Thunderstorms were forecast again for today so we decided to get out early (well relatively so) and head off to Lovers Key which we failed to get to last week because of the accident which delayed our journey.
Lovers Key is located on the thin finger of an island called Ft Myers Beach, The park covers an area of inland waterway, mangrove and a beach so there is something for all. Eunice went off walking on one of the trails, Paula and Sally went off to sunbathe on the beach and Lou me and Jessica hired a canoe and went in search of alligators.
Although the rain never came, it was definitely more humid today and with temperatures still in the low 80s, a little uncomfortable for the boat crew as there was no shelter out on the water.
The boat ride started of quietly with only the fish seeming to want to brave the heat. They were in fine jumping form with leaps of a good half a metre out of the water on occasions. Too difficult to photograph though as you never knew where they would appear next. We did meet another couple in a kayak later on and noticed one particular fish making continued efforts to jump right into their boat.
After about 3/4 hour we turned the boat round and headed back only to be called into the bank by Eunice whose trail had taken her close to the water. She told us that another couple she had been talking to had seen a couple of manatees a little earlier and so we should keep an eye open.
Only a few minutes later and we noticed ripples in the water followed by Loch Ness Monster type humps breaking the surface. Moving in a bit closer and it was obvious we had found our manatees. These are big creatures (easily as long as our 4 seater canoe), but very gentle. We just let the boat drift and they came to us, swimming alongside, in front and even underneath the boat. I put my hand in the water at one point and one popped its head out long enough for me to scratch the tip of its nose, Jessica managed the same a few moments later. These are fascinating animals and it's easy to see why Iain and Lucy love them so much (they have even adopted their own, Betsie, which they went to see today).
We lunched at the Beached Whale on Ft Myers Beach and then came home for tea.
Thanksgiving (which is on Thursday) usually marks the start of Christmas celebrations in America and we'd noticed a couple of houses nearby being dressed up in Christmas lights. So after tea we had a walk round the estate in search of Christmas spirit. Not much more than we'd noticed earlier, but we did see lightning in the clouds to the north, so perhaps the thunderstorms will reach us tomorrow.
Oh, nearly forgot..
We have a neighbour - a little rabbit that lives under the step outside the pool area. He/she is very timid, but if you peep round the corner very quietly first thing in the morning it's usually sat there. If you magnify the photo below you should be able to see it ..
and thanks to Tone for all the information, although I'm not sure Jess believes you about the snake not being poisonous!
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