01/04/07 Paddling John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park:
I'm still camped in the Everglades but my campground is only 25 miles from Biscayne National Park and about 40 miles from John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park. Actually, Biscayne National Park and part of Everglades National Park are in the same county.
US 1 is under construction about 10 miles north of Key Largo. Looks like they're putting in two more lanes and a new bridge. Traffic wasn't too bad on a week day.
This trip was good for some exercise but not much else. Southern Florida shores are noted for their mangroves and there isn't much else. If there is no wildlife there is no reason to paddle here and I probably won't be. The Keys are noted for their coral reefs and the wildlife under the water and that's what I'll stick to from now on.
I put in at the kayak launch area and just started paddling across this sound. After about a mile I could see a green marker on the far shore and headed for that. It guarded a mangrove channel that went on for 2.5 miles before breaking out into open water making that whole trip about 4.0 miles. Nothing but mangroves, no birds or other wildlife, the tide and the wind were both coming in so I got a workout. The coral reefs are at least 3 miles offshore from there so I didn't bother and turned around at that point.
The only exciting thing to happen was: The channel is 100 feet wide most of the way. I heard a power boat coming up behind me at idle speed and moved over to the left while he kept to the right. We waved and then a minute later he pointed ahead at something. I was on the inside curve of a sharp bend and couldn't see anything. So I inched my way up and a second power boat came roaring down on me from the other direction. Well it wasn't that bad, he wasn't really going very fast but when you see the bow of a power boat coming at you it is moving fast.
If the first guy hadn't pointed and I hadn't slowed down I might have been hit. As it was the second guy slowed down to idle speed as he passed me and I lived to tell the story.
01/05/07 Snorkeling John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park(or not):
Went out on the Encounter, a boat belonging to the park concessionaire at 9am. I had bought a snorkel, mask and fins set at Wal-Mart for $30 so didn't need their rentals. The water was 70 degrees and the temperature in the 90's so I didn't rent a wet suit. They warned of Portuguese Man 'O War jellyfish stings but I still didn't get one.
The coral reefs are 5 miles off shore. 15 of us went out on a good size boat at top speed. It's supposed to take 30 minutes to get there, 1hr 30min in the water and 30 minutes back in.
The wind was blowing close to 20mph and the captain thought the seas were 2.5 to 3 feet rollers which is too rough for snorkeling. He called the trip off at the reef and we all headed back in. The options were to try again another time/day or get a refund. Many people were leaving and took the refund. Several of us elected to try again.
They go out at 9am, 12pm and 3pm. I chose 3pm because it would be low tide then. That would bring the water 2-3 feet closer to the reef and the critters and would also knock down the waves even if the wind was still blowing; and such was the case. The boat was there when I got back an hour early meaning it hadn't gone out a noon.
40 people were in my boat and another 15 or 20 in a second boat. We got back out to the reef and with warnings not to touch the coral reef nor attempt to stand up we hit the water. I have a full beard and moustache. They gave me Vaseline to smear on the moustache under my nose to prevent water from leaking in.
The water was really warm and I hardly noticed it when I jumped in. Boats moor at fixed buoys and it was a 100 foot swim to the reef itself. Not much, huh? Well it proved too much for me. The wind was blowing right in my face and the waves were still 1-1.5 feet and slapping me in the face too. I tried to swim hard but have problems.
I lost 40 percent of my heart in a sudden death experience in 1993. For any new activity I need to work my way up to avoid putting to much stress on my heart. Swimming hard was doing just that. Plus my mask was leaking and I was getting water in a perforated eardrum. I went back to the boat and tried to regroup. That consisted mainly of catching my breath and applying more Vaseline.
The second time out I put my face in the water and didn't try to swim hard, just enough to keep moving. I found I was able to rest a little by just floating when I needed but water was still coming in the mask. Treading water seemed to be as bad as swimming hard and took a lot out of me. After clearing the mask I kept going but soon decided to turn back.
As it was I saw a couple of really large conch shells. The water was really clear and I saw a couple of small fish and that was it for me. Others saw barracuda and one shark plus some of the colorful tropical fish.
I was disappointed but not terribly so. I now think the water in the mask was because of my hair. Smearing Vaseline on the mask rather than myself should get it everywhere it is needed. I already had a custom made earplug from an audiologist but had forgotten about it, I also got some wax earplugs and am going to try again on Monday, another low tide.
Something happened to one young woman and she was moaning and swooning on the boat when I came in one time. I don't know how much was serious but some of it seemed to be a bid for sympathy. She got crappy with the mate when he didn't respond with the proper attention her boyfriend was giving her. He set her straight though. Something was definitely wrong but not the extent she let on. She was acting much better an hour later.
01/06/07 Driving The Florida Keys:
Snorkel trips were filled for the weekend so I decided to drive all the way down the Florida Keys. I got an early start and went all the way to Key West. It's 125 miles from Florida City to Key West. Nothing exciting happened and I saw nothing of interest on the way. Key West is just another town with slums and a K-Mart and such, A couple of the rich areas looked OK with the royal palms blowing in the wind. I wouldn't do it again.
Now I've been there and done that. I didn't have any big expectations except now I've been to all four corners of the United States. San Diego, California, Bellingham, Washington, Lubec, Maine and now Key West, Florida. You're welcome to San Diego and Key West. I'll take Bellingham and Lubec.
01/08/07 Snorkeling John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park:
It was touch and go if we would have enough people to take the boat out today. They needed 6 or 7 to meet expenses. At 8:50 several different couples showed up. They not only had to process the late arrivals but those of us who were there on time but hadn't been processed because we were under the minimum.
Anyway, we went somewhere else this time. There is a statue of Christ under the water nearby somewhere. It's a replica of one in the Mediterranean. There are a couple more replicas elsewhere in the world too.
I did a little better this time. Same boat, different captain and mate. I did pretty well breathing and keeping water out of the mask initially. I found a chunk of coral a few feet from the buoy. A 3 foot barracuda was hanging out there with his mouth open. The mate later said some little fish were probably cleaning his mouth for him.
Saw a nice purple fish, a yellow and brown stripped one some yellow snappers and a whole bunch of little tiny fish. Quite a number of fish in a 3X3 foot area.
Took a couple of pictures of the barracuda. It's tough to look through the view finder through your mask Then I really couldn't see well enough to advance the film properly underwater with the mask on. So up I come and up goes the mask and that's where the trouble started. From that point on I'd get water in the mask or water in through the mouthpiece. Then I'd get short of breath treading water and not be able to get it back. At that point I guess I experienced some mild panic and forgot about snorkeling and wanted nothing but something to hang on to while I got my breath back.
I went back to the boat a couple of times to regroup and then went out again. One time I went about twice as far but veered off at an angle and had to come back. One lady from Minnesota freaked out because she saw something in the water with her. She did this twice. The second time I watched her go through a book on reef fish and she picked out a large blue parrot fish.
My tip this time was to shave my moustache somewhere between 1/4 and 1/2 inch so I wouldn't have to deal with Vaseline to keep the water out.
I enjoyed my little outing with the coral fish this time and was not as disappointed. As I said the other day, I need to build up some stamina like I always do. Maybe start swimming and snorkeling (without the alligators) for a week or two before I come back here again.