Matanzas Pass

Entry # 18

4-6-12

     I enjoyed the recent trip to Matanzas Pass. Mrs. Hughes was a gracious host who offered us cookies, crackers, lemonade, and sea grape jelly. I was hesitant to try the sea grape jelly because I thought it was going to be salty. However, the fact that it wasn’t sold in stores gave me the courage to try it. It was very sweet and tasty. I enjoyed hearing about the past events that shaped Fort Myers Beach. For example, the church and school houses were erected in the 1930’s. Interestingly, I had no idea that matanzas meant massacre. Matanzas Pass is the site that marks the bloody battle between the Caloosa Indians and the Spanish. Another story she shared was about how the fishermen lost their livelihood due to legislation enacted by uninformed politicians. They outlawed the use of dragnets because of the death of a small amount of dolphins. Mrs. Hughes explained that dolphin deaths were few and far between and posed no threat to their existence.Another fact that struck me was how bad the mosquitoes must have been growing up on Ft. Myers Beach before the invention of mosquito planes and bug spray. Also, I had no idea the population of FMB shrinks from 60,000 to 6,000  from winter to summer. Learning about the Koreshans was also interesting because I had no idea we formally had cult-like people here in Fort Myers. Lastly, I enjoyed seeing all the mangroves and sea grape trees. Being amongst this largely undisturbed habitat was very refreshing. It made it easy to envision the type of lifestyle the Caloosa Indians had in years passed. This was a very informative trip. On a side note, I hope I age as well as Mrs. Hughes. She appeared to be in great shape and her mind was still very sharp. This was undoubtedly my favorite of all class trips.