Encounters with Nature on Marco Island

✨While strolling through Marco Island in Naples, I spotted several species of waterbirds along the shoreline — elegant white egrets gliding over the water, and rows of grayish-brown pelicans foraging in the shallows. The most delightful surprise was seeing a great pelican up close for the first time: its enormous pinkish-orange beak acts like a natural fishing net, and it looked adorably clumsy while standing, yet its wingspan stretched over two meters when it took flight. 🥰For lunch, I tried the local specialty, hogfish — a dish seasoned with pine nuts that left a deep impression. The flesh of the fish was translucent like amber, with a texture somewhere between the tenderness of grouper and the springiness of lobster. The nutty aroma of the pine nuts perfectly balanced the briny taste of the seafood. 🩷Later, I looked it up and learned that despite its amusingly ugly appearance (bright orange with white stripes and a pig-like snout), hogfish is one of the most prized edible fish along Florida's west coast. This island feels like a hidden paradise preserved in time: ✔️ At low tide in the early morning, Tigertail Beach’s lagoon reveals traces of star snails and sea urchins ✔️By the pier, people often fish for grouper, and occasionally dolphins can be seen leaping through the emerald waves of the Gulf of Mexico ✔️ At sunset, flocks of roseate spoonbills take on the colors of the twilight sky If you ever find yourself by this sea, be sure to slow down — the beauty here lingers in the rhythm of the tides, in the morning light as fishermen gather their nets, and in every dish infused with the taste of the ocean breeze #Naples#travelguide#Naplesdiary#MarcoIsland#Florida