Snorkeling In The Florida Keys
One of the reasons we love going to the Keys is the snorkeling. God knew we were perfect for each over 10 years ago because He knew we both loved snorkeling. We had snorkeled on our honeymoon in Mexico and though that was my first time,I fell in love with it. Since then, we have bought our own gear and try to find the best places to go in the Keys (without having to pay a pretty penny). We are no pros, but we did buy a diver down flag so that we could really go anywhere, which ended up being a GREAT choice because ended up finding some amazing spots outside of the designated areas.
There is just something we love about putting our faces in the water and watching the world down under. Really, though we just love being in or on the water too. Plus, we had such amazing weather, which made it all the better!
Dan had heard of a place called toilet seat cut about 1 1/2 miles from our condo. No we did not snorkel there, but we were able to kayak down to it, which ended up being quite the trip! Our kayak was taking on water, it was SUPER windy so I was just soaked by the time we got there, and then we ran aground. It was quite a trip out there, but very interesting to see all of these toilet seats set up to mark the channel for boats!
And it was fun to read all of the messages on each of the seats!
Dan made his own anchor with some rope and a piece of coral/rock
This is the life!
Our diver down flag so that we don’t get run over by boats!
We went snorkeling off the shores of our condo and found plenty to look at!
We even saw a little baby nurse shark taking a nap!
We also went on a guided snorkeling trip to Alligator Reef, which was WELL worth the trip and money!
It felt like we were swimming in our own aquarium!
We were told there was an 9-9 foot nurse shark hanging around that area. Lo and behold, he made his appearance! They are pretty harmless, but boy was it huge!
The water was SO CLEAR!
The old lighthouse at Alligator Reef
We also went snorkeling at Bahia Honda State Park and saw this beauty! We both had never seen a starfish outside of an aquarium. This starfish was about a foot in diameter!
Can you find the hogfish? (Bottom middle, just to the left)
Jellyfish
We also enjoyed swimming by the channel at our condo, where there were lobsters all over the place!
Does anyone know what this is? The tentacles of this guy were a bright blue (though hard to tell in the picture).
More lobster! I so badly wanted to eat him!
What a life!
What better way to spend a vacation, with my best friend by my side, in the beauty of God’s creation! We would have spent every waking moment outside, but our skin would have screamed otherwise! Thankfully we didn’t get too burned, but our northern skin sure needed some sunscreen! We went through two full bottles and part of another! Dan even bought me a sunshirt that is spf 50, so helped plenty too. So thankful for such a wonderful place to go and such a wonderful vacation, celebrating 10 years of love with my amazing husband!
