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Clearwater: Fun, Sun & Eco-Tourism

Clearwater, Florida came by its name honestly. Back in the days when Native Americans called the area home, clear springs bubbled up on the banks and poured into the bay. Dubbed "Clear Water Harbor," by the area´s first settlers, modern Clearwater began as a farming and fishing area where vegetables, cotton and tarpon were the main bounties.

Today, Clearwater is one of the most popular tourist spots on the Gulf Coast of Florida. Exotic beaches, fishing, golf, wind surfing, parasailing, and its central location are all contributing factors that make the area a vacationer´s paradise.

Clearwater is rapidly gaining a reputation as an eco-tourism haven. One of the many examples of this "earth friendly" philosophy is the Clearwater Marine Aquarium. The aquarium is a nonprofit organization dedicated to public education and marine research. It also provides a home for rescued and recuperating marine mammals, such as whales, dolphins, otters and sea turtles with the aim of releasing them back into the wild when they have recovered.

Another must-see attraction in Clearwater is Pier 60. In addition to having a beautiful beach and superb dining and shopping, Pier 60 offers a nightly four-hour festival, for two hours each side of sunset, with jugglers, magicians and a variety of street performers.

If you want to get off the beaten path, take a day and head north of Clearwater Beach to Caladesi Island State Park, called one of the Top 10 beaches in the country by Dr. Stephen Leatherman ("Dr. Beach"), the leading authority on beaches in America. Wooden boardwalks take you across the sand dunes and past the palm trees so that you can explore some of the inland trails. Only accessible by boat, Caladesi is a luxurious getaway beach, but few residents here have ever heard of it. This means that the beach is rarely crowded like the city beaches of Clearwater.

Clearwater is also centrally located to other points of interest, if, by a remote chance, you enjoy too much paradise. Disney World, Universal, Epcot, and all the Orlando attractions are only about an hour and a half away. The Everglades, and all of the untouched natural beauty it has to offer, is only a couple hours South, and makes a great day trip.

Boasting 361 sunny days a year (according to the Guinness Book of Records), the sun is rarely hidden on a visit to Clearwater. Even though it provides a glorious daily exit, it is almost certainly to return, bright and early, tomorrow morning.