Yesterday started off with 3 1/2 hours at the beach. We swam, sat, walked, read, napped and relaxed beach side. We had purchased cheese, crackers, yogurt, cereal, granola and milk at the store on Monday night, so we noshed on these items for breakfast and lunch. At 1:30 we left for Port of Islands Resort where we met up with Captain George for a Manatee eco-tour. He was very knowledgeable of the Ten Thousand Islands that make up this area, the manatee & their habitat, birds, alligators, the history of the area. The boat could take 6 but we were the only ones, so we had our own private tour! We saw numerous manatees, which are basically giant sea cows that eat vegetation - grass, seaweed etc - natures vacuum of the sea! They weigh up to 2000 lbs. They are very docile and slow - a top speed of 5 mph. Their biggest threat is man and their boat motors. We spent 90 minutes going through the mangrove areas and canals of Marco Island viewing manatee and even found an alligator. It is mating season for alligators and so the females are busy building their nests and out of view. Apparently they are very noisy and aggressive at night during mating season. During the day, they mainly sun themselves and stay out of the way.
We stopped at Snook Inn in hops of seeing the numerous dolphins that hang out off their pier. But the weather had other plans. It rained so hard that we opted to sit with many other folks at the covered outside bar of Snook Inn. Turns out it was happy hour, so we had some beer and Sarah had free bread with butter. We were all happy! Funny that it was still so very warm and everyone was in shorts and tank tops enjoying cold beer while just a few feet away the rain came down in sheets. It was raining so hard we weren't able to walk to the end of the pier to see the dolphins. Perhaps we will get back there tomorrow!
When we got back to the hotel, the weather cleared and we went swimming for a bit and went to The Little Bar Restaurant a few miles away in Goodland. This place looked so sketchy from the outside and was in a really bizarre remote area, and if it hadn't been for the great reviews on Tripadvisor and Urban spoon we NEVER would have set foot in there. We are so glad we went. The food was top notch. We started with steamed muscles, conch chowder and grouper balls. For entrees I had sauteed soft shell crab, Jim had sauteed butterflied shrimp with panko topping and Sarah had prime rib (of course! 2nd night in a row, 3rd night of prime rib on the trip!). By the time we left, the place was quite crowded. Definitely a popular spot.
When we got back to the hotel Jim washed his shirts in the bathtub. Thankfully I had some tide packets. Somehow he didn't bring enough shirts, and with this heat and humidity they were getting stinky. So, he soaked, scrubbed and rinsed the shirts. They hung to dry nicely on our balcony overnight!
We woke up early to get to Everglade City this morning for an everglade jet boat tour. Captain Tony of Speedy's Jet Boat Tours gave us an hour ride and wow what an amazing experience. We went through almost 2 miles of mangrove canals to a grassy swamp area that was so vast. The jet boats are flat bottomed and loud, so we wore earcovers (look like big headphones) and saw many birds and beautiful scenery. The boat went 30 mph, but felt much faster. Captain Tony stopped periodically to point out things, educate us and answer questions. We even saw an alligator! Despite the loud noise of the jet boats, the swampy area in the everglades is peaceful and beautiful. I still marvel at the fact the we didn't get lost. Tony explained that no two trees look alike...I laughed, because the rest of us had no idea where we were and we thought ALL the trees looked alike.
We stopped at Crazy Flamingo for lunch. It's a local joint in a goofy location that one would most likely pass by unless told to go there. I had a blackened fresh grouper sandwich, Jim had fish and chips and Sarah had chicken strips. It was very good and the folks in there were locals (and that's always a good sign!). We made it back to the hotel by 1:30. Beach side, pool side and shell scavenging...we did it all this afternoon admist a few rain showers too. But when the sun was out - phew look out! It was HOT.
Dinner tonight was at Sele E Pepe and I had sauted grouper with homemade paparedelle and aspapagus. Sarah had homemade raviloi stuffed with ricotta and spinach and Jim had risotto with asparagus and shrimp. It was quite good and this restaurant was in our hotel and the view was 2nd to none. We snapped quite a few pictures of the sunset and enjoyed a leisurely meal. Now, I'm finishing this blog post and will read for a bit and then head to bed.
I'm thoroughly enjoying this place. Of all the warm vacation places I've ever been, this tops them all. People are kind, it's slow paced and relaxed. Could be because it's their low season. (pop 8,000) during high season it swells to 30,000! Seafood is plentiful and excellent, beaches are white soft sand and water is warm. And this hotel is awesome - can't beat our view! The staff is friendly, the pool attendants, the free smoothies, the beach attendants, it's so luxurious without being stuffy.
Only 40 hours left until we have to leave to head to airport for home. Will be very sad to leave this place.
I leave you with two pictures from dinner tonight. Check out the others on smugmug.
