Biscayne Bay National Park is almost entirely in the ocean. So today we will be riding a boat and snorkeling. Before we could go out on the boat, we had to listen to a safety instruction talk. The guide joked that he was paid by how many people he took out, not how many he brought back. He then added that so far that number was the same number on every trip.
We met Tia Ramsey and her husband on this boat ride. We had met her in North Carolina during the time Steve worked at Girl Scouts.
It was a fairly long, high speed ride out to our first dive site. The first dive was the shorter dive. It was also in shallower water to allow us to adjust to snorkeling. We were close to an island.
We saw some sponges, a few fish, and a lot of underwater vegetation. Communicating and staying close together is tricky since we could not talk and our range of vision was short. Pointing was about the only way to communicate unless we went above the water.
Here is some more vegetation and some fish that we saw on the first dive.
The air horn announcing time to get to the boat was loud enough to be heard underwater. Swimming back was easy . We lined up with the boat and swam that way still looking down at the underwater sights. We checked once or twice to make sure we were headed in the correct direction.
Getting back onto the boat from the water was fun. It was single file. Floating and taking pictures was more of a challenge than expected. It was even more fun to get the flippers off to get on board.
Our ride to the second dive was longer than the first ride. You can see from the hair blowing in the wind that we were going fairly fast. When we got past the islands, the captain decided to change our dive target. He said the water conditions indicated that the primary dive site would probably have cloudy conditions. He asked if we wanted a longer dive at the secondary site, or a longer ride to what would probably be a poor quality dive today. We all chose the secondary site.
The secondary dive site was great. The crew gave us some hints for finding the best spots.
The variety of ecosystems and vegetation was broader in this area. It was interesting to notice underwater places that looked like Saguaro cactus and others that looked like grasslands that you see on land.
We spent part of the dive time above the surface taking breaks, getting our bearings, and enjoying the sights on the ocean.
One of the hints from the crew was to swim close to the edge of the island. The fish like to take shelter in the cracks and caves. They were correct. We saw an amazing variety of fish, large and small, colorful and plain colored. All of them seemed to be able to hide quickly. We saw an eel in a small hole, but he hid when the camera moved to take a picture.
We also saw large schools of small fish and some larger fish. A picture of the surface of the water had a surprise. In the distance there was a a large fish swimming just below the surface.
All good things come to an end. The second airhorn called us back to the boat. It was time to head back. Marlene had already gone back because she was freezing.
Even though the air temperature was warm, being in the water for so long we were chilled, but happy to have seen so much under the sea. We were also glad we had the wet suits so that we were not even chillier.
Once we were dry and warm we remembered the sights we saw more than the chill of cold water. It was a wonderful day under the sea.