From Heidi Maitland, Victorious 37VT26
Our next stops in the Keys included Lignumvitae Key and Bahia Honda which are Florida State Parks. In between these parks is the city of Marathon, a good stop for when a cruiser needs more than just scenic vistas. Marathon is always busy; the City Marina has 225 moorings and more than 50 boats were anchored waiting for a mooring when we arrived. We stayed 10 days in Marathon and met up with our friend from Marblehead, Massachusetts who is on a Lord Nelson 41' sailboat. There are lots of interesting similarities with our boats including light fixtures, teak finishing and beauty. A highlight in Marathon is touring the Turtle Hospital. When we visited, there were 49 injured or sick sea turtles being treated, the most recent arrival weighing over 300 pounds.
On February 19, we left the Florida Keys after 3-1/2 weeks and headed to the western part of Everglades National Park. There are no towns or settlements in this area, just transient fishermen, cruising boats and canoeists and kayakers (who arrived via a 6-10 day backcountry wilderness route). We anchored in the Little Shark River where, from the dinghy deck, we watched loggerhead turtles, countless birds and fish and even dolphins. There was also an opportunity to kayak from our boat and sneak down into some side-creeks, as far as the mosquitos would let you!
Continuing up the west coast of Florida we got dock space in Everglades City at the Rod and Gun Club for a night. This outpost is the southernmost town on the Florida west coast mainland, and seemed wild-west-like, in a Florida sort of way. Lunch at the Club was slow and gracious, and they don't take credit cards. The next day, on our way to Marco Island, a sheriff's boat pulled up to us. Ken and I looked at each other wondering what we had done wrong, but he just wanted to ask questions about our boat. We seem to get that a lot!
We continued north up the coast with stops at Naples, Sanibel Island, Cayo Costa (another Florida State Park) and got as far north as Cape Haze (just north of Port Charlotte) before turning south again. In the Cape Haze area we made two trips to the beach at Don Pedro State Park which can only be accessed by boat. This park not only offers pristine Gulf waters but is known for the tiny black fossil shark teeth which wash up onto the beach. We found enough teeth to fill a small 35 mm film canister, remember those? We had a special treat when 91 kayaks, canoes, and small sail boats competing in the Water Tribe Everglades Challenge detoured into our marina due to high wind conditions. These racers are self powered and travel roughly 300 miles in 8 days or less. You can learn more about these races at www.watertribe.com
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