Day 3 - Sunday 15th May 2022
I sleep pretty
well, waking at 4.45 am but then dozing until 6.30 am. India is
already up, so Tam and I meet up with her and go to watch the
sunrise at Jensens Marina. It's only a short walk up the road and
we see all sorts of creatures including rabbits, doves and
woodpeckers. The crowning glory is when we arrive at the marina
to see many manatees grazing along the harbour wall. The ladies
are very happy - I'm not displeased myself.
We walk back to the villa and rouse Charlie and Georgia so we can
return to the marina and show them the manatees including a baby
which elicits many noises of contentment from the humans happily
watching.
Back at the villa we have breakfast. We've bought 5 of the most unhealthy cereals known to man. Don't ask me why. Whenever we do a holiday shopping list we always buy loads too much, although this lot will be following us around for the next three weeks, so we get full value out of it.
I get text
updates on the football match between the Mighty Swindon Town and
Port Vale in the league two playoffs. We are 2 - 0 up at one
point but it finishes 2 - 1. The secong leg will be later in the
week.
We've rented bikes for the week and today we have decided to have
a leisurely bike ride to the lighthouse at the end of Sanibel
approx 15 miles away. Leisurely? Yeah right.
In the first few miles we see tortoises, really large iguanas and
loads of different birds.
The next creatures to cross off our viewed list are a couple of alligators, turtles and kingfishers. It's one of the main reasons I love Florida - the wildlife is abundant.
The next few miles are quite tiring and hot as the temperature is 31 degrees Centigrade. There is a mutiny afoot so a stop at the Lighthouse Cafe for an early lunch seems prudent.The special of the day is Lemon Pepper Salmon Sandwich with fries, coleslaw and tartar sauce. It sounds good so we all decide to order it. At $15 with loads of iced drinks it's just what we need to recharge and set us up for the rest of the bike ride.
Charlie seems determined that it won't survive his second visit.
On to the lighthouse where we walk along a very busy beach as today is a Sunday and the locals are out in force.
Back on the
bikes we start the long trip back. We stop at Tarpon Bay Beach
for a refreshing swim and set off again. Now I have to admit
there are some mutterings of dissent in the ranks with comments
such as 'too much on the first day' and 'we should have done half
as much', to which my response is 'grow a pair and man up'. The
ladies might find this a little difficult but the general meaning
is taken on board.
Tam had read about a Mexican restaurant called 400 Rabbits that
supposedly has great margaritas and we stop in the parking lot to
decide whether to go in for a drink or push on for home. At this
point India discovers that she's lost her Fitbit, probably at
Tarpon Bay Beach while we were drying off after the swim. We'll
report it to the police later. This news tips the balance in
favour of a margarita (not there really was any doubt) so in we
go. Between us we sample Blackberry, Passion Fruit and a Pina
Colada margaritas. These are very good and excellent value at
$8.25 each.
The last leg
back to the villa is very long and seems to go on forever. We
arrive back at 5.15 pm and get cold drinks and jump straight into
the pool. We reckon we have cycled 35 miles and legs and other
parts are suffering accordingly. The cycle seats are quite good
but still have an impact.
After 75 minutes of relaxing by the pool India gets up off the
sunbed and declares 'Oh God, it feels like my arse has grown two
apples'. Ever the lady my daughter.
We all have showers and Charlie and I sit by the pool with a beer.
At 7.30 pm we walk down to The Mucky Duck to watch the sun go down. We get lucky and find seats next to the beach. It isn't the most glorious of sunsets, but as I've said before, all sunsets in Captiva are just different levels of wonderful. This one falls into the 'wonderful but must try harder' category.
Our dinner tonight is in Doc Ford's Rum Bar at the bottom of the South Seas Plantation. I have Mahi Mahi with spiced rice. All the meals are good and the service is fine. There is a young lad playing guitar, but he finishes after a few songs. I guess I would rate it a 7 out of 10 experience.
Back to the
villa where we sit on the sundeck outside Georgia and Charlie's
room. India has found out that there is a total eclipse of the
moon tonight at 11.30 pm. We're all very tired - a combination of
jet lag and a 35 mile bike ride will do that to you. I think we
all doze off for a couple of minutes at various points. Tam, as
usual, is more successful in her dozing than the rest of us.
The eclipse is quite something to see. The huge full moon is
slowly covered until it totally disappears and then turns dull
red in colour.
At this point we are all done in and bed beckons.