Cayo Costa and Pelican Bay

We have done our time at Laishley Park Marina in Punta Gorda, slipped the mooring lines and ventured off into the wild.  Well, at least as far as Pelican Bay at the bottom of Charlotte Harbor.  We are anchored just off the barrier island of Cayo Costa, a state park and home to ospreys, pelicans, frigate birds, laughing gulls and many other birds, as well as feral hogs.  Thankfully, we haven't run into any of the hogs, and they don't seem to swim like the ones in the Bahamas that we have seen on YouTube.

We arrived to find a fair number of boats, all bunched up in one corner for no reason that we could discern.  We kept our distance, though, and had lots of space.  Our first sunset here was spectacular.  I know, more sunset pictures...but I never get tired of them.

The Gulf of Mexico is just across the island, which at this spot is maybe a mile wide.  Tour boats visit the park throughout the day, and there are rustic cabins, and campsites as well.  We launched the dinghy the next morning, and set off exploring.  The beach is beautiful, and the water is still warm enough for swimming...at least for we Canadians, used to swimming in Georgian Bay all summer!!

There is a huge dredging operation under way, which we have been told is to rebuild the beach at Boca Grand, on the island just north of Cayo Costa.

This poor old tree seems to be standing on tiptoes to stay out of the surf.

At the very south end of the island are more of the same...tree trunks, and root systems and some serious driftwood.  If it wasn't for the bright sun and blue water, it could be the stuff of nightmares.

Clearly, visitors to this part of the island are driven to leave something beautiful behind, and have created this shell tree.

Today, we had lunch at Barnacle's on North Captiva.  It is in a very protected little harbor, with flat water and lots of large, expensive homes.  Great cheeseburger, really good clam strips, and cold, cold beer.  Yum.