Napo, Baby, Napo

6.9

We left for Naples this morning, a quick sail only 8miles up the coast. Although there was no wind, we lifted the sails anyway and crossed our fingers. After an hour of barely moving, we fired up the engine and motor-sailed for a bit. With only 2miles left in our trip, the wind picked up and we were able to cut the engine for the last leg of the trip.
We arrived at Naples City Dock and tied up to one of 10 moorings that they have there. It is a small marina and we were the only boat on a mooring. The dinghy dock was a very short ride away with clean showers and laundry facilities. We made sure everything was secure on the boat and then went to check out the town. You would think the city dock would be closer to the sights of the city - that is most definitely not the case. We had to walk 8 blocks in either direction to get to any restaurants, shops or the beach. Although 8 blocks really isn't that far, when it is 95 degrees out and the bugs are eating you alive with every step - it makes for a log walk.
We agreed upon the small little out of the way pub for dinner - had an ok meal and were serenaded by a guy playing some weird chinese guitat. We walked over to the pier for the sunset, which was beautiful. The pier was very crowded with both locals and tourists and they actually clapped when the sun went down - some weird thing that apparently happens every night down here in Naples at sundown.
The next day, our friend from Key West (Blake) showed up and moored in the field with us. We spent the next couple of nights out on the town. We found a great sports bar to watch the basketball and soccer games - we actually dinghy-ed there in his super-speed-demon dinghy since it was just up the river from the marina.
We met a lovely Irish girl who took us under her wing and drove us everywhere we wanted to go - s nice to be in a car again! She took us to the bar she manages one night, where we met a fiery Russian named Serg and an overly self-confident octogenarian. She was immediately in love with our friend Blake and clung to him all night. She began weaving these stories about how rich she was and how she had invented the McDonald's slogan "I'm lovin it" and that she owned many of the houses in Marco Island and worked/part owned a successful realty company. I don't think she is up to date with technology or she would have known that we easily dispelled these tall tales with a few clicks on our internet savvy phones. But we let her have her fun - she was acting like a 21 yr old again (slightly annoying, but we were in her town). It was all fun and games until she tried to go home with our friend Blake - imagine our surprise and then ensuing hilarity of the situation when we had to all but shove her in her car and send her home - to her own home! HA! From this night came the saying, "Only in Napo, Baby!"
Naples was a beautiful city, albeit very upscale (more so than even Marco Island). Their 5th Avenue has expensive shops and restaurants; all the houses and cars are over the top. Very wonderful city to walk through, lots of gardens and parks with beautiful colors.
We also visited the local zoo. Although we were skeptical at first, this zoo was amazing! They had some rare animals, mostly they featured animals from Madagascar, and the setup and zookeeper interaction was the best I have seen at any zoo. And for their monkey exhibits, they take you on a boat tour around a small lake where they have "marooned" monkeys on separate islands. So we could see them jumping around in the trees without a fence around them - it was very unique!
All in all, Naples was a blast and we hope to one day revisit. Tomorrow morning we head out for our 30-ish mile sail up to Fort Meyers Beach.