Jewel Beach

We signed up for a kayak trip to 10,000 islands on the west coast of Florida. We were assigned to Jewel Beach which is six miles out and the closest campsite available. Alex was our guide. The group includes him, us, and a dad with two teenaged boys. At first Alex had us in separate kayaks. We requested a tandem kayak which was a GOOD CHOICE. We took off after 11. We stopped at a dock at 12:30 for lunch on Sandfly Island. The others walked around Sandfly Island. I ran into a wall of mosquitoes and noseeums and wisely decided to wait in the breeze on the dock. They came back full of bites. Then we proceeded to Jewel Beach. We had to pass a wide body of water. Whitecaps were coming at us. Waves poured into our kayak at my waist. The tide was with us but the winds were against us and the winds were tougher. We were way behind in our kayak. If we had tipped Alex probably wouldn't even know about it for awhile and then it would take him ten minutes to travel to our aid. After many hours of slogging through the waves we finally arrived a Jewel Beach. If it wasn't for the sight of six dolphins swimming with us the paddle would have been a diseaster. For some reason people put conch shells on a dead tree on Jewel Beach.

The sand on the beach was fine white sand which stuck to all exposed skin. We set up our tents which were already full of sand. We rolled out our sleeping bags. He served us pasta with cherry tomatoes and avocado and Gatorade. Later, after I was in bed, he served s'mores with peanut butter cups instead of chocolate. For breakfast we had bagels with egg, cheese and sausage. I didn't take the sausage. He said the wind is usually against him both ways. I wondered why we chose to go with this guy. Sure enough, the wind was against us all the way back. I had put my sleeping bag behind my seat this time for added back support and was much more comfortable. We were glad to be done kayaking.