Saturday morning we departed Naples and traveled 40 miles to Camp LuLu Key located just outside the northern boundary of the Everglades National Park. LuLu Key is a pretty island with sandy beaches where many kayakers where camped out for the night. The sunset was beautiful as we grilled out on the boat. Although we were directly exposed to The Gulf, we had a peaceful calm nights sleep.
Sunday we traveled another 46 miles to Little Shark River. We went upstream approximately 1/2 mile and dropped the anchor in 13ft of water. We are now deep in the Everglades. This meant no cell service and all alone. We dropped the dinghy and explored the river and some side channels through the mangroves. We saw many birds, a few dolphins and possibly a couple manatee. (not 100% sure on that) In the morning we woke up to low tide. We were now in 8ft of water. Many of the channels we took the dinghy in are now mud. This 5ft tide was the biggest we have seen so far. Not in Grand Haven anymore Toto!
We departed Little Shark River early Monday morning and set a course for the middle Keys. We had following 3ft seas on The Gulf. The ride was a little rough and the Pura Vida wallowed like a pig. 52 miles later we arrived at our anchorage for the night, Tarpon Belly Key. Wow...was this beautiful! We dropped the anchor, took the dinghy for a ride around the island, through some channels and hung out on the island beach.
The water is crystal clear. Before settling in for the night, we pulled the anchor and moved around the corner of the island as the winds were predicted to shift during the night. Another great night for grilling and star gazing!
Tuesday we traveled 32 miles to A&B Marina in Key West. We plan to stay here a month and share our time here with several friends from home. This is the southern most point of our trip. From here we will begin our trip north ...if we can make the boat head that direction!
Beautiful Naples home.
Another beauty!
Camp LuLu Key anchorage. 
Note how calm the Gulf is! Wow!
Little Shark River anchorage at high tide.
Leaving anchorage at low tide.
Off to explore the Everglades.
Cruising through the Mangroves on the dinghy.
Everglades sunset.
One of the channels we explored via dinghy the day before. No getting in there in low tide! (Glad we didn't stay in there too long!)
Tarpon Belly Key anchorage.
Exploring the Keys via dinghy.
Living the dream!
Captain taking sunrise dinghy ride.
Beautiful... glad you made it. We ate at the restaurant right there where you are staying. They had a great happy hour : ) Check out the tarpon off the deck right there too... they are huge ! Oh and don't shop to much .... they have way to many cool shops there. Have a great time with Mom and Randy. Becky
ReplyDeleteWow, what a trip you guys are having!!
ReplyDeleteLove the pictures and the vicarious sharing! Great adventure...take your time coming north. ..sooo [ cold here! Miss the warm!
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