Happy Birthday Gifts: Cayo Costa

For Fran another year begins. As we keep telling folks we meet, life begins at 60.  Well, we're beginning it in style.

Cayo Costa is a state park with development kept to a minimum. There are no houses and the only electricity is at the Ranger Station. It is accessible only by boat and offers a ferry service to shuttle visitors from the bay side dock to the gulf side camping and picnic area. As with many islands here the bay side is mangrove covered and the gulf side is a stretch of sandy beaches and dunes.

Cayo Costa, a miles long stretch of white sand beach. An oasis of calm.

The quietness of the location shapes our activities for the day. We paddle from one side of the island to the other, hike and look for shells on the beach. We all move at a slow pace, each of us enjoying the day our own way.

Roger is a magician, a master of delight. With his trained biologist eye and his sense of wonder he opens our eyes to the world around us. He brings us treasures from the land and sea; he evokes images in his camera. Shells of all sizes and shapes appear on the campsite fence railing. Arranged by type, color and size, each has a name and story. Songbird images, birds seen in early morning walks and shared over tea at dusk. Those same birds that I heard on my walks, but did not see before they skittered away. Images of wading birds, common in their numbers, but in close-up detail their magnificence is magnified.

With a master stoke, Roger opens our eyes to the world around us. Oh, what have we been missing as we sped through the journey before now? Such a gift to us.