The Real Florida

I just returned from one of the most unique vacations of my life. I have always sought solitude. Disney World is neat, but for me, real magic is an afternoon on a beach where I can't see another soul in any direction. While spending a week on North Captiva Island, Florida, I found two such places… the Florida State Park on the southern end of North Captiva Island and the island of Cayo Costa.

To get to either of these locations, you need a boat. We rented a house on North Captiva Island and had to take a ferry from Pine Island to get there. There are no cars on North Captiva. Everyone, from renters and residents to staff members, drives golf carts on sandy paths that connect the homes and few businesses. To get to the "geopark" on North Captiva, a golf cart will only get you close, as a hike of roughly a mile is required along a sandy path through the typical Florida scrub. But unlike so much of Florida, this pristine area is perfectly undeveloped. In the place of condos and hi-rise developments are seagrapes, palm trees, and over a mile of beach covered inches thick in seashells.

A few miles north of North Captiva Island is Cayo Costa. We reached this beauty by rented boat. The Florida DNR maintains a free dock for tour vessels and private boats in a sheltered cove on the intercoastal waterway side of the island. The park rangers also provide a shuttle from the dock to the Gulf of Mexico side of the island. There are primitive cottages and campsites on Cayo Costa, but there is no electricity, no paved roads, and no air conditioning. Instead, there are nine miles of undeveloped beached.

A twenty minute hike from where the shuttle dropped us off, we reached a finger of sand stretching out into the Gulf of Mexico. There were gulls and terns lining the shore. Oystercatchers picked at the freshly beached sea urchins that littered the shore. Several small sharks swam within a few feet of the surf. And lying everywhere in the one to two feet of water were all manner of seashells and sanddollars.

Cayo Costa has an interesting history. In the 1700s, the Cayo Costa was supposedly home to the legendary pirate Gasparilla. Much of his treasure was never found. Two hundred years ago the island served as a naval outpost, a Cuban fishing village and later as a quarantine station for immigrants entering Florida through Boca Grand Pass. Around this time, Cayo Costa was also home to a sizeable brothel. I guess fishermen and sailors alike needed entertainment, too.

Florida bills Cayo Costa as "the real Florida." Certainly, the state's legislature is to be commended for protecting these pristine areas. While so much of Florida is covered with high-rise developments and concrete, to me, the treasure here is the opportunity to walk these beaches isolated from the world.