By Carly Diaz
As far back as I can remember, my father has taken my sister and I down to visit my grandma in Miami every year for her birthday. We would never stray far from her house, just stay in and spend time with family. However, this time my dad suggested that we drive down to Key Largo, where he used to go with his buddies to have fun in the good old days. After doing a little research, I reserved us all a spot on a snorkeling tour on a Sunday at noon at John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park.
On the way to Miami, my dad brought along his old snorkeling gear and an even older underwater camera he found in the back of his closet. We also stopped at a Walgreens and bought another underwater camera, an inexpensive Kodak disposable, just in case the film in the other one was bad–which it was.
When we arrived, my dad insisted that my sister, Amy, and I practice snorkeling in my grandma’s pool before embarking on our underwater excursion. Before this point, neither of us had ever actually snorkeled before, and I was a bit nervous to try it. Although the fins were a little big on us, the masks fit fine and in no time we were pros. In any event we were worn out, waterlogged, and sure to sleep well in preparation for the big day.
When making the reservations, we were told by an employee at Pennekamp to arrive by 10:30 AM to buy the tickets for the trip at noon and to give ourselves at least two hours to get there because of traffic on Sundays. So we got up early and took off from my grandma’s house at 8:00 AM. The sky was cloudy and gray and we ran into some rain on the way there. It really wasn’t the best weather for a trip to the Keys. This was probably the reason that there was absolutely no traffic. We got there at 9:00 AM, three hours before our scheduled tour! Luckily for us, a ranger let us snag seats on the 10:30 AM tour, giving us the perfect amount of time to go grab a Burger King breakfast and get back to the park.
At 10:20 we boarded the Journey and met our captains. They went over a few common-sense rules and we took off! Honestly, it wasn’t a spectacular boat ride. The water was a murky green, the sky a dismal gray, and it was sprinkling. We rode about 40 minutes out to a spot several other boats were crowded around. The captain told us we had gotten the last good spot to see Jesus. I was a bit confused. He later explained there was a sunken statue of Jesus around the reefs, and that we should check it out. He pointed in the general direction of the statue, then let us loose.
When I first jumped down from the boat, I was surrounded by a flurry of yellow and black striped fish—each about the size of or slightly larger than my hand. They seemed really casual about me being near them unlike the little fish you run into at the seashore. I was essentially swimming with them. They minded their business while I watched them. The reefs were amazing and filled with life! I only wish the sun was out more so that I could have seen it all more clearly. At one point, I spotted a 2-foot long barracuda only a few feet below me! Finally I reached the Jesus statue which was absolutely stunning! The statue rose above the reefs with arms stretched out—reaching for the sun. I couldn’t take my eyes off this sunken savior. It commanded your attention and made you wonder how it had survived for who knows how long down in the reefs. The captain explicitly and vehemently warned us NOT to touch it, as it was covered in fire coral. Others had been inclined to do so in the past with painful consequences. After about an hour and a half of swimming (which, to my surprise, wasn’t that physically demanding thanks to the fins and required vest), the captain called us back to the boat and we went back to the park. On the way back, people were chattering about how they saw a 4 foot Nurse shark, which, to my regret, I missed. The barracuda was also mentioned. I was happy to have seen him!
When we finally got off the boat, it had started raining again, so we headed back home, this time running into some traffic. While we crawled down US1 we began to plan what our next trip might be—perhaps a scuba diving trip! Taking the snorkeling tour at Pennekamp really opened me up to a whole new underwater world that I had not considered much before. It also cleared up some primal fear of being in deep open water. Seeing fish living in their natural habitat made me feel more connected to marine life in general. I think I may get hooked on snorkeling!
Image: Snorkeling by Carly Diaz