We all have that one friend who is a die-hard adrenaline junkie who loves to discover their next greatest adventure. That friend is me…
This feature is all about uncovering Lake Nona and Orlando’s greatest activities, especially if you enjoy living life on the edge!

This month, I embraced my “one with nature” persona and trekked to Titusville to go kayaking. But not just any regular kind of kayaking … I hunted down bioluminescent dinoflagellates (a type of plankton) in a clear kayak. What does all of this mean?! I went kayaking in waters that were glowing with every movement!

I actually was lucky enough to experience bioluminescent waters in Puerto Rico about four or five years ago in a regular kayak, and I had no idea Florida was one of the only other locations to experience the glow until after that trip. A Facebook video that popped up on my feed a few months ago was a nice reminder that the dinoflagellate season was upon us! The warmer the water, the better the bioluminescence. Therefore, the best time of the year to go here in Florida is from June to early October, with the first two weeks of August having the highest level of bio visibility. I booked my tour during the highest chance of visibility and was ready to experience the magic once again. Seeing glowing water just never gets old.

While there are several companies to go on this type of tour with, A Day Away Kayak Tours was the one I booked with. Andrew and I arrived at our launch site at Manatee Cove at 8 p.m., and I found out it’s tandem kayaking. I’m screwed. Andrew’s never kayaked before, and I have. The first time I kayaked in bioluminescent waters was with someone who had never kayaked before, and I had to do all of the work and didn’t really get to enjoy the tour as much as I had hoped. It’s definitely an experience you want to take in every moment.

We were each given a life vest (with an attached glow stick and a whistle) and an oar. The tour guides began to explain the proper way to paddle and what to do if you were to fall into the water: DO NOT PANIC. My immediate thought was, “Great, Andrew’s going to flip us.” For anyone who has ever been kayaking before, getting back into one after falling into the water is not that easy. Although it’s never happened to me … yet … I can only imagine the difficulty I would have had.

The guides mentioned that the term for couples in kayaks is the “divorce boat.” The group laughed, and Andrew and I just had the same look of defeat all over our faces. Communication was key, and we were doomed. I would have to be the “motor” (in the front of the kayak) and he would be the “navigator” (the rear of the kayak), meaning he would have to match my pace and make sure we didn’t hit anyone or anything. The heaviest person goes in the back of the kayak; it has nothing to do with experience. I would have to work on not losing my patience with him as I tried to teach him. Was it a success? I mean … we made it back in one piece and didn’t flip.

Here’s what happened:

As soon as we were pushed off of the little beach area by one of the guides, I used that time to teach Andrew how to paddle. He immediately whacked me in the back of the head … “on accident.” What the heck did I get myself into!? Our communication already fell overboard. We were in for a treat. Was it too late to turn back? The rest of the group was ready to go and we were off, with the main tour guide, Chad, leading. Andrew immediately led us right into the group, and we literally cut off every single boat. Boy, did I have a long night of apologizing ahead of me!

Paddling along, Chad began to tell us the history of bioluminescence – that the Indian River Lagoon (where we were kayaking) is North America’s most bio-diverse water and that there were around 2,000 different living species of dinoflagellates. The sun was setting quickly, and the water would soon begin to glow. The anticipation was building. Andrew whacked me in the head a few more times with his oar (still claiming an accident) and nearly flipped us two or three times, but so far so good.

It was finally dark and now for the good part! Chad stopped the group and handed each boat a small fishing net and began to describe the phenomenon of glow-in-the-dark jellyfish called comb jellyfish. He told us to put the net in the water, and we would pretty much be guaranteed to catch several. He went on to describe that the comb jellies were harmless (so we could hold them in our hands without getting stung), and they would light up when we touched them as a defense mechanism (thinking we were fish preying on them).

With our net in the water and Andrew paddling along, we caught one (about the size of a quarter) and then ended up catching about 15 in the next try! I promptly put them in my hand, and it was just a mass of clear, slimy wildlife. And then I poked them … the mass began to glow, and I was in awe. I felt like a little kid just letting out a big “WOW!” and turned around quickly to show Andrew the magic happening in the palm of my hand.

Chad instructed us to put our hands in the water and to make a fist and then quickly open to see an X-ray version of bioluminescence emerge from our hand. If you lightly cascaded your hand over the water just enough to stir up the light show, you were in for a real treat. The flickering of the bioluminescence was like a mirror of the night sky, stars and all, and I was completely mesmerized. My trance was broken when I heard, “Mullet warning!” Chad flipped on his bright headlamp and instantly hundreds of mullets emerged from the water, jumping all about. He joked that the first boat to have one of the fish land in their boat won, well … a mullet!

We were in the clear, but as we made our way back around, a mullet launched itself at our boat and probably would’ve knocked me out at what seemed like 30 miles an hour had it jumped any higher. The massive thud right beside me seriously scared me and Andrew couldn’t stop laughing at how I screamed out, “Holy crap!” From that point on, I didn’t want a mullet in my boat.

As the trip wrapped up and we headed back to where we began, I took a chance to admire what was below me. If you look at the bottom of the clear kayak, it reminds you of the opening scene of Star Wars with all of the bioluminescent flagellates streaming by like stars in the galaxy. As soon as I discovered how cool it looked, I stopped rowing and put my head directly on the bottom of the kayak to fully submerge myself in the world of bioluminescence. Sorry, Andrew.

So, there you have it, I entered a scene straight out of Avatar or the Life of Pi, and I was not disappointed. I could do this over and over again. As for the “divorce boat” term mentioned earlier? I’m not even married, and I already want a divorce. (Who would’ve thought I’d ever say that?)

Bring LOTS of bug spray and wear pants and a long-sleeved shirt. The mosquitos are out, people! Even with pants on, I have about 20 bites on EACH ankle, but bug spray definitely would’ve helped. Also worth mentioning is that bioluminescence is not easily captured on video or photo. I had to enhance my photos A LOT for the glow to be visible, but in person, you won’t be able to look away. Don’t just take my word for it. Go experience this phenomenon yourself. The tour is very family-friendly and lasts about an hour and a half on the water; about two hours total. Several families with toddlers were on our trip.

Visit adayawaykayaktours.com to schedule your out-of-this-world kayaking experience before the dinoflagellate season ends! Clear bio kayaking is $60 per person. And nothing sums this experience up better than what I read on the A Day Away website: “When nature is stranger than fiction, there is nothing more awe-inspiring.”

Have a suggestion? Send an email to nicole@nonahoodnews.com or fill out our NonaVentures column form at nonahood.to/nonaventure. What do you want to see me review next?