Capt. Brian in the Amazon Circa 2000

 

Last Sunday I had the opportunity to meet Wade Davis and listen to him speak about his most recent book, Into The Silence.  Wade Davis is the author of fifteen books and an award winning anthropologist who is an in resident explorer for National Geographic. He was also a student of my all time favorite ethnobotanist, Richard Evans Schultes. In my eyes, Schultes is the "father of ethnobotany" and one of the greatest plant explorers of all time. In the year 2000 I had the opportunity to travel to the Amazon Rain Forest in Peru and study plants in one of the many areas that Schultes had studied 50 years before.  It was the opportunity of a life time and it was all brought back into focus last Sunday when I met Wade Davis who wrote One River about explorations and discoveries in the Amazon Rain Forest.

Wade Davis inspires me in how I look at plants, people and cultures. 

THANK YOU Mr. Davis!

Twilight on Captiva

Recently I was at one of my old stomping grounds on Captiva. I have not been to that area of the island for a while, at twilight. The sky brought back memories of a Captiva when I just peddled my old red bike to the Island Store and listened to Hazel's stories about times gone by.

Traci And Rob

Traci and her husband Rob spent the day with me exploring and beach combing. The trip started with viewing dolphins just after we left the marina. It was a good start to a great trip. Next we went deep into the mangrove back country and explored. Traci and Rob both enjoyed learning about the mangroves. Then it was off to lunch at the always surperb Tarpon Lodge. After lunch we walked the pre-columbian shell mounds at the Randell Research Center. The remainder of the afternoon was spent beach combing along my favorite beach. Rob spotted a horse conch on the beach as we were cruising by at 20 miles an hour. (Good eye Rob) We covered a lot of beach that afternoon. Traci was a trooper and left no piece of driftwood or puffer fish unturned. Thank you Traci and Rob for the fun  adventures. See you in August at favorite spot number one.

Adventuring South

 

 

I rang in the new year by traveling to places I have never been before. The trip started south of Marco Island in the Ten Thousand Islands. It is a fascinating place that intrigues me even more every time I go there. The more I know the less I understand.  The awe inspiring beauty and the silence is deafening to the ears.  Hundreds of photographs were taken and new places logged in my mind. It was a great shakedown trip for my new compass(first trip for old blue). The compass worked well. Many new courses were plotted and logged. It's always a pleasure to travel just beyond the far horizon.

The Last Full Moon

Steve Earl sang about Copperhead Road as the sun fell into the Gulf of Mexico. I enjoyed the sunset and the last full moon of the year.  Steve kept singing about Copperhead Road and Charlie don't ya know. I look forward to the next moon and exploring farther south without Charlie don't you know.

Happy Holidays

Happy Holidays! 

 This year has been a good year of shelling, photography and exploring.

 Many new shells were collected and new territories explored.

Thank you for being a part of my adventures.

I look forward to many more this year.

Wishing everyone a safe and happy holiday season.

Capt. Brian