This day was like a visit back into �old� Florida, a little bit of Americana rarely now encountered. All was at a much slower pace. Always to be remembered will be the friendliness and relaxed pace of the lock tenders and the peacefulness of the surrounding landscape. At first, we passed by many beautiful homes and farmlands along the Caloosahatchee River. Further inland, the scenery turned to swamp grasslands as we traveled along the Caloosahatchee Canal. During the day we saw river turtles sunning themselves on rocks, enjoyed hearing the sounds of the various river birds, but were disappointed in not seeing any manatees or alligators.
About 52 miles and 10� hours later we arrived at the fuel dock in Clewiston. We had decided to use most of our dirty fuel acquired in Cartagena, Colombia, before taking on new fuel, and when we arrived at 6:30 p.m. we were down to our last few gallons. Unfortunately, the fuel dock at the Roland Martin Marina in Clewiston was already closed. As it had been a very long day and we were totally exhausted, we could no more think of moving and returning the following morning. So, we stayed at the marina, enjoyed a hamburger ashore, and waited for the fuel dock to openWe departed Clewiston at 8 a.m. on Wednesday and traveled across Lake Okeechobee. After two hurricane-spawned floods in 1926 and 1928 devastated the communities bordering Lake Okeechobee, the Army Corps of Engineers built the cross-state Okeechobee Waterway and the Herbert Hoover Dike that encircled the lake with its flood channels and control gates. By 1937, all was completed. Today as we looked over the lake project, we were quite impressed with the engineering that went into the undertaking. We arrived at noon at the Port Mayaca Lock on the opposite side of Lake Okeechobee. As the lake was down one foot, both doors of the lock were open and we traveled right through.
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