Cayo Costa to Burnt Store Marina to Ft Myers Yacht Basin

Day #96; Loop miles = 1,395

We stayed at anchor at Cayo Costa for 2 nights, and would have stayed another 2 if the weather would have cooperated. However, the North winds continued to blow, and the forecast was not that rosy for later in the week. And, it was getting a bit tiresome for dog duty, as we had to traverse about 1/2 mile of open water in the dinghy...in about a 2 foot chop. The anchorage and park were fantastic...in better weather, we could have stayed a week.

Our view of the Park docks from our anchorage.

A few of our neighbors.

A picture doesn't really do this one justice...it was quite pretty.

So, we decided to make a run to Punta Gorda (well that area anyway) to Burnt Store Marina. This is a great marina, with a ton of boats in it and great protection from all directions. The downside is that it is 10 miles to the nearest anything...there are multiple condo complexes at the marina, but absolutely no outside services. If you had a car, it would be just fine...very quiet even though it is quite large. We were lucky to find one of our crossing buddies, Liquid Assets there, and it was great to see them and catch up on our relative travels in the last month or so.

With poorer weather on the horizon, we decided that we wanted to move "somewhere" but also be in a marina for the next few days. After some deliberation and exploration of just about all options, we decided to make a run to Ft Myers. We skipped some possible destinations on Captiva and Sanibel, but we knew that we wanted to see Ft Myers and spend some time there. We managed to find an open slip at the Yacht Basin there, and it is superb! We are right next to the downtown area that has tons of restaurants and shops, and there are slews of loopers here. It is obvious that this is a winter destination for many, as we have met a number of folks who are here for a month or more.

Not a very dramatic picture, but this marker signals the end of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GICW). Mile 0 is near Ft Myers, and as you go either South or East from here, you are no longer on the Intercoastal. When we get to the East coast of FL, we'll pick up the ICW that goes from Key West to Norfolk, VA.

We've seen loads of these signs, and obey them each and every time. But, still no manatee sightings for us as of yet. There are a couple of marinas where we have been where they were reported to be, but we haven't spotted any yet...all in time.

Once again we arrived to find Nearly Perfect docked near us...our Gold Looper friends we last saw in Gulfport. And now we learn that we have stumbled into the middle of the Gold Looper Reunion gathering...so that helps explain why we see so many Gold Looper flags on boats around the marina. (A refresher for some of you...a Gold Looper is someone who has already completed the loop. When they do this, they replace their white Looper burgee with a Gold one. So, when you pull into a marina, you can easily distinguish between those still on their first loop, and others who are done and still going.)

We plan to chill here for at least a couple of days, and we could see that this could stretch into a week. We are at a decision point where we are now with our travel plan. From where we are, we can head south down the southwest coast of Florida past the Everglades and on to the Keys. Or...we can head east across the Okeechobee Waterway that cuts across the center of Florida and spits us out on the east coast near Stuart, which would then lead to a trip down the southeast coast of FL to get to the Keys. Both itineraries have their plusses and minuses...we'll decide our course of action in the next few days...stay tuned!

Miscellaneous pic for the day:

Some people aspire to have a house on the water, others just decide to have a house IN the water! (We think this might have been some sort of a bait shop/beer stop or something, but don't know for sure.)