Utterly rude and downright disrespectful!  That describes how I was immediately greeted when I stepped out of my vehicle onto the dock for Sapelo Island.  Certainly not by the good folks of Sapelo but by it's aerial protectors, the Gnats and Mosquitos.  Honorable mention to the Biting Flies.  As a youngster I always wondered why the word 'Gnat' started with the letter G.  Folks, the 'G' is for Gangster.  They rushed me and swarmed all around me as if to question the validity of my presence. Suggesting that I first needed to be vetted or inspected in some way.  But I've been here before, I'm not a stranger.  Certainly no real outdoors person would ever let a few hundred (thousand) gnats and mosquitoes deter them right?  Well, I quickly retreated to get inside the ferry waiting area and drew a line in the sand.  Similar to the way a kid would on the playground.  Saying, "cross this line…I dare you!".  I ended up drawing a few more lines as they apparently knew how to operate the doorknob.  I  put on a primer coat and then another top coat of 'Deep Woods Off' and soldiered on.  

Because of your great compassion you did not abandon them in the wilderness. By day the pillar of cloud did not fail to guide them on their path, nor the pillar of fire by night to shine on the way they were to take. Nehemiah 9:19-20

A Warmer Welcome

After the initial onslaught from the Sapelo Air Force,  I was standing on the ferry headed to Sapelo. Along the way we were intercepted by the Sapelo Navy when two Dolphins decided to investigate. They were riding our wake just off the aft and port side of the ferry.  It was cool to see the graceful and powerful swimmers up close as they raised their heads just above the water to get a clear look at us. It appeared that they were just as interested in us as the passengers were in them.  They swam with us for several hundred yards then turned away.

Chocolate(Chucalate) Plantation and Behavior Cemetery

With my feet planted on solid ground, I arrived just in time to join my tour and see some old faces I hadn’t seen in some time.  Minutes after stepping off the tour bus to begin the Chocolate Plantation tour,  a black snake raced across my path as we trampled through the tall grass.  I'm then casually warned by our guide to watch for Rattlesnakes also.  It's very apparent that nature is very active today and I've only been here an hour.   

The island is rich with history and like much of history, it isn't always pleasant.  Chocolate was a cotton plantation and we all know the ugly and brutal history of that era. However, what we often forget is that even during those times the enslaved people had to make the most out of a bad situation.  They had to use the resources available to them to make a new home away from home. 

The walls of those tabby homes and structures still stand today.  Portions of the fireplace and chimney remain in tact.  I stepped inside one of those hollowed out homes and tried to imagine the good times they may have had around that fireplace. In spite of the difficulties they faced. This type of reflection helps to put our current challenges into proper perspective. I was exercising my freedom to come, take a few photographs and to go.  A freedom that many of those people would never see.  We visited the final resting place of some of those slaves at 'Behavior Cemetery'. Not to linger, or disturb. Just a quick stop to pay our respects.

Sapelo Shell Rings

Looking even further back in time, I visited a Shell Ring in the Sapelo Island Shell Ring Complex.  You’ve heard of the Pyramids and the Mayan Ruins but what about Shell Rings? I was not aware of the significance of what I was seeing at the time.  A deeper look revealed to me that I had stepped much further back in time than I realized. Radiocarbon dating places this complex back to 2100BC.  This makes these structures older than many of Egypt's Pyramids. Dating back to the late Archaic period. Before King Tut or King Solomon or the Fall of Rome. There is too much to cover here but  be aware that this shell ring complex on Sapelo represents the oldest known Native American civilization in the state of Georgia.  

Maritime Forest

The next adventure was a short bike ride to the trailhead for a Maritime Forest hike.  That's fancy speak for a forest near the ocean.  By now the majority of the Sapelo Airforce has retreated.  Kept at bay by repeated reinforcements of bug spray. This is promising because my hike now takes a path through the woods, over the river and to the sea. Our guide pointed out some interesting things along the way.  I saw a familiar scene from my last visit.  The mud in the marsh seemed to be covered by a moving black carpet. Thousands of crabs scurried along the marsh mud doing whatever it is that crabs do.  We also attracted the attention of another but much larger rat snake than the one I had seen a few hours earlier.  All culminating with an exit onto a desolate and pristine Nanny Goat Beach. 

Anchors Aweigh

Another day passes and it's time to head back to shore. During my second stay on the island the men and women of Hog Hammock have once again been gracious hosts.  They treated us to a crab boil and grilled mullet smoked over an aromatic Live Oak fire.  We were all very thankful for their generous hospitality. I was reminded of  the laid back style of island life and also learned there are only two schedules that truly matter.  Be on time for the ferry and don't be late for your crab boil. I must also thank the folks at the University of Georgia Marine Institute (UGAMI) on Sapelo Island, Georgia Department of Natural Resources and Outdoor Afro’s for helping make this a most memorable adventure.

Although I missed the Sunday morning church anniversary celebration, I was able to get a small sampling on the ferry ride back to the mainland from a young soulful singer named Ulysses.  Their band had come to play with the choir for the Sunday church service and were headed home as well.  Ulysses is only sixteen years old but has been singing since he was three. He had just been promoted to be a lead singer in the group The Bright Stars and the following week would be his official debut.  The name bright star seems fitting.  Singing is his passion and it was evident that all he needed was an invitation to release the melodious notes.  An invitation was extended and he blessed us with a few bars of 'Amazing Grace'.  Yes, how sweet the sound…. Be on the lookout for young Ulysses.  He could be the next, 'Bright Star'.  Remember, you heard it here first.