16 Jan Days 124 to 126 Cayo Costa

Pelican Bay looked like a nice anchorage when we passed by in December but we were on a mission and just stopped at Cabbage Key for a Cheeseburger in Paradise then onto Cape Coral.
We have heard through the cruiser’s grapevine that it is a must stop. As we are in no rush and the weather is going to be beachy, here we are.
The entrance is tricky but well documented in the guides and Active Captain.

We made it in with no issues, the water was clear enough to see the shoals at the entrance. Finding a spot to drop the anchor was a little difficult as there were about 25 other boats already there. That number grew to over 40 by sunset.
Even with all the cruisers and tour boats bringing in people, when we walked across the park to the beach we found it nearly deserted.

A long walk on the beach searching for shells and our new hobby, Sharks Teeth.
I even got to use my uber expensive beach towel after a quick dip in the Gulf.
After a quiet night on the hook.
It was time to do some more exploring so we took a dinghy tour and saw our first aligator.
Someone later said they heard it was a Salt water Croc. I googled it and can’t decide. Either way Janet didn’t want to get too close to it.
After that I was a little suprised she got out of the boat to cut through the mangrove to the beach on the South end of the Island.
It too was worth the trip, another great beach day.
The third day it was time to move on. The weather was perfect, warm sunny and no wind so we ran around to the Gulf side heading to Cape Coral. A very pleasant ride it was.
We stopped and bought some Blue Crab off a local fisherman. He was happy to take our Canadian Dollars and said he was going to give it to his daughter. My kind of commerce!

Sent from Samsung tablet.