Traveling around the southwest region of Florida is an exciting adventure. However, it can be daunting for first-timers or even the first few times for that matter. The wilds are thick, the seas are strange and the animals may be quite alien. It’s a good thing that there are guides around the parks, seas and wildlife reserve areas. These dedicated men and women are dedicated to bring you the best there is in the region simply because it is their passion and duty.
Now for the best guides, we highly recommend to you, are the native guides. These people were born and raised along the coasts of the region and know every nook and cranny of their beloved homeland like the back of their hands. Every path to every hill, every cliff, every reef to every island, all have burned in the back of their memory and they are all willingly happy to share these with you.
Some even know the animals and have names for them. There was one particular boat guide who can beckon, with a loud whistle, an American Bald Eagle he fondly named “Edgar” would swoop down. He can do this while out in the middle of the sea with his guest companions; out in the clear sunny day, getting his fish bait ready, with the dolphins playing and jumping all around as if to get your attention. Their rising and dipping is almost very synchronized and you can’t help but be amazed by their gracefulness. But we digress, the native guides here have a natural love for their home as their fathers and grandfathers did. Some of these guides have inherited this way of living from their forebears who had been doing it for generations and there’s no sign of stopping as far as we can tell.
The boat guide can give you an apt detour around Keewaydin Island where you and your loved ones can go shelling – shells you can take home with you, by the way. You can take pictures; look for birds while your native guide can educate you more about the place. And you know you’re getting great first hand information because you’re getting it from somebody who actually spent their childhood and grew up in the area. You can then roast your catch from the boat earlier and have literally a fresh from the sea meal. Then, you can spend the rest of the late afternoon walking along the beach and wait for perhaps the best sunset you will ever see in your life.
People here are proud of their history as well as the bounties that have been provided for them by nature. And you can be confident to say that you can partake of this banquet for guests have always been welcome here ever since the region’s founding. And the best way to wade your way around Naples, Florida and the surrounding areas, and we can’t stress this enough, is through native guides.
