Heading over to Cayo Costa Island on a Park Service Boat
Camp Site with Sleep Tent and Kitchen Tent
View of Coastal Savannah from Kitchen Tent
Morning Coffee
Why do I feel like I am someplace other than Florida? Africa keeps coming to mind. Is it our tent with its screening pulled back framing a view reminiscent of a sandy, palmy grassland in Kenya or Tanzania? Or the lack of electricity and running water? The unconditioned air that I'm not conditioned to? The quietness takes me far away; can this really be the States? No cars or machinery to break the sounds of the sea, birds, and swaying palm fronds. The night is a dark studded jewel like it is suppose to be and the day a vast scape of changing light and shadows. Wow, this is out of.....where are we?
Cayo Costa, a Florida State Park, is where Dan and I have chosen to do volunteer work for a month this winter. Cayo Costa is an undeveloped barrier island 6 miles off the southwest coast of Florida in the Gulf of Mexico. You can only get here by boat. We do a few hours of work per week and we get to stay in our tent for free. And free we are. Lovin' it!
I've been strolling around barefoot these hot days with a piece of fabric wrapped around my naked body. I feel like an African woman, especially when I balanced shower gear on my head for fun on my way to and from the outdoor shower (another story). It occurs to me after several days that this little "sun dress" I secure (and not so securely sometimes, by amature accident) with twists and knots around my chest is a piece of fabric I purchased years ago at an international fair in Toledo. I examine it further and find a label in the corner which reads "Printed in Tanzania." Could it be....the print is rubbing off on me?
Getting Cheryl Out There
About Me
- Water's Edge
- I spent 25 years as a respiratory therapist and at age 50 switched careers in order to spend more time outdoors and renew a dwindling spirit. Reviving my interest in the environment and my college degree in biology, I started and have operated a watergardening business since 2000 and became a certified interpretive guide with the Metroparks of the Toledo Area leading nature walks, backpacking trips for women, and sustainability projects. I have 2 children, Devin (age 25) and Livia (age 30) who were homeschooled until junior high. My husband, Dan, has been my adventure inspiration, both in travel and raising children.