Hi F & F (in case you don't know Family and Friends)
Well today Graeme and I set off in the golf cart we had hired for the day.First stop was breakfast beside a bayou and we indulged ,omeletes , muffins and coffee. The sun was shining again ,no clouds just another perfect day! How blessed we felt! Then we went off to explore the island all 7 miles of it. They have a special track just for golf carts ( the most common mode of transport apart from cars) and bikes.We ended up at Uncle Henry's marina where we saw our first manatees on this trip They truly are weird looking creatures and I think only a mother could love them! Also saw a funny sight , an osprey bird had built a nest on top of a small canopy on one of the boats and was sitting there proudly.In the Chesapeake Bay if a bird builds a nest on your boat , you are not allowed to remove the nest until the bird no longer inhabits it. I imagine the same rule applied here!
Then we turned round and went down to the southern tip of the island passing through the village of Boca Grande. Turns out the lighthouse has a wonderful little museum and lots of history about the island the surrounding area. There has been a lot of Spanish and Cuban influence originally and also the Seminole Indians were in the area also after they were forced out of their places in the South Carolina's. We stopped back in the village had an icecream at the Loose Caboose. There used to be a railroad that ran right through the island! Phosphate trains were used to carry shipments of the fertilizer to places all over. Visited Hudson's the grocery store ( you could buy fresh caught that morning there) the Post Office and Fugales , the local gift store. It was such fun just to drive your golf cart up to the store and park right outside. Then we headed back to watch some of the Australian Tennis on TV.in the late afternoon I went back on foot to take some photos of the big Baynan trees that lined on of the streets and also took a walk to the gulf side of the island.It was just fabulous , the sun was soon to be setting , and sparkling on the water and the gentle breaking of the waves on the shores was soothing to the soul. I so love this place.It has the feel of the 1960's its small and intimate there is a simple and slower pace of life and although there certainly is wealth here it doesn't feel so ostentatious as other parts of Florida to me.
In the evening we got together again with Mary and Bob for dinner at the Eagle Grille right at our marina.it had lovely old style decor with ships and all things nautical. We shared our different adventures for the day, with each other.
The chef was Spanish , so we couldn't pass on the paella ! It was the special for the evening!
Only one thing so far has been upsetting along this West Coast of Florida and that has been all the dead fish we have seen.Some floating in the water around the marinas and others lying on the shoreline in both Naples and Boca Grande.This is due to something called Red Tide.It floats either on or in the water and is poisonous to fish and also can cause respiratory problems for people. This year there has already been four incidents of it .They don't really know the cause although I was told it possibly comes from fertilizers which come down from states in the middle of the country .Perhaps down through the Mississippi? Who knows!
Over and out.
Erica
No comments:
Post a Comment