My Venture to the Historic Cottage and Matanzas Pass

The Estero Bay Historic Cottage

      Our trip to the Estero Bay Historic Cottage taught me a lot about the history of the land around us.  It was so interesting to hear about the past of Fort Myers Beach and Estero Island, especially from the mouth of a woman who was actually there to experience it all.  Our guide was so passionate about the history of her neighborhood and I could not have chosen a better person to learn about it all from.  One fact I thought was especially interesting was how devastating Hurricane Charlie was in 2004 to Southwest Florida.  I had no idea it was that destructive to the land over here, as it had such a traumatic impact.  I would expect to hear news like that years ago, but I figured structures were strong enough these days to withstand hurricanes like Charlie.  It was fascinating hearing about this woman's life and her perspectives on the nature of Southwest Florida.  She was charming and I really enjoyed the time we spent in the cottage with her.

The Mantanzas Pass Preserve

      Here are some photos I took while walking along the Mangrove Pass of the Mantanzas Preserve!

The entrance to the preserve

The map of the trail

The water was brown! Yuck!

Beautiful black mangroves

The fingers of the black mangrove trees
sticking out of the ground

Our class walking along the pass

Too bad there were no sea grapes so we could try
the homemade jelly!

Sea oats

Looking up at the sea oats

These red mangroves really do look like they're walking!

Fungus growing on the mangroves

A dry path along the mangroves where water normally flows in

Can't believe this boardwalk was made completely of
recycled materials!

The estuary

Watching the boats pass by

Looking out over the water

The seeds of the mangrove trees hanging above

      And that's the end!  I enjoyed the walk along Mantanzas Pass Preserve.  It was a beautiful area and it was nice to have a tour guide, Ariel, who was very knowledgable, but didn't torture us by making us stand by the mosquitoes too long!  All in all, it was a very nice trip that was definitely more informative than reading these facts from a text book.