As of the time of this post, we are anchored in Everglades National Park. We covered 75 miles today, and were able to get the anchor down right before sunset. Since the last post we have been enjoying the attitude change that comes with the latitude change.
Back in Cayo Costa, rest and relaxation quickly recharged our energy and enthusiasm for this lifestyle.
Directly off the anchorage was a hidden lagoon that we were told was frequented by manatees. If you enlarge this picture, and look closely, you can see Right Hand at anchor through the narrow cut to the lagoon.
They were right...
Oh, but no one mentioned this character sharing the lagoon with the manatee. I am a little confused, because I have read that alligators are fresh water animals, but this lagoon is definitely salt water. I think I will cancel my paddle board trip to this location.
A short Whaler ride from the anchorage brings us to Cabbage Key, which is only accessible by boat. The island offers an Inn & Restaurant, with rental cabins and walking trails. We planned to have dinner on the island, but arrived early so we could explore the trails.
The race is ON!
Oh look...the trail ends so let’s just take a break and relax😉
Hey...what happened to that tortoise?
Many of the trees on the trails were covered with what looked like green snakes. On closer inspection it was clear to see this was some type of cactus, and in some cases it reached to the very top of the palm trees. Google tells me this is called ‘snake cactus’...well, we could have guessed that name.
Hey...how did you get ahead of us!
While we thoroughly enjoyed our stay at Cayo Costa, and our visit to Cabbage Key, it is time to head to Fort Myers.
It felt like we were back in Maine. This dense fog stayed with us all day, but luckily was a bit lighter as we entered the harbor to Ft. Myers Beach. We were hoping to pick up a mooring ball in Ft. Myers Beach, but with nothing available we went in search of an anchorage. We found a few places that would have been okay, but none of the spots felt great (probably because of the fog) so we went back outside the harbor to anchor for the night.
We planned to stay in Ft. Myers for several days to visit a friend and take care of some business, so the next day we found a marina slip, and paid for a week (since it was cheaper than 4 days). We hadn’t planned to stay for a whole week, but the weather changed our minds. A cold front brought steady 25-30 mph winds that blew for two solid days. During that time, the water in that river looked like a washing machine. We were very thankful to be safely tucked behind breakwater with two huge boats breaking the wind on the outside of the dock. Right Hand is in this picture, but very hard to find.
Fort Myers is a lovely town with beautiful places to walk along the water front, and lots of welding art to enjoy. I’m not sure if ‘welding art’ is the correct name for this genre, but my search didn’t lead me to a better name...however, the art was very cool and it was everywhere!
Sunday-Funday boat ride.
On our last night we met Steph for happy hour at the Beacon Social Drinkery rooftop bar on the 12th floor of the Luminary Hotel. It was an amazing view, but did I mention a cold front came through...time to get farther south, we’ll miss you Steph!
Thursday, Feb 4. A beautiful day to be on the water! Blue sky, blue water, and no wind (or waves), but you might notice we are enjoying the warmth of the pilot house. The temperature was in the low 60s, which sounds warm to those readers currently in northern latitudes, but still chilly when out in it all day.
Of course we went outside many times to greet our dolphin friends. This one kept turning his/her head to look at us.
The dolphins stayed with us all the way to the anchorage, and still milled around seeming disappointed that we stopped. Sorry little guys, but we will be moving again tomorrow...please join us!
No comments:
Post a Comment