biscayne national park

After the sweat-fest that was the Everglades, we were in the mood for something a little on the cooler side (well, cooler for South Florida, anyway!) so we headed this morning to Biscayne National Park. This park is new to us and is, amazingly, 95 percent covered by the waters of Biscayne Bay. We walked literally the only trail in the park (around the visitor center) first thing, and saw such wonders as an anhinga eating a fish (that was actually really cool).

After our early morning stroll, it was time for the main event: a snorkeling tour. In this particular tour, there are three possible destinations: shipwreck, reef, or bay. On the way out, we saw plenty of birds (herons, pelicans, cormorants). At one point Mike looked up and saw a magnificent frigatebird (that's what they're called! I'm not just being overly effusive in my description), and the captain instantly slowed down because where there are magnificent frigatebirds, there are often dolphins. And sure enough, we saw some dolphins playing in our wake. The boys were beside themselves — dolphins AND manatees in the wild, all in a 24-hour period!

We were really hoping for the reef or shipwreck, but as it turns out it was too windy to safely snorkel in those open areas, so our captain opted to take us to Billy's Bay, along the coast of a mangrove key. The captain and her first mate were extremely helpful in getting us all geared up and telling us what to expect. There was some initial awkwardness in getting off the boat and getting fins on, but then we were off.

And. It. Was. Amazing.

The kids had a little trouble with their mouthpieces, and Mike (the only one among us who had previously snorkeled) opted out of using one at all. I got a big mouthful of saltwater right off the bat, but then I got the hang of it pretty quickly and really enjoyed myself, just floating along and checking out the sea life. 

And believe me, there was a LOT of sea life to see. Lots of fish (though not too many brightly colored ones since those are mostly near the reefs), lots of different types of coral ... and a SHARK! Well, only Mike saw the shark, but he got a picture of it, so it definitely happened. We also saw a huge horse conch covered in seaweed.

We had plenty of time to snorkel to our hearts' content, but not so much that we got sick of it (which at least in my case was not a possibility) before it was time to climb back aboard the boat and head back. Along the way we saw more birds and learned more about the history of the park, but I kind of feel like the boys were all a little wiped out, so I'm not sure how much of that they absorbed. They each did get to take a turn being ship's captain on the way back though.

What an incredible day!