02 Mar Days 171 & 172 Marco Island

We finally got our weather window to leave Fort Myers Beach. The wind was still brisk but it was blowing from the East so the seas were calm.
It was actually a beautiful day on the Gulf. Otto decided to work on the first try so we spent the entire 40 mile trip up on the flybridge watching for traffic and crab pots, adjusting the course with the remote if needed.
As we approached Marco Island we passed some massive homes.
We have seen lots of large waterfront properties on our trip, but these stood out because they had huge areas of undevolped beaches on either side. Waterfront property is very expensive here, we saw a half acre building lot advertised for 3.8 million, so I can only imagine what this house was worth.

This pair had a nice spot.
We anchored in Smokehouse Bay, a popular anchorage used by cruising boats. Smokehouse bay is surrounded by high end properties and a large Hotel, shopping, marina and restaurant complex called The Esplanade.
I usually don’t like to anchor in residential areas, but it seemed normal here. There were no derilict boats rotting away like some places in Florida.
We passed this big boat out on the Gulf and when we anchored I wondered why someone left a pontoon boat anchored in the bay. I think they used it to hold their anchor spot while they were out.
Marco Island is where the 1% come to play and stay in Southern Florida.  There is no shortage of high end boats and beautiful homes.
We took a dinghy ride through the many canals checking out properties and boats we can’t afford.
Some larger than others.

Most had pools and screened in Lanais.
If you don’t have screens you need a boat fast enough to outrun the bugs…
Marco doesn’t just have just have high end homes, restaurants and shops, it also has an amazing beach.
With more shells than we have seen anywhere yet.

Beautiful clear blue waters and plenty of wildlife.
In short, Marco Island was a very good stop for us. It even had a grocery store with a dinghy dock!
I think this place sums it up perfectly…

Sent from Samsung tablet.