Dale and I are recently home from Sanibel Island where we spent nine days shelling and chilling. The extended forecast called for thunderstorms every single day of our stay, but each morning when I pulled back the curtains in our room it was just another glorious sun-drenched day on the seashore.
From a shelling standpoint, storms are actually a good thing as they wash in shells from deeper waters but even with calm seas there was an abundance of shells and we had no trouble finding the Sanibel Six, conchs, cones, whelks, tulips, olives and murex. Cones are typically more scarce but we came home with a large alphabet cone, three Florida cone shells, a nugmeg, a beautiful intact worm shell, and some very colorful scallop shells. I also found this spectacular red finger sponge washed up on the beach.
We did most of our shelling in the mornings, walking several miles on the beach, averaging about five to six miles round trip per day. After shelling we enjoyed a picnic under our beach umbrella, and caught up on our reading and napping.
We have been visiting Sanibel for the last 22 years and we keep coming back because we dearly love the island. Sanibel is unlike any other Florida resort destination, with more than half its land, 5000 acres, a dedicated nature preserve and bird sanctuary. One of the things that also makes it unique is that unlike other barrier islands, Sanibel is positioned east and west of the mainland allowing for bountiful shell deposits. For that reason, its gulf-rimmed beaches rank among the top shelling locales in the northern and western hemispheres. I have always felt a spiritual connection to this island, possibly because I was raised on old Florida’s sun-drenched shores and spent all my time in and around water and Sanibel is still the Florida of my youth, vintage Florida. Thankfully, native Sanibellans have done everything possible to keep it undeveloped and chaste.
There are plenty of ways to keep busy on Sanibel, but during our stays we tend to keep things simple. On this most recent visit, in addition to shelling along the gulf shore, we embarked on a couple of ocean explorations. One evening we drove over to Southseas Island resort on Captiva a couple of hours before sunset for a relaxed evening cruise. Dale captured the sunset and some of our experience on film just as the sun descended below the distant horizon. We were afforded a sizzling array of carmine, coral and crimson but we did not see the ellusive green flash, maybe someday . . .
We also jet skied over to Cayo Costa island off Boca Grande early one morning. Being on jet skis was certainly more work than sailing. However, it was a blissful day on a serene Gulf of Mexico and skimming across its waters was breathtaking. On the trip over to Cayo Costa we were able to hug the shore and see some of the exclusive islands otherwise only accessible via boat or small plane. On the way back, to avoid angering the fisherman who were anchored near shore fishing for red fish, we ventured a mile or more offshore. That was certainly exciting! It was high tide on our visit and the shelling was no better on Cayo Costa than on our beach, but I have heard that shelling at low tide is pretty good there so we'll be back another day.
When we were not treasure hunting along the shore or splashing in the Gulf, we also enjoyed visiting the shell shops. The most visible is She Sells Seashells, but the oldest on the island and my absolute favorite is Sanibel Seashell Industries which reads more like a natural history museum than a shop. There is not a question you can ask the owners that they cannot answer whether you are talking local shells or shells from around the world. And, of course, there is also the Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum, which is a touchstone for shellers and we always make a point of visiting when we are on the island. Tower Gallery, an artist cooperative gallery, is another favorite spot. We have been collecting pieces from Tower for ages and I was delighted to find Katie Gardenia using Character Constructions in inventive ways.
Shelling on our beach (West Wind Inn) is so amazing that we have never bothered to shell anywhere else but we decided to be a bit more adventurous this time and shell at Blind Pass. The photo postcard below gives you a bird's eye view of Blind Pass, which is the passage between the islands of Sanibel (below) and Captiva. There is a dangerous current travels between the islands from the bayside to the Gulf of Mexico.
(Blind Pass)
In addition to shellers, fisherman seem to love the island as well. The day we visited there were fisherman on the bridge as well as posted along the shore. A large brown pelican, also a fisherman, was standing there with them just like one of the guys! (I think he has hoping for donations.) On the other side of the pass, on Captiva, there was a man preparing a makeshift alter for a sundown wedding.
Actually the wedding at Blind Pass was one of two weddings that we witnessed. The other was on our stretch of beach, also at sundown, just three people, the bride in a gauzy white dress, her groom, and a woman officiating. Dale laid an offering of shells at their feet as we passed them on our evening stroll.
Thank you for visiting. I hope you enjoyed a taste of Sanibel. If you decide to plan a visit, you might consider coming during the 76th annual Shellabration March 7 - 9, 2013.