2-18 to 2-21 Venice to Pelican Bay

Pelican Bay lies among several barrier islands west of Punta Gorda. The main island is Cayo Costa, which is the largest undeveloped island in Florida. Another boat that pulled into the public dock at Venice suggested that we anchor there. It was a truly idyllic setting and well protected from the wind.


We were in for a spell of high winds so we spent 3 nights and two days there, walking the nature trails, taking the dinghy around, fishing and reading. For the first time on the trip I had that ‘island’ feeling. While the trip has been great, we have mostly been in civilization to some degree.
Here we felt like we were in the middle of a very beautiful nowhere. Time seemed suspended.

This is a flock of birds we scared into the trees.



Dave got soaked taking the dinghy to Cabbage Key for lunch, rumored to be the inspiration for the ‘Cheeseburger in Paradise’ song. Personally I thought it was a bit overrated.






On one of our walks we met a Park Ranger who pointed out some ripe papayas ready for picking. So we hiked back in to the bush, shook the tree and gathered up some papayas for a future snack. Of course we got a bit lost trying find the path out, but it was fun.










Dave bought the last packet of shrimp bait at the little park store. After having his bait stolen off the hook for a day or two Dave finally caught his first fish. Unfortunately he didn’t know what kind it was, it had teeth, puffed up like a balloon and croaked like a frog. So, with gloves on he carefully took it off the hook and threw it back. We sure wish Cuba Margaret was here to show him how it’s done!