Day 147: Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Port to Port: Fort Myers Beach

Underway: 0:00 am      Motor Off: 0:00 pm      Miles Traveled: 0      Stayed At: Marina

First Things First: ALLIGATORS!

Mile to Mile: Alligators, snakes, egrets, hawks, woodpeckers, turtles, and eels – what a wild day. We went with Richard and Sally (Boomerang) to the Corkscrew Sanctuary a little over an hour south of Fort Myers Beach to hike and explore. It was a perfect day for a field trip – warm and sunny with a gentle breeze and an occasional puffy white cloud floating by.

The park is one of the last remnants of the wild mangrove ecosystems that existed throughout this area before “civilization” decided to build roads, houses, strip malls and condos everywhere. Some of the trees in the park escaped the ax earlier this century and are over 500 years old – survivors of man, multiple hurricanes, fires, drought and floods – magnificent sentinels of a time long ago. They are still home to innumerable types of plants, birds, animals and insects.

The deeper we walked into the park, the more wildlife we saw. There were probably 40 different animals sighted just today in the park by visitors who listed their discoveries on a bulletin board at the park entrance. We saw only a small sample of the creatures that make their home in this small nature preserve.

After a long, peaceful and amazing walk, we had a quick snack and headed for home but not before a stop at Walmart for some groceries (I know, the juxtaposition is sad but obvious). We enjoyed the company of friends, learned a little more about the history of this part of Florida and, of course, saw an alligator. What a memorable day on the Great Loop.