When I visit the Americas I stay on Mound Key at the mouth of Caloosahatchee River (River of the Calusa) and located in what will become the state of Florida. My home is near the sacred Temple atop this the artifical 125 acre island built by my friends and hosts of the tribe known as "Calusa"(kah LOOS ah). The mound is made entirely of shells and clay. Which also gives my hosts the nickname "Shell People". Life is good here, a seafood lovers paradise! The Calusa language indicate they may have traveled to Florida from the Carribean islands. In fact one word they may have had in common with the Taino tribe of Cuba is Jur-i-can, the name of their storm god, which gives us a word known all too well in the American southeast as hurricane. Outstanding hunters and fishermen, they do little farming. As the most fierce warriors in the region they gained tributes of food from surrounding smaller tribes so they did not need much agricultural skill.

Mound Key is the largest village of about forty coastal villages spread along the Florida Gulf Coast. The huge shell mounds are surrounded with deep moats that protect their villages, much like a fort or castle might have where I come from. The burial mound and a temple mound for ceremonies encircle the village. The home in which I stay as an honored guest is on stilts and the roof is woven of palmetto leaves. It is entirely water tight and quite comfortable despite it's lack of walls.