 |
| A great picture taken by Tom. This dolphin swam alongside the boat for several minutes. |
The last week has been so interesting and very diverse. After two days and three nights of totally indulging in Greek food and drink, we left Tarpon Springs and headed to Longboat Key--a barrier island west of Tampa Bay. The dolphins are a daily sighting. I am always thrilled to spot them.
 |
| Tom on trail on Cayo Costa. |
We spent the night at anchor in a bay off Longboat Key and headed to Cayo Costa (Cay of the Coast) Island the next day. Cayo Costa State Park is located here and we had a wonderful day exploring. We took the dinghy to shore and hiked the island trail to the beach. This was the first chance we have had to walk the beach and enjoy the water and sand between our toes. Still not quite swimming temperature, but getting there! We found some shells and brought them back to the boat to decorate our 18" Christmas tree. The ranger told us that we could take the dinghy over to a small bayou and possibly see manatee. We rowed in the bayou so as not to scare or harm them and we did see at least two. It was very hard to snap a picture as they surface for only a short time, but Tom managed to get at least the shape. As we entered the bayou, we heard all kinds of splashing. We of course thought this was the manatee, but it turned out to be jumping fish called black mullets. They were amazing. Often jumped straight up in the air 2 to 3 feet or spurted out in 3 consecutive leaps. It was hard to concentrate on the manatee bubbles with all their commotion.
 |
| Yes!!!!! |
 |
| Christmas aboard Raydiance. |
 |
| There really is a manatee there. |
The anchorage at Cayo Costa was very scenic, but VERY windy. We were happy to leave the next day and head to a marina, Burnt Store Marina, outside of Punta Gorda. There we were visited by Dan Garland, a friend of brother Rich's who happened to be in the area on business. Terry and Karen Swark came to see us and we enjoyed catching up with them over dinner. Tom served on the boy scout board with Terry when Terry was the council scout executive of the Boy Scout Council of Greater St. Louis.
 |
| Raydiance at Burnt Store Marina |
We learned a valuable lesson while traveling to this marina. We were following lat/long coordinates in a guide book that led us to the channel entrance. Our navigation charts did not name the entrance for Burnt Store, so we just assumed (never a good idea) that these were the correct numbers. When we reached depth readings of less that 5 feet, we called the marina to ask about their channel and were informed to GET OUT OF THERE as we were in a very shallow channel about a mile too far north. Luckily, Tom maneuvered us back out and all ended well. But next time we will call the marina to verify the coordinates.
We are now anchored in Smokehouse Bay in Marco Island. We are not in Kansas anymore! Whew! This place is beautiful and shouts money, money, money. The weather has been partly sunny and around 80 degrees. Life is good! Saturday we leave for Key West. Sarah flies in on Monday. Will be great to have her with us for Christmas. Merry Christmas to all of you!!
 |
| The Esplanade area of Marco Island |
 |
| View from our anchorage at Marco Island |
No comments:
Post a Comment