Fort Myers to Estero Bay

Follow our progress using this link: Steve's Spot 

Day 7: March 11, 2018

We awoke to the lost hour of daylight savings time.  Our bodies were telling us that it was only 5:30 but my phone said it was 6:30. However, we are thankful that the rains have stopped, and the forecast is for the afternoon temperature to reach 80.

We began our day with bacon, eggs, and toast.

The picture that's worth a thousand words. - A cold start

We cast off our shore lines at  10:00 and with Damn Dink Too in tow, we headed out into the Caloosahatchee River one last time as we begin our adventure south.  The haze had yet to burn off and the winds were nonexistent, so the river was glass.  That didn’t last long, however.  It is Sunday and all of the weekend boater hit the wide open waterways which allows for screaming speed and tremendous wakes.  At times, the trip from Fort Myers to Estro Island, on and around which is Fort Myers Beach, reminded

The coast is lined with these buildings

us of traveling I-95 on a spring break weekend.  This whole area is tremendously built up.  

Our route took us along Matanzas Pass which runs between Estero Island and the mainland.  In the Ft. Myers Beach area, there is a huge mooring field in which are parked hundreds of boats.  The last time we were here, we were amazed by the number of abandoned derelict boats in this

We did see a number of nice boats in the anchorage.

area.  It appears that some authority has cleaned house because we saw no boats that appeared to be abandoned.  There were, however, a number of them that had been tucked back into various nooks  as we passed south of the city.

Approaching the south eastern end of Estero Island, we had a decision.  From the end to Marco Island, there is no inland passage so we either passed through the Big Carlos Pass and into the open Gulf or we seek out a anchorage and spend the night.  It was approaching 3:00 when we arrived at Big Carlos so we opted to

call it a day.  We swung east into the huge Estero Bay searching for just that right spot.  Amazingly, this big expanse of water is for the most part no more than a couple of feet deep.  We followed a narrow windy channel fairly deep into the bay where we found a small island behind which we were well protected from the wind. 

Burgers cooken' on the grill

We broke out the grill and created some fine burgers that we accompanied with cheesy grits.  After dinner, we put the  Honda engine onto Damn Dink Too and went exploring.  The first island to the east of our anchorage turned out to be Mound Key.  As we approached the island, we saw and entered a small passage that appeared to go nowhere in particular.  Probably 50 yards, the passage turned to the right into a

Passage into Mound Key

small opening where, on the shore, was a sign informing all comers that this is an archeological site. While we were checking out the sign, a small fishing boat with two young couples joined us and told us that the island has a trail and kiosks describing the history.  We decided to take off our shoes and wade onto the island for a bit of exercise.

The first inhabitants of the island were the Calusa who are assumed to be descendants of the first people to have arrived in Florida about 12,000 years ago.  By the time the Spanish arrived in the 1500’s, the Calusa society had been established for some 2000 years with a well developed government and religion.

Photo of Cuban Rancho settlement

The Spanish attempted to convert them to Christianity, however, their will was evidently strong and they were able to resist. As tensions built, the Calusa finally decided to burn their villages and leave, followed soon thereafter by the Spanish.

In the 1700s, Cuban fishermen of Spanish descent came to the island and established Cuban Ranchos.  The native Americans that remained joined the Cubans and became known as Spanish Indians.  These peoples are considered to be a true creole culture and the ancestors of the Spanish Indians of Florida today.

There were no obvious signs of past civilization on Mound Key today. 

It was a pleasant walk on the crushed shell path.  We did see a number of interesting plants including huge stands of long “leaved” cactus.  We also came upon a flight of delicate black and yellow butterflies. I attempted to take a picture but they were quite shy.   

Back at the boat, we cleaned up the dinner dishes and hit the sack at around 9:00 new time.