Cayo Costa State Park,Fl Pelican Bay

Our first stop heading north up the west coast of Florida was an anchorage called Pelican Bay right in Cayo Costa State Park. We were really looking forward to this anchorage because it was recommended by many cruisers. One of the really wonderful things about this area, is that as we were travelling up the coast the water became the aqua color, such as what you think when you say Florida. It was amazingly crystal clear, you could see plant life and the fish swimming.

It was a little tricky getting into the anchorage because there is a sand bar that crosses the entrance. Thanks to several MTOA ers with great directions we had no problem finding our spot to anchor. So, after settling in, we took the dinghy down and ventured into shore to explore.

Couldn't believe how many people were on this island for we found that they camp out in both tents and one room cabins. No vehicles are on the island except for the rangers and the only way visitors can get there is by boat. There is a ferry that comes in or as we did on your own boat.

Cayo Costa is about 9 miles long and 1 mile wide. The roads are white sand packed down. No houses except for the ranger station and dense foliage of Oak and Palm and they are replanting a few Australian Pine that were lost during hurricane Charlie.We walked the mile across to the Gulf of Mexico and enjoyed the beach and shelling. Elle is getting quite the collection. There are wild animals which we never saw, and an array of birds, which we did see. No houses except for the ranger stations, and lots of dense foliage. It is nature at its best.

The winds kind of increased making our crossing the Boca Grande Outlet not so nice, so we stayed a few extra nights because we were very well protected. Suffice it to say, we enjoyed our stay there.One morning even Dick put on his chef' hat and made a wonderful breakfast. We made several excursions to shore and would recommend Coya Costa as an excellent anchorage and interesting place to visit.Our next stop is another anchorage and beach which we will tell you about in our next entry.