Washington Post Introduces Us to “Swamp Divers”

Yes, it seems that there are Floridians nuts enough to go swimming with alligators. So the Washington Post profiles this group, which it calls

a very small, very savvy, very crazy band of swamp divers — people who purposefully jump into dark and dangerous ponds, pools, canals and creeks in the Everglades and its surrounding wild waters. They do it for science, to make movies, to observe or capture uncommon scenes in an element of the Everglades few humans ever see.

And, yes, for scary fun. Entering the hidden haunts of the lizard king of the Everglades, a creature capable of snapping human bones like tortilla chips, is an electric jolt.

“It's very, very exciting,” said Fernandez, a South Miami man whose murky immersions have rekindled passion for a photography profession he abandoned years ago. “There are times when you're in there and the alligators bump into you. Sometimes, they take off in a very small area, and it's like a chain reaction, they all start flying by and hitting you.”

Swamp diving is eerie, fascinating, frightening — and an experience that almost no one should ever, ever try. Don't even think about it.

OK. If you say so.