Feathers and fins

Saturday, Feb. 25, 2012 FORT MYERS, FL – We heard the soft patter of raindrops on the roof when we woke up this morning, but they soon stopped and didn’t return all day. It was a bit cooler though, which suited me fine. It was a catch-up day, getting laundry done and taking some time to relax and read. As I waited for the laundry cycle to finish, I looked out the window at the pond beside the campground, and watched a flock of slender white ibis wading and dipping their long, curved orange beaks into the water. It still amazes me to see, often and everywhere, these and other really large birds flying overhead with wingspans of up to four feet. They are so common here, but back in Ontario if you spot one blue heron, it’s cause for exclamation and finger-pointing. I asked a naturalist on one of our outings where one would find flamingos, which are such a common symbol of Florida. The joking reply was “on a stick in my neighbour’s yard”! Seriously, there were flamingos here in years past, but they died out because so many were hunted by humans for their feathers. They have not, however, died out from gift shops and souvenir stands, where they grace coffee mugs, t-shirts and gaudy plates in their thousands! We did see some large pink-feathered birds on our airboat ride a few days ago – they were roseate spoonbills, with the same peach-coloured appearance as a flamingo, but with a beak that’s round and flat at the end like a spoon. They sort of look like the flamingo’s ugly cousin! We still wanted to try some seafood from the Gulf, and some of our neighbours had recommended a place nearby. When we arrived at ten minutes to five tonight, the hostess told us we’d have a 20 minute wait, so that was tolerable. We looked at the prawns, frogs’ legs, lobster and other delicacies in the glass case by the door and figured they knew how to serve seafood, based on the crowd inside and waiting outside. Plain and simple would be a kind way of describing the décor of arborite-topped tables, mismatched chrome and wood chairs, and cheap cutlery. The largest table decoration was a roll of paper towels in a spindle-style dispenser. Everything looked old and worn, including the building itself. We both ordered conch chowder as a starter, mine in a cup and Val’s in a bowl. I took one sip and my sinuses opened and tears came to my eyes! It must have been 50 per cent Tabasco, it was so spicy, and I could only find little rubbery shreds which must have been the conch meat. I gamely tried another spoonful, but simply couldn’t manage any more. Val ate his whole bowl, but even he needed to blow his nose when he was finished. My coconut shrimp was generous and tasty, although the bread accompaniment was a slice of white Wonderbread, fried! Val also got two generous fillets of grilled grouper that were tasty, but his potato was overcooked. So, all in all, in spite of the place’s apparent popularity among the locals, we felt that we probably wouldn’t go back.