Cayo Costa

The entrance to the harbor is described in the cruising guides as tricky but it was no problem with a chart plotter other than that deep water was very close to a sand bank so I was motoring right next to people beachcombing. The anchorage is large and there were a variety of boats there already

I put the kayak together and went in to the park dock. The floating dock was convenient except when 2 or more people got on the same side it started to tip alarmingly.

The park charges $1 per person per day on the honor system. I did not realize this and had no money on the first trip. They have a gift shop and rent bikes that are in very bad condition. On the next trip I bought some post cards and a large Trevis tumbler with the Cayo Costa logo. These things are a tremendous advance and worthy of a Nobel prize as they hold a full can of soda, rum, lime and ice without overflowing.

The island has lots of paths and the one across to the Gulf seemed to go on forever but it is only 0.75 miles

Near the Gulf side there are camp grounds and a few cabins for rent. There are also a few private homes on part of the island.

There were a number of people fishing and beachcombing

Each morning I woke to splashing sounds as large schools of small fish congregated around the back of my boat. They did not seem to be interested in anything I tried to feed them. Every once in a while a pelican would dive on fish close to the boat. This made quite a bang when I was below and alarmed me the first few times

One afternoon I looked out and saw this guy stuck in the shallows of the entrance. Maybe it is not so easy to get in. A towboat came by but he did not accept a tow and remained there well into the night. He put up a sail and moved a few feet but was still stuck when I went to bed. In the morning he was off and anchored outside the harbor.