Paddling Isle of Capri

Hi Blog.  Friday, February 22nd, was our first full day in the Naples area.  We decided to do a little kayaking.  Naples Kayaks offers kayak rentals in five different locations.  We chose the Isle of Capri since there were lots of bays and mangrove forests to paddle around.

Here is a copy of the topo map they gave us when we set off.  Having kayaked through mangrove forest with Toni and Jim, we were prepared to the adventure.  With compass and GPS in hand, we set out to create a loop through the forest. 

Outlined in red is the approximate route we took. Afterall, it wouldn't be a mangrove paddle if we didn't run into a few dead-ends.  No need to share all the gorey details.

The woman who checked us in and went over the route with us told us not to expect much in the way of wildlife.  Boy was she wrong.  As soon as we paddled across the bay to the entry into the mangroves, we spotted a bald eagle sitting loud and proud on a perch overlooking the entrance into the smaller bay.

As we traveled further into the forest, we spotted this lovely snowy egret perched over the creek waiting for little fishies to swim by.  I don't know if you can see just how brightly colored her feet are.  It is sort of a cross between lime green and florescent yellow.

The trails through this mangrove forest were a bit wider than those we encountered in our last paddle.  Here is Kathy making her way under some low hanging branches.

Back out in the bay, we watched an osprey catch a fish and take it up into a tree to eat.  While we were watching, we held our kayaks very still so Dave could take a photo.  Meantime, something must have been hunting under the water, because schools of fish began jumping and bubbling around out boats trying to hide behind them for protection.  We did eventually see a school of dolphins, but only later after we had finished and returned our kayaks.

After about three hours, we brought the kayaks back to the beach right next door to the Capri Fishhouse and Tiki Bar.  Oceanside dining at its best!

We had two hours until sunset, so we took the opportunity to drive around Marco Island.  While pretty in a plastic manicured Florida kind of way, it was not our cup of tea.  No public beaches or parking lots.  Loads of designer shops.  It was like the rich folks wanted to keep the whole place to themselves, but in the process, they destroyed what makes West Florida near the Everglades so beautiful.  So, we went back to Capri Island and went out on the dock to have a couple beers and watch the sun set.

We weren't the only ones enjoying the sunset.  Here is Mr. Heron patiently waiting for supper.

Now for the big show.  Many of the restaurant patrons came out on the dock as the final minutes approached. We met some folks from Bucks County, PA who were down for vacation. They were just as excited as us to meet folks who weren't from Michigan (or Quebec)!

Saturday we plan to ride our bikes around historic Naples.