What I did on my summer vacation...

Remember your first assignment from your English teacher on your very fist day back to school? Well, I’m long past school but am beating her to the punch this year. This is my account of one of the things I did on my summer vacation. While hanging out in Key West, Connie and I did a couple of snorkeling trips. The first into the shallow back country waters of Sugar Loaf Key. Led by Lazy Dog Charters, we kayaked into the mangrove forests. Our guide was very knowledgeable as she told us of the interdependencies of each of the species of plant and animals. Without going all “treehugger” on us she made it very clear that the human impact on these natural preserves has a major impact on the surrounding land mass, reefs and animals. The red mangrove starts the cycle rooting itself in the most likely waters for its survival. Each subsequent mangrove variety provides just another little bit of the equation to allow for a land mass to begin to form. Over the course of years each mass becomes is own self sufficient habitat providing food and shelter to birds, small land animals and even acts as a safe haven for newly hatched tropical fish. Without these isles of life, the wildlife in deeper waters would be depleted. We snorkeled in 3 -15 feet of water moving slowly so t we didn’t kick up the loose sand. Pausing and watching an entire world would appear. Miniature amphibians like Sea Cucumber, Nurse Sharks and one small but mean Barracuda would swim within inches. Although not easily recognized due to its brown striped coloring, this baby barracuda proved to be just as aggressive as its larger parents are rumored to be… eating its way through schools of fish one by one right in front of me. Our second trip was to the third largest coral reef in the world. We traveled by a catamaran called the Caribbean Spirit 6 miles out into the Atlantic to the Florida reef. The reef grows incredibly slow and shares a symbiotic relationship with the fish and microscopic animals. We snorkeled in 3 – 40 feet of water. There were thousands of fish in a wide array of colors and sizes. A pause to gaze into the deep yielded another world. It’s never been so easy for me to see the circle of life played out in such plain view. Fish in all sizes and colors, lobster, urchins and a much larger version of my friend the Barracuda all played their part. Seemingly coming out of nowhere this silver Barracuda was about 3 feet long, slender, with a protruding lower jaw and very jagged teeth. While all the other fish were animated and moving rapidly, this one chose to suspend himself motionless within 5 feet of Connie and me. Watching us with what appeared to be a dead eye and oozing a bad attitude. My brain flashed to the memory of his aggressive little brother from just a few days before. I wondered if I looked like food. I wondered if this fish could smell my fear. I tried hard to both leave the area and fit him into the view finder of my underwater camera, a feat that makes it nearly impossible to take a decent picture. In what seemed like an instant, the carnivorous fish slowly and confidently moved off into the distant. As ominously has he had appeared, he faded into the haze of the water until he was gone from my view. As if on cue, we were called back to the boat. Connie and I compared notes with the other people on the snorkel trip to find that our Barracuda was just one of many that were seen. It is my firm belief that every relaxing summer vacation needs to have a good shot of adrenaline thrown in just to keep things interesting. I’ll take my “A” now…