There is a magical place called Marco Island, in Southwest Florida, found just off the coast from Naples. The minute that one drives over the Causeway onto the island you feel all your troubles melt away. The heat and humidity help that, but the beautiful blue and green waters, palm trees and various birds help to move you in the right direction.
I’ve been to Marco several times, but this time I finally parked myself down long enough to truly explore the island. Although people thought me nuts to come in June (bugs, humidity and heat), I found a quiet place with few people. By alternating my beach going until the early evening, I was able to stay out longer, snorkel and swim with the fish.
One of the days during my visit saw me on a boat trip with the Florida Adventure and Rentals (http://www.floridaadventuresandrentals.com) Company. Our tour guide Marco was about to give us a day that we will never forget. The we being my son and my niece who was making her maiden voyage to Florida. Marco explained that we would be taking a two-hour tour and we were on our way.
The minute the boat took off out of the harbor, the water became crystal clear, the birds began to circle and the fun began with two manatees who were just as curious about us as we were about them. We stopped the boat and let nature take it’s course. A giant manatee (Who knew how much they resembled potatoes?) came up to the boat, stuck his head out and wished us a good day. He stayed for a bit and then decided we weren’t delicious enough looking and went about his day. The manatees circled the boat a few more times and then it was time to leave. Our guide was very informative the whole day about each and every species that we encountered. While telling us about the manatees, he shared that they are actually very amorous beings and that one would probably not want to swim with them.
Our next stop on the tour was the remains of the Dome Houses on Cape Romano. These Pac-Man looking structures were beyond wild. The story is very detailed in this link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Romano_Dome_House. It’s very interesting and a definite read. Basically it was a house that was once in one piece but was destroyed during a hurricane. Beyond that I don't do the story justice, so again, please read the link. It was so cool to be so up close to them. They definitely gave off a kind of out of this world energy.
On to find some dolphins…. As we sped our way further south, we were greeted with various birds of all types – heron, egrets, pelicans and more….. So much fun. We saw nesting grounds, flying birds, etc. The place was “littered” with them. Our tour guide was not going to quit until he was able to get some dolphins “surfing” behind the boat. What happened next was nothing short of a miracle! The dolphins literally started to surf behind the boat wake. They would circle, move in and then flip in the air. It was one of the most joyous things I have ever seen in my life. Alas, I would have loved to have shared a video of this with you but a technical glitch prevented that. Trust me when I say it was one of the coolest things ever. You will just have to take a tour with Florida Adventures to experience it for yourself.
When the day was done, I remarked to our tour guide that it quite literally had been one of the best days of my life. I joked about #bestdayever! Low and behold, the next morning, my niece pointed out that in the condo we were staying at, there was a pillow on the chair that said exactly that “BEST DAY EVER”.
All the elements of this special day still give me goose bumps when I think about it. The combination of family, stellar tour guiding, great weather, dolphins, manatees and more made for a day that I will never, ever forget. I remarked to my niece when we got back to shore that if there ever there was a day that was arranged by our angels and spirit guides, that this was truly one of those days.
Until My Next Adventure,
Trish Walker
www.trishwalker.us
