Sanibel Island

Sun in the sky and salt in the air -- the way it ought to be. We figured a tour of Sanibel Island on bicycles is a good way to enjoy it.


On the advice of the guy at Billy's Bikes, we passed up scooters and segways in favor of bikes and were glad we did. The island has separate paths for bikes along most of its roads. 

Our first "wildlife" encounter was a gecko. These guys are fast, once they give up the "freeze" disguise. Sarah had a turtle encounter at the lighthouse -- not sure of its attitude to humans, she kept her distance but still got some good pictures. We're told it is likely a box turtle. We also saw a dolphin but it was pretty elusive and difficult to photograph.

Cool plant life, too.

We biked up to the top of the island and checked out the lighthouse and beach. As you can see from the lighthouse plaque, the island was first populated in 1832 -- or so say the Caucasians who created the plaque. In fact, it has a considerable history prior to that time. You can read more at either of these links. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanibel_Island

http://sanibeladvisor.com/sanibel-history/

Sanibel has done a good job of managing growth and development. Roughly half of the island is a wildlife refuge, with additional lands set aside each year to prevent more development. The wealthy who make their homes here have settled well away from the central roadways.


On our way back to the up the coast we saw an old cemetery. This was the oldest tombstone there. 

Even with a stop for travel fuel (AKA ice cream) 

we only made it about half the length of the island before we decided to get in some beach and ocean time, spreading our towels at Tarpon Bay. 


The rest of the afternoon was all about walking the beach, cavorting (pretty much Sarah cavorted and I photographed), taking photographs and waiting for sunset. It was a beautiful afternoon.

It was dark as we rode our bikes back to the car and headed home pleasantly exhausted.