DAY 6 – MON 12th NOV
ake
up at 6:00AM again with my feet itching from all the insect
bites. I seem to be the only one affected by them. They always go
fro the sweetest meat, you know.
I have been using insect repellent, but they ought to call it
insect attractor. You can practically see the insects licking
their lips as I spray it on. I’m sure I heard one of them
ask “Do you get fries with that?”
Me, Tam and Grandma(D) stroll down to the beach to see the sunrise again. It’s true that every sunrise is different. This one is cloudier, but this enables you to see the great red orb for longer.
After breakfast we set out for Tarpon Bay. Tam and I are going kayaking. We drive the rest of them to the beach and then continue to Tarpon Bay. This is a large estuary that looks really deep but we are told that if we fall out of the kayaks it would only come up to our waists! Tam looks suitably relieved.
This
is a guided tour with a naturalist (Dan) along to explain
everything as we go. Dan (the nature man) firstly gives us some
brief instructions and we then get to clamber into our two person
boats.
We meet up in a sort of mini flotilla before setting off across
Tarpon Bay. This is the longest and most tiring part of the tour,
but we all make it safely across. There are 8 kayaks and we
reassemble at the mouth of the canoe trail where Dan explains a
bit about the estuary and the creatures found in it.
We then set off along the trail at a slow pace to the next
meeting point. All told we assemble in 4 different places where
we learn about the eco-system and especially the mangrove plants
and the mullet. (We are all made honorary mullet for the day.)
It is
totally blissful floating through the mangroves watching the
osprey, blue heron, ibis and cormorants.
There is no sound other than the crickets and the paddles gently
slipping through the water. The sun glints through the trees and
the tranquillity is total.
After 1 ˝ hours of quietly paddling through narrow channels in
the mangroves we meet up for the last time in the centre of a
large lake where the mullet are leaping all over the place.
Here Dan gives us one last talk and then tells us we are free to
explore as much as we like before returning to base. We paddle
around for a while, but then have to head back as the others are
waiting for us at the beach. The trip back would have been just
as restful had we not passed another boat that has a radio
playing loudly! Heathens!
The
water in the bay on our return journey is choppier as the wind
has got up, but this just makes it more fun. We make it back to
the shore and I am just about to congratulate myself on staying
dry through the whole thing, when a small wave washes over the
back of the boat and soaks me! I knew I should have made Tam sit
in the back.
It costs $25 for about 2 ˝ hours in the boat (you can stay out
longer if you want) and both Tam and I agree that it is money
well spent. You get to see beautiful scenery and close up views
of some amazing creatures.
Our only disappointment is that we left the video and digital
cameras in the car for fear of getting them wet. As it turns out,
I think you could quite happily take a camera.
Back at the beach we pick up the rest of the troop. They have great fun and the girls are covered in sand after being buried by Granny(J) and Grandma(D).
We drive along Periwinkle Way and stop at a pizza house for lunch.
Back
to the condo where we drop off all the beach gear and jump on the
bikes for another look around. A short way up the road is the
Periwinkle Park & Campground. This is a strange place with
permanent caravan type homes with a small aviary in the middle.
They also have ring tailed lemurs and parrots.
The parrots seem particularly friendly. One of them calls out
‘Hello’ as we walk up. The girls are laughing
themselves silly as the parrot chats away to them. As we are
walking away he says ‘Bye.’ A few more steps.
‘Bye.’ More steps. ‘Bye.’
The more he says it the funnier it seems and the girls are beside
themselves with glee.
A little further down the road is City Park, which is a rather grand name for what is actually a pull in off the road with views across a watery swamp. There are signs up telling you not to feed the alligators but, try as we might, we cannot see any.
Back at the condo a swim is in order. It is coming up to 6:00PM, getting dark and the girls are still in the pool, which they have to themselves. I’m not sure how many units are occupied, but it certainly is very quiet.
After showering I have to drive us to dinner, mumbling and grumbling as we go. This evening we try the Sanibel Café, which is more of a diner than a restaurant. We all try blue crab legs as a starter. I can’t say that I’m over impressed, fairly tasteless really. Our main courses include tuna salad, angel hair pasta, BLT in a croissant and meatloaf. I have pork tenderloin, which is spoiled a little by the heavy BBQ sauce. The bill for the 4 of us is $68. An OK meal, but no more.
Back
to the condo where we see if there is anything decent to watch on
TV. Yeah right! ‘Something decent’ and ‘American
TV’ are words that do not belong in the same sentence.
Nothing to do with the quality of the programmes, more to do with
the frequency of the breaks.
‘And now’ – adverts - ‘the news’ –
adverts -‘at 9:00PM.’ – adverts.
There is no way you can become fully immersed in a good film.
Just as the detective is about to announce the murderer, we
switch to someone trying to sell you incontinence pants. Somewhat
spoils the tension. Thank heavens for the BBC.
We give up on TV and I write up my trip report while the others play cards. The women retire at 10:00 while I stay up and watch the football. (Advert disruption and all.)