Scuba Diving at Sombrero Reef - FL

It was a beautiful day, some clouds but very bright.  Nemo and Dorey were waiting for us to visit them on the Reef.  We got our gear and we were off.  

Adrian could not use the scuba gear (the Snuba gear) because of his asthma so he and I decided to only do the snorkeling.  We got to the sight and there were only one to two foot waves, perfect for scuba and snorkeling.  Got our gear on (checked the horizon for shark fins) and began to dive in.  Here is a brief video of our preparations from Adan’s head camera.

There was something looming in the back of my mind, something sinister and disgusting.  I could not quite point to it.  The scuba and snuba divers went first.  Adrian jumped in and I went in last.  It was a beautiful site!  Fish of all different colors were swimming in and out of crevices in the reef.  Sea weed fluffing on the reef moving to the rhythm of the waves above.  I was just like the movie Finding Nemo.  Although I did not see any Nemo-looking fish (clown fish), I did see lots of Dorey-looking fish as well as hundreds of different kinds of colorful fish.  Adan and Vivian had a close encounter with sharks and barracudas.  But we did not see any of those from our vantage.  Adrian was a water puppy in his natural element, diving to the bottom and coming back for air through his snorkel as if he had been doing it all his life.  It’s too bad that two of the three underwater cameras were not working.  One, because of a bad SD card and the other because I forgot to put in an SD card!  Adan’s small head camera was the only one functioning.

Then the menace lurking behind me hit and we quickly got out of the boat!

I was told that I was an early walker when I was a baby, that I could balance myself on any tree branch, I remember I was a very good diver in the swimming team and could execute any complex dive with ease.  Why?  Because I had a very delicate and sensitive sense of balance; something in my ear allows me to know what position I am in al all times.  That same sense of balance was totally disrupted with the waves, the reflection of the sun on the bottom, the moving sea weed and the taste of salt water in my snorkel.  Needless to say, I was sick for the next hour.  But he 15 minutes of paradise was worth it.  Once the boat started back I was back to normal.

We did have an interesting episode when Debra fed the fish with her breakfast and instantly all the fish from the reef, as if expecting this, darted out of their protective shelter and instantly went up to the surface to have a snack of an, I’m sure, not too rare delicacy.  

We did manage to get up early this morning because Alex insisted on getting a picture of a sunrise, so five of us went out at early dawn-30 to do this on the west side of the 7-mile bridge west of Marathon Key.

 

A Laid Back Day at Paradise

The third day in paradise was a mellow time.  Slow morning, long coffee and conversation on the deck, having pastries, biscuits (that Adan made) and other fruits and snacks while watching the pelicans dive for fish in the canal.  As the sun made its way higher in the sky, the coffee turned to beer and soon the conversation turned to lunch and maybe visiting Sombrero beach just down the road from the house. 

We decided on the beach and testing the snorkeling gear for a snorkeling outing on Wednesday.  The beach was populated with retired (older retired) people trying to capture the beauty of youth through tanning.  There were also a few families with young kids taking advantage of winter break, but mostly old people, so we fit right in with the right age crowd.  It really sucks to be classified as an old person.  Oh well, if the shoe fits….. 

Pretty soon it was time for dinner and a communal decision was made for steaks, and Eddie had the perfect suggestion, unfortunately it was closed.  What’s with the restaurant only open on Wednesday through Sunday?  And only from 5:00 p.m. to 11:00.  Old people’s hours?  We didn’t miss a beat and went to a seafood place on one of the endless number of piers and waterfront restaurants.

We stopped and made arrangements for a scuba and snorkeling outing tomorrow morning at the Sombrero coral reef.  Adan and Vivian will go scuba diving and Adrian and I will go snorkeling.  I got my street pharmaceuticals for sea sickness and I’m ready.

Back to the house for more drinkie-poos, snacks and conversation and to plan the adventures for tomorrow.  I had to force Carmen to have a glass of Shiraz (NOT, I had to keep her away from the bottle!).  Alex did not want to use the wine glass like the rest of us and used a tumbler – he says he is Mr.

Mucho Macho!

A Second Day in Margarita Ville

Today was a great day at Margarita Ville.  Cruising around town taking in the sights, window shopping, tasting the local fare including a Key Lime pie and Key Lime ice cream (all low calorie of course).

Went to the pier and saw some of the tourists feeding the pelicans.  Watching the pelicans landing for a snack reminded me of the landing our pilot made at Ft Lauderdale.  It was just as graceful!  It was a female pilot and she did a 2 and one half point landing that scared the living S**T out all the passengers.  All the passengers burst out into a clapping ovation just happy to be alive!

We went to the southernmost point of the U.S. and everybody in the area is trying to get credit for being the most southern “something.”  Most southern restaurant, most southern mansion, most southern beach, most southern pier, I even went to the bathroom in the Restaurant and it had a plaque; "Most Southern toilet! 

I told the people at the office that I went to search for the elusive giant Conch and I found some but they would not let me take it out.  I also found birds and bugs, pieces of coral and shells, but I could not find any of those beach rabbits.  I did find a bunch of girls on the beach.

Adrian wanted to point out the direction of Cuba, 90 miles away.

Key West - First Day

The first day of the vacation on the Keys was great, spending most of the day in Key West.  

However, throughout one’s life, nature, in the endless evolutionary process, tests us to meet the challenge of your decisions; it tests our fortitude of the commitment to a quest.  On Saturday, it tested my commitment to have a wonderful time in the semitropical paradise of the Florida Keys.  The test came in a series of challenges to discourage me into returning home.  

The first test came in the torture of the airline seats.  I sat with my butt jammed to the back of the seat and my knees would not fit in the space provided; they jammed against the back of the seat in front of me.  For two and one half hours I was cramped, my legs got Charlie horses, my ankles were in severe pain, my right leg was jammed in the hand rest and my back was killing me.  14 years ago, I had surgery for my bunions and to correct and align the two toes next to my big toe.  The bottom line is that I have 7 screws in each of my feet.  Well, one of the things that happen with the low pressure of the cabin and sitting in a constraint position for that long is that your feet swell.  When this happens there is extra pressure in the on the screws and it is very painful with no chance to find comfort.  A we were about to land the flight attendant announces to put our trays up and out seats in the upright position.  Now a simple rule of physics dictates that for a person of my body type and age it is impossible to sit upright.  When I did, the gut gets pushes into my lungs and I can’t breathe.  So how does one slouch when there isn’t room?   The landing made the flight a lot more miserable.

The second test came when we got the Fort Lauderdale.  I got to the Advantage Rent a Car  and the clerk announces that they don’t have a car for us – they ran out of cars!  “But we have a reservation!”  I said.  “Well you can rent a car at some other agency for one day and we may have a car for you tomorrow.”  The agent said.”  We had no recourse.   I went to EZ-Rental, the agency next to in line.   And by luck, or by agency collusion, they managed to have a car for $130 more per week.  At 9:30 p.m. and with over 100 miles to go, I had no choice.  But it didn’t affect me, my confidence and commitment was still intact.  We drive over 100 miles and arrive at the house after midnight to 45 degrees, 35 mile per hour winds and the beginning of a cold front that would last for about two days.  I did not give in!

The next day was a clear sunny and a beautiful day, went out the porch and we could see forever it was so clear.  It was also only 43 degrees and we still had a 40 mile per hour wind from the north.