The Gulf Of Mexico was clear, warm and bright turquoise at Cayo Costa this week for our iLoveShelling shelling adventure with Captiva Cruises. Just ask snorkelers Sue Ellen, Emma, Grace and Jeff from Louisiana.
Hayla, Hope, Linda and Todd from Tennessee were like little fish as they snorkeled the whole time- fun!
But even before we got to the island, California girls Teri and Allana and the whole boat witnessed…
A DOLPHIN show on the way to Cayo Costa…
Up on the beach, Kurt and Beverly from Minnesota were amazed by the JINGLE SHELLS. Kurt said “This should be called Jingle Beach!”.
Beverly showed me her hand filled with JINGLES along with a fave little SEA URCHIN and colorful COCKLE.
So pretty … and it really is “JINGLE BEACH”. They are everywhere! I picked these up in prob less than a minute.
Mother Nature was really playing a hide and seek game with us since the shells were hidden more than usual. We really had to look high and low to find them but Dick and Yvonne from Indiana did a great job finding the larger ones.
Dick said he looked high and low around the tree roots in the water and found this spectacsheller WHELK then walked along the waters edge to find the rest of these beauties.
It was so nice to meet so many awesome shellers like Cutie Shellooties Diane and Joyce from Sarasota. Joyce found a beautiful WHELK (I showed in the first photo) about the same size as Dick’s WHELK – those LIGHTNING WHELKS must have been twins!
Most of the shells (like COCKLES and SUNRAY VENUS CLAMS) Lindy from South Carolina found were at the waters edge as well.
The “Tweezer family” Deb, Judith, Brennan and Ericca came on our cruise too!
Hmmmm…. those tweezers must turn into a magical wand – a Shell Scepter- because Judith was the only who found a BABYS EAR up high on the beach… oh wait… she found 3!
Carla from Pompano, Florida was as tickled as sea punch to find this piece of DRIFTWOOD to hang her orchids in. I couldn’t even get the whole thing in the photo but it looked exactly like a SWORDFISH with a long sharp snout and knot for an eye. Awesome BEACH BLING.
And talk about awesome BEACH BLING… Terry, Sue, Rich and Micki found the coolest treasures…
They were searching in the high tide wrack line and found SEA PEARLS, SEA URCHINS and the funniest sea toys- 2 SHARKS and a Bunny! I told them the story of the LEGO Beach Bling (CLICK HERE) but of course we should always pick up any of these toys even if we don’t keep for our “Kicks and Giggles Jar”.
This is Fintastic Beach Bling!
PS- Be safe everybunny.
Join me on an iLoveShelling Shelling Adventure. For dates and info CLICK HERE
Ha ha! Great photos Pam!
Pam, thank you for keeping me connected to the beach! Our precious dog has cancer, and we are staying home to take of her, so your posts are the only way I get to see the beach for now. Keep them coming, and thank you, Pam, from the bottom of my heart!
Oh Pam, you crack me up. :)
Looks like another great trip.
P. S. I love the shark photo!
We were there on May 21, and the water was rough and not very clear. My daughter was rather disappointed that she couldn’t go snorkeling. However, she did find a seahorse that had washed up on shore, and she put it back into the water to see if it was still alive. It didn’t move, and she was showing me this perfect specimen when the park ranger drove by. We asked him if she could take it (plus was showing it off!) , and he was fine with that since it was dead. We asked him about it since we were from Colorado, and she didn’t want to get in trouble. Then he went on to tell us that about other stuff we couldn’t take such as driftwood because that was illegal. DRIFTWOOD!?!? I asked him about taking pieces that had washed up on shore, and he said “no, because this is a state park, driftwood is illegal to take. Otherwise, we would have people coming here and cutting down wood, and taking driftwood off the beach to use for firewood or to sell.”
Apparently there is a high dollar demand for driftwood! Who knew! So, just a warning to those who go to Cayo Costa, that besides live sea life, it is also illegal to take driftwood. You can get fined for both.
Glad you guys had a great time on that island!
Omigosh Kristin, I’ve never heard that! I’ve always told people that u can’t (or shouldn’t) take big hunks because of obvious reasons but sticks like these- never. I’ve got a call into the park to know the rules for sure… I would never want to promote bad behavior or of course any thing that is illegal- yikes! As soon as I hear the final say, I’ll let yall know as well. Thank u for your comment and concerns!
Okay, so I just heard back… Kristin, You are right! And like you said “who knew!”.
The explanation was a little grey but here’s what I got out of it…. Cayo Costa is an exception to most state parks because one is allowed to take shells from Cayo Costa beaches because they are so plentiful and wash up every day (most state parks one can take nothing) . Driftwood isn’t washing up as plentiful as seashells on Cayo so there for not sustainable. And like you said, they don’t want people coming on the island to cut down trees or take big hunks of wood that keep the sand in place.
So…. no more driftwood from Cayo Costa, folks!
Hi Pam,
I don’t know if my friends will correct their name with you so I want to do it for them. Dick and Yvonne are the people in your photo but their last name is Harnly. I’m so glad to see that they found some beautiful shells on the cruise!! So excited for them!!!
HI Jodi, thanks! Although i don’t normally do last names… i just forgot the word “and” which I have now corrected. It was so much fun meeting them!
Pam, it was so great to finally meet and spend shelling time with you on Cayo Costa. I am the one in the yellow shirt with the blue pants and Aqua hat. You had me as Karen but my name is Lindy Miller from Greenville, S.C. Again, we really enjoyed ourselves….Thanks!
Omigosh, Lindy… Of course you aren’t Karen!!! it was such a beautiful day to hang out together- so thanks so much for coming out and adding so much to our day. :)
Hi,
i am new to this blog and discovered it just by looking for answers on the internet…
I was looking at all your comments abut cleaning shells and questions and could not find an answer to one of my questions…
1/ I collect jingle shells and I am trying to find a way to get rid of the white round spot inside the shells… is there a way to take that off?
2/ Do you know if there are beaches similar to the ones in Sanibel on the east coast of Florida closer to Miami ?
thanks in asvance for any feedback , love that Blog!!
Glad you found Pam’s blog. Welcome to the family!
I am not an expert but…think the spot is kind of like the belly button…attachment of the critter. Permanent.
Also just for the record…there is NO beach like Sanibel. But, there are some other interesting ones on the same stretch of Florida.
Do go to the right side of this site and start working your way thru the archives. So worth it! Use the left to answer specific questions on your mind or just for fun.
thanks for the feedback!
Hi Valerie,
There is no way to get the white spot off of the inside of a jingle shell — that is a difference in the shell structure because it is the area where the muscle attaches that keeps the two valves closed.
If you are talking about how many millions of shells wash up there, there are no beaches like Sanibel on the east coast of Florida.
In fact people say that the only places in the whole entire world comparable to Sanibel for the number of shells are Jeffrey’s Bay in South Africa, and the Sulu Archipelago in the Philippines.
Thanks for the info, nothing on the west coast then :( …
i really need to get to Sanibel then, what are the best time in the year to go? Meaning really the time where there are millions of shells …
take care Susan
Pam,
Thanks for another fun cruise.Allana hope to see you again next year.
Teri
Oops Allana and I hope to see you again next year.
I’m working on a bit of artwork with the shells I’ve found over the years – all from here in Florida. I’m living on Treasure Island, but have been to many other Florida beaches. I have one group of shells that I simply can’t find the name. These don’t seem to be pictured online, in any books or shell ID charts. I’d like to send a photo of them to you for identification. Please, where should I send the photo?
Many thanks!
Hi Rene, If you’d like to share a picture (and I encourage you to!), follow me on my other pages! You can upload your photo on…
iLoveShelling Facebook –http://www.facebook.com/iLoveShelling
iLoveShelling Twitter- https://twitter.com/iLoveShelling
iLoveShelling Google Plus- https://www.google.com/+iLoveShelling
or tag me on iLoveShelling Instagram- http://instagram.com/iloveshelling
Hi Pam
I stumbled on your website last year when I was in Bocas Del Toro, Panama trying to find info about shells. Just wanted to let you know that your website inspired me to come to Sanibel Island just for a shelling vacay :) Was hoping to take one of your shelling cruises but looks like there are none scheduled for early this month. That’s ok, I read through your tips and we’re going on a 1/2 day shelling cruise today with Captiva Cruise and I’m looking forward to it. Cannot wait to see more of this area and hopefully some cool shells. I’m from southern Califirnia and had no idea the beaches of Florida are so nice. So glad I found your page!
Thanks!
Kristy