Shelling on Marco Island
One of the nice things to do while visiting Marco Island in Florida is walking the beaches for beautiful shells. There are some tour companies that can take visitors to areas across the Thousand Islands area looking for ocean life and shells like the Sunshine Tours . They will have some tips for getting the most out of shelling along the shoreline. If you decided to just walk right from the hotel marco island and onto the beach looking for shells on your own, than here are a few tips to keep in mind. This activity can put people in some interesting positions if they don’t pay attention. Also, if they don’t store their shells right they may break before you get them home to your coffee table. So while roaming for shells keep some of these tips in mind. Be mindful of the tides. Check with your hotel if you need to find out whether it is a low or high tide. Some of the most shells are best seen on a low tide so there may be a better day or time to do your scouting. It is also important to know about tides because of were one might wonder. If one ends up on a sand bar that had a low tide in the early part of the day, it is possible to be stranded on a sand bar that had a high tide slowly coming in with out notice. That would be quite a situation. The current could be strong around the sand bar and make it hard to get back to shore. Make sure to carry lots of sunscreen with you because you may be out for a while and will need to reapply the lotion a few times to protect your skin. If you wear shoes it will also help protect the tops of your feet from the sun as well as keep them from getting to sore from the sand. If your not used to walking barefoot in the sand they can tend to get a little tender. Bring along a few kinds of bags for your collection. A mesh bag is great for the heavier shells because it helps the sand and water to drain. Smaller plastic bags for the small and thin shells will keep them from getting broken or lost. Some sort of flat cardboard or plate should be used to bring starfish home because the legs break off really easily. When you do finally get them home clean them up with some alcohol and let them dry in the sun to kill off any bacteria. So enjoy your day of shelling along the Marco Island shoreline.