The Keys (late post: Happened on the 18 and 19 January 2012)

I'm posting later after the fact but I was to busy living it and had little time writing about it, so after some deliberation I decided that it was better late then never so I decided to get up to date with my posts.



Cannon Beach, Key Largo

On the morning of the 18 we drove down to Key Largo's John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park with our snorkeling gear. We got there around 9h00 and went snorkeling at Canon Beach this beach is setup for snorkeling the beginning of the bottom part is shallow for about the first 15 or 20 feet and then it drops to about 25 feet deep like a clift wall, not a good spoot for toddler to go wadding :) The area is cordoned so a dive flag is not required and about 100 feet from the shore they made a replica of an 18th century spanish gallion wreck at about 6 to 8 feet deep, complete with cannons and anchor.

The Anchor

The water is a bit murky in the shallow part with a visibility of about 10 to 15 feet but in the deep part we can see the bottom. The sunlight is entering at an angle and with the matter in suspension in the water it give a nice effect. So we spent a good 2 hours in the water swimming around and then got out.



The Cannons

We went to enquire about a boat trip to go snorkeling on the reef outshore and reserved for the trip at 15h00 the next day, we have to register at 13h30. So with all that time in front of us we decided to drive to Key West, spend the night and come back for our boat trip the next day. On the way we had lunch at a local eatery called the Huricane Grill that I know of in Marathon, they have a most wonderfull fish sandwich.

Seven Miles Bridge

At the Boondocks on Ramrod Key

So we arrived in Key West and got a room at the Blue Marlin Motel near the Southernmost Point and went on to walk Duval street from one end to the other, It was Sebastien's first visit so he enjoyed it quite a bit. We ate seafood at the marina and of course had a Key Lime Pie taste test. The next morning we had breakfast on the beach and drove back to Key Largo.

Classic Tourist Shoot

The Breakfast Restaurant on the Beach

We got there at 13h30 in time for our registration, we then had time to visit the park before our boat we had an hour to kill. We got on the boat and it got us to the reef that was 5 miles off shore, the sea was calm enought so I did not dropped my lunch on deck. The Reef is shallow the top at about 3 feet deep and the sand is about at 25 feet deep, it's a long north south reef and we are dropped almost at the tip of the north end so we swam east from the boat about 50 feet to the reef and then for and hour and a half swam along the edge of it.

Comming In !

It is Sebastien's first ocean dive so I keep an eye on him, by now we have good buddy communication and practices we stay close and in visual contact at all time. The spot is full of Barracudas, big ones but we were warned before hand and we discussed it before entering the water so there is no stress about it by either one of us.



Barracudas

There are also some big rays lying in the sand at the bottom. I found an eel but it was chalenging to photograph, we also saw a nurse shark. So we got back on the boat and got to port at sunset. It was lots of fun, for sure an experience to repeat again next year.

Nurse Shark

We got back to West Palm Beach late that evening all relaxed and happy.

End of a perfect day