Black Mangrove

One of the many things I enjoy about  Cayo Costa is the botany. Today I photographed the flowering black mangrove tree. This tree uses the salt water and releases the salt through it's leaves. If you look close you can see the salt on the leaf. The underside of the leaf is a pale color. This is from the salt. In the months of June and July the tree can be very productive for honey. The honey is clear white. In the early 1900's there was a gentleman who lived on Cayo Costa with a large family who collected the honey from the black mangrove. I have always liked the location of his long gone house, an ancient shell mound. The vistas are breath taking but sleeping is hard. This is one of the many things I enjoy about Cayo Costa.

Drifting on The Tide

Twenty four hours before the full moon at the southern end of Cayo Costa, I shut the engine off and drifted with the tide. I watched frigate birds dogfight, sea turtles breath, blue crabs drift, jellyfish do what they do and puffer fish puff.  Twenty four hours before the full moon at the southern end of Cayo Costa.

Ladies from the Lone Star State

I enjoyed the company of Cheryl and Kim, veteran shellers with over 20 years of experience shelling Cayo Costa. The first spot we stopped by on the gulf side of Cayo was brief. The next spot by the lagoon, Kim found a beautiful arrowhead sand dollar and a few sand dollar's. Cheryl snorkeled and enjoyed the water. We then traveled to the flats. The tide was very low and the shells found were..lightning whelk, horseshoe crabs, horse conchs, pear whelks, razor clams and  many in between. The flats were alive and many nice shells were collected.  I look forward to exploring with the ladies from the Lone Star State and hearing their stories. Great trip great people.

Walk on the Beach

Today I walked the beach on Cayo Costa, where the ocean meets the land. I was looking for footprints in the sand.  I could hear the ocean singing as I walked along. I saw no footprints, only the ocean singing. I walked as the ocean sang.  Here are the photographs.

Capt. Brian's Back Porch

Somebody recently asked about my shell collection. Here are some photos of my back porch. These shells were collected in the last two years. Some were from Panama, most were collected in southwest Florida. The shells were found at low tide and high tide after winter storms and light winds. The beauty of shelling is that you never know what you will find. Kind of like my back porch or garage.

Stand Up Paddle Boarding

I hope you enjoy the video. I am still learning with the new video camera. This was a cool spot I went through two Augusts ago on a kayak. I look forward to exploring the beaches in the Everglades with the paddle board.

Photos From May

Here are some photo's from May. The month went buy fast. I spent 28 days on the water, 30 if you count the last two I spent camping alone on a remote area on Cayo Costa paddle boarding. I enjoyed meeting new people and learning from all the people I met.