored up just off Belhaven inside the breakwall with only one other sailboat. To one side, there are the pretty waterfront homes of town, and to the other is more uninterrupted salt marsh, with more gulls than I’ve ever seen lining the breakwall.
