I thought I posted an update yesterday, but apparently something didn't go through. It was an ok day, learning how to snorkel and passing a swim test. Saw a few lizards, some fish, some birds. Nothing special.
Today started off right: right before breakfast, we saw a Florida manatee. However, it swam away fairly fast, so I barely saw it, much less got a photo. Apparently a group of three is usually in our dock area in the morning, so there's hope for the next two days.
Later we went snorkeling in a sea grass and mangrove area. This wasn't all that great. I'm a fairly tall individual and the water was quite shallow. Additionally, I have a very low body weight. I actually had problems staying afloat. This led to me getting stung, though I'm not sure by what. The only jellies in the area were upside-down jellies, and when I quickly looked I saw none in the immediate area. I guess I'll never know. The sting is barely visible on my leg, but it's an annoying somewhat constant pain. However, all my problems were resolved by the time of my second snorkeling trip today:
Coral reefs! Much more fun, much more along the lines of what I was expecting, and I saw a lot of cool animals. We started in one area (I think the southernmost of the Northern Rocks) and moored to a buoy, practically right on top of a blacktip reef shark. Later someone else saw a Caribbean reef shark, but it was gone by the time I got there. A shame, because I've never seen that species. Saw some other fish, too. It's hard to identify some of the species without my glasses on. We then went to a different spot:
Dry Rocks (I think). One staff member hopped in the second we moored, and shouted "sea turtle"! That caused quite a scramble, but by the time I could get in, it had turned into a chase. I slowly meandered in the general direction, viewing the reef until someone located it. I saw the largest barracuda I'd ever seen. There were a lot of sea fans, seargent majors, other reef fish. Finally, someone found the sea turtle. It turned out to be a hawksbill, my favorite species and something I'd really not expected to see. Me and a good chunk of our group followed it for a bit, and at one point it turned around and swam towards me, allowing for a great shot! It has been the highlight so far. On the way back, we saw a loggerhead sea turtle diving, bringing my total wild sea turtle list to three. Tomorrow is once again reef snorkeling, and then our trip to Pennekamp. We have only two hours, including a one mile walk each way, but I'll do my best to visit the aquarium so I can post a review, and then look for wildlife. A crocodile would be amazing. The day after, I have a couple hours in the Everglades. The coral reefs, I think, are still "taking the cake" so to speak. I hope to see a hammerhead but that is extremely unlikely. I'll post an update tomorrow if possible, and the review will come within the next few days.
