Day 72

Start: 8:15 AM- Bonita Beach, FL
Finish: 4:30 PM - Cape Romano (south of Marco Island, FL)
Time: 8:15
Daily dist: 36 miles
Total dist: 2,030 miles
Companions: None
Weather: Beautiful upper 60’s partly cloudy and little wind
Notes: The first “Florida like” day so far. Ended up at a place where I’ve camped before with friends Jeff and Vic.

I woke in a bed for the seventh day in a row wondering if I even remember how to put my tent up. This streak of people to stay with has been fun but it does require a lot of energy to pull completely on and off the water every day. When I’m camping I only take what I need for the evening out of the boat and the rest stays packed. When somebody picks me up I end up taking every little thing I can out of the Ikkuma. That means that I have to keep track of it all as well as re-pack everything when I get back to the water. When I go home with people I also can’t resist staying up to chat and get to know them which is some of the most fun I’ve had on the trip. Of course evenings spent visiting with my hosts have been denying me much needed sleep. I’m not complaining though, the reward of new friends, showers, and home cooked meals makes it all worthwhile.

Larry and Kathy saw me off this morning

Larry and Kathy gave me a ride back to the beach this morning and we found a restaurant staff member to unlock the storage yard where the Ikkuma was parked over night. Larry helped me carry the kayak to the water and while I stuffed the hatches full of all my belongings, Kathy fielded questions from passers by on the beach. During the short half hour we were on the beach two more signatures were added to the already crowded deck of my kayak.

---

easy navigation “keep land on your left and stop after 30 miles”

Today was the first day in the entire trip where I started out not wearing the Tec-Tour Jacket. In fact I went the entire day in perfect paddling conditions. Just enough wind to keep me cool and sunshine to brighten up the day. Navigating today was as easy as it gets as well. My brother had joked that all I needed to do to navigate on this trip was to keep land on my left and keep turning left. Today, with an almost perfectly straight run from Bonita Beach to Cape Romano, it was that simple. The first 2/3 of the trip followed a very developed section of coast full of multi story condos. The south end of Marco Island however marked the abrupt end of the populated coast line I’ve been following since last week and the beginning of the wilderness of the 10,000 Islands and coastal Florida Everglades.

abrupt change from city to wilderness

foam dome house at Cape Romano

What made finding this place easy too was the fact that I’ve already camped here. About eight years ago when I was living in Fort Lauderdale I came over with Vic Sorensen and Jeff Bingham and we launched out of Goodland and camped here for a night. It’s a beautiful spot and what makes it most noteworthy is the ruined shell of a house on stilts that is falling into the ocean. The house (known as “The Castle” by some of the locals) consists of a series of interconnected half dome structures made of white painted foam. I have no idea how old the structure is only that it’s slowly loosing the battle with mother nature and is sinking into the sea. With the large arched top windows and open air decks, one can only imagine how interesting the home must have been back in the day.

---

I did remember how to set up my tent just fine and enjoyed a pleasant dinner just before a small shower blew through the area. Now I’m plotting my course through the Everglades over the next few days. Some of it familiar territory from past trips I’ve done in the area. Again, I don’t know what kind of cell service I’ll have once I leave here so be patient if the blog posts fall a day or two behind. I’ll get you caught up once I reach civilization on the other side. My friend and statistician Neil will probably still be posting my daily stats so you can at least keep track of my progress even if I can’t post.

home sweet home