Peace, Love and Seashells
When we cross the bridge from Ft. Myers to Sanibel Island, we leave our cares behind and we never cross that bridge again until it's time to leave. Time on the island is too precious and it comes but once each year. On one of our many visits, we discovered Radhika Miller's Sunlet Reverie and that has become our Sanibel anthem and we like to play it each time we cross the bridge. Miller's whimsical flute embodies the lightness and the joy we feel living in the moment, enjoying a slower pace and shelling.
We returned in time for a sunset stroll at low tide. We discovered an abundance of large live horse conchs in the tidal pools, and many other live specimens.
There were more grandaddy horse conchs than we could count. We introduced ourselves and placed them gently back into the tidal pool, out of harms way. Live shelling is illegal and truly there is no reason you would need to destroy living creatures for their shells, as there is such an abundance of shells on Sanibel. On our first day of shelling, we found an inordinate number of pristine tulip shells that clearly had not spent much time tumbling in the surf.
A lettered olive and I shake hands.
An Atlantic giant cockle offered us a big smile.
A delicate sea star nestled in a soft bed of sand and shells.
Peace, Love & Seashells . . . it's great to be back!
The sun sank ever so quietly below the horizon, setting the pace for the days ahead. And, each subsequent day we watched the sunset before returning to our pied-à-terre. There is a sort of after glow that continues for about another thirty minutes and it was always peaceful sitting on our balcony and watching the light fade to black. The temps were mild on this visit, with delicate breezes sweeping accross the sand. Breezes that made it possible for us to be out later without fear of encountering no see'ems, and the milder temps enabled us to keep our air conditioning off much of the time so that we could enjoy the seaview from our room and listen to the sounds of the surf.
Our gulf view balcony at the West Wind Inn.
On day two we did something a little different, in that we left our West Gulf beach and went shelling along the East Gulf lighthouse beach. We heard that the illusive wentletraps could be found there. Wenteltraps are quite small, no longer than 1", and fragile. In all the years we have shelled on Sanibel, we had not found a single one. Knowing where to look and that they were tiny, made it possible to find four! There are all sorts of contraptions for shelling, but we have had the most success with this new one that we found at the surf shop, the sand dipper. Dale took this video with his phone one morning while shelling during a receding tide.
This video demonstrates ideal shelling conditions. The shells have been loosened by the receding tide, and visibility is good because the surf is relatively calm. But, even when visibility is poor, you can scoop shells and find all manner of tiny shells which would have been very difficult to find otherwise.
On another day, I used my dipper to blindly scoop shells from the receding surf at Blind Pass (below), and discovered a one-tooth simnia (family ovulidae). Generally, you would find them attached to sea whips washed up on the beach at the high tide line. The postcard below is a great aerial view of Blind Pass. On the Sanibel side (foreground) you can shell along the shore or on the sandbars when the tide is out. On the Captiva side of the pass, there is a jetty where people like to dig in a huge pile of shells. Personally, I prefer to sift through the shells in the surf. Low tides here can reveal Junonia's and other rare shells. There can be a very strong current at times, so take care if you plan to shell here.
High tides are not the best time for shelling, so if you are planning a visit and you want to shell, refer to a tide chart before setting a date. There is something called a negative tide that is the best time to shell, though if you plan to go well offshore you might want to have a kayak or canoe just in case. But just about any low tide will yield some very nice finds.
Dale sitting at the edge of the big shell pile at Blind Pass.
My favorite spot was at the water's edge (just in front of Dale), sifting in the surf which was really raucous the day I took this photo, an extreme shelling experience. Dale's shoe held our shell finds.
Under the Blind Pass bridge on the Sanibel side of Blind Pass.
The beach at Blind Pass on the Sanibel side, it was high tide.
Later in the week we were joined by my grandfather, who still lives in Miami, and son Adam who was visiting from New Jersey.
We had a great lunch at Gramma Dot's in the Sanibel Marina. There are so many really good choices there. The fried oyster sandwich is one of the house favorites, and now that I have had one I understand why. But, the key lime pie is really the best I've had since moving to Georgia.
Gramma Dot's is an open air restaurant and the weather was just perfect for it during our visit in early May! Pap is an old Navy diver, stationed in the Florida Keys and Cuba back in the day. We thought he might enjoy the marina atmosphere here.
Later that evening, as the sun was setting, we decided to drive over to Captiva for dinner at the Captiva Cantina. This is a very rustic dining establishment, but you cannot beat their fresh fish and shrimp tacos. We love their plantains too! On the way over, while driving on the Sanibel-Captiva road, I saw this big gator slip out of the preserve and flee across the highway to the fire station parking lot. The guys saw this as a photo opportunity, but I only consented to stop once they promised not to get out of the car. Gators can move very quickly. The police were dispatched to remove gator, but by then we were tucking into our guacamole appetizer.
The following afternoon we decided to have a picnic on Tarpon Bay before our sunset cruise and wildlife tour. We stopped by Bailey's and picked up some freshly made deli sandwiches and a nice bottle of wine, and under the shade of an ancient ficus tree we feasted. I don't recommend this location after sunset as the no see'ems are really bad here. In fact, after the cruise you're going to want to run to your car!
You can rent canoes and explore, or take any number of tours. We had taken this sunset cruise previously and thought Pap would enjoy it. That pontoon boat in the background right is the one that takes you on a leisurely cruise around the bay where you can see exotic birds nesting on small islands, grazing manatees and pods of dolphins feeding.
Red Mangroves
Snowy Egrets and pelicans
Sunset over Tarpon Bay.
The following day we took a much different kind of boat cruise on the Sanibel Thriller! Hold on to your hat and sunglasses . . .
For reasons no one has adequately explained, these Bottlenose Dolphins seem to love surfing in the boat wake. The Thriller attracked two pods of about eight or ten dolphins which followed us quite a ways.
It wasn't easy saying goodbye to Pap and Adam. Hope you can join us the same time next year guys!
Dale and I had two more days of island time and we spent a lot of it right here, contemplating the universe (and shelling).
Dale and I have been visiting Sanibel since we were in our twenties, and we could always count on an afternoon storm brought on by the heat of the day. But with temps being so mild this week, there had not been a single storm until our last day.
Earlier that day:
Here are some of my Shelling Tips:
1. Familiarize yourself with a tide chart and plan to be out on the beach before low tide. My favorite time is about two hours before the low tide, and I like to take a long walk on the West Gulf beach beyond the West Wind Inn, then I shell it both ways because new treasure keep revealing itself.
2. Know what types of shells are available and familiarize yourself with them so you know what to look for. Florida's Seashells, A Beachcomber's Guide, is my favorite shell identification guide. It has large clear photos and useful information. There are hundreds of varieties on the island.
3. A scooping tool of some sort is helpful. My favorite new tool is the Sand Dipper Jr. On Sanibel Island you will find them at the surf shop in the Bailey's Shopping Center. They have many other varieties as well if you prefer.
4. You need a shell bag, one with drainage preferrably. I have a new one that has two compartments, including one for tiny or delicate shells, as well as an adjustable shoulder strap. Wearing it over your shoulder will keep your hands free.
5. Sunglasses and visor, depending on the time of day. I always see better with the sun at my back.
6. Flip flops or beach shoes to protect your feet.
7. Give yourself plenty of time, 2 or 3 days is good, but a week is better. You might also try one of the shelling tours that are offered on the island. Be sure that it's low tide when you take your tour for best results.
A few pics of the shells we found:
The large bivalves on the outer ring are Atlantic Giant Cockles. There are an abundance of them from juvenille to 5 inches. The univalves in the outside ring are juveille Fighting Conchs, and these are also quite abundant. On the right side in the second ring you will see some Tulip shells. These are generally less abundant, though we found quite a few on this visit. I love pectin shells, brightly colored scallops. I didn't find as many on this visit.
I made a shell specimen box before I left for Sanibel, using my She Sells Seashells collection of stamps.
This box has some less plentiful shells, such as a lightening welk, Florida worm snail, Shark's Eye or Moon Snail, Murex, Alphabet Cones, Florida Cones, Paper Fig, Sharp Ribbed Drills, Round Rib Scallop (upper valve), Cayenne Keyhole Limpet, and those tiny Wenteltraps.
This is my island journal, which I also decorated with shells. There are some shell watercolors in here that I am still working on. Perhaps a peek at a later date when they are more developed.
Shell Shops:
There are a number of shells shops on the island, including She Sells Seashells. That one inspired the title of my stamp collection She Sells Seashells, but my favorite is Sanibel Seashell Industries, which I regret did not appear on my radar until the last couple of years. This shop is more like a natural history museum and less like a kitchy tourist souvenir shop. I highly recommend it! It's a family run business and they are very friendly and can answer absolutely any question you have about local shells and world shells, and even give you some shelling tips. We always take home a few specimens to complete our collections and they had some shells from a recently acquired collection, that of a very old woman who had shelled the island her entire life. I was happy to add a few of her lovely shells to my collection.
A sea creature that someone created with pen shells. I have never seen so many Stiff penshells! When we arrived the beach was thick with them and they are not particularly nice to look at and you really don't want to step on them, ouch!
Thank you Dale for taking all these great photos, except for this one. It was so nice of that gull to fly by at just the right moment.
Thanks for shelling with me. I hope you enjoyed my island tour!
If you have any questions, e-mail me at: [email protected]
