08Sep11 we were supposed to do our last dives with Silent World, but happened to talk to another couple as we were checking out of our hotel. They stated that SW was diving the Spiegel Grove, another deep dive. Irritating, and pretty much the last straw for us. Liesl called the shop, and they were able to arrange for us to dive with another shop, Amy Slate's Amoray. We headed up to Amy's, got signed in, and boarded a catamaran style boat, which had plenty of room to sit from bow to stern. A nice set up, though I suspect it is quite crowded with snorkelers and divers during the high season. On this day, they had 3 snorkelers and 12 divers aboard, including, Amy Slate herself who is a very friendly lady who has been diving the area for a long time. The captain notified us that we would be heading to Molasses Reef. This is probably the most dove site in Key Largo. I'm not sure why as there was a lot of dead coral in the area.
Our first dive was on Permit Ledges. The visibility was fairly low, owing to algael blooms we later learning. There were quite a few parrots on site. This was also the first site on which we spotted squirrel fish. We spent a good deal of time just meandering through the coral fingers, until Liesl spotted a small turtle swimming by. She got a couple great shots of it too. A little later, I spotted another. He was so intent on whatever he was eating, he had no interest in us, as we hovered nearby, and even stayed there when we called over a group from another boat. For all the life, there was an awful lot of dead coral. As we returned, I had to surface a couple times to check the boat position. As we neared the boat, we found a group of divers hovering around the bottom, waiting out the resto f their tanks I think. We decided to do the same nearby, and started exploring. Liesl spotted a large squirrel fish back in a niche in the coral. What she didn't see was the big scorpion fish laying on the bottom beneath it. Soon after we were distracted by a large Atlantic spade fish. We noticed everyone else was now out of the water, so we headed back to the boat.
Only a few minutes away was the second site, the Well Wood. Scientists use the area for research. There are rods to measure coral growth, monitoring stations, and they use the site to transplant farm grown staghorn coral. Pretty neat stuff.
I lost my tank tapper when I stepped in, but Liesl saved it and we quickly descended the 15 feet to the bottom. There were a ton if jellies in the area, so we were happy we had brought the wet suits. There were chubs, blue chromis, lots of little fish, French, spanish and blue striped grunts. Liesl spied a goat fish digging in the sand.
Later in the dive, I got my first look at a midnight parrot fish. They are brilliant blue and black, quite striking! While watching them feed, we were startled by a couple of scrawled file fish, as they darted by. We started working our way back shortly after, and on our way back we spied a school of black margate hanging out in a swim through. nearing the boat, we milled about near the boat, took a couple of shots of the research equipment, then ascended.
That afternoon, we were to head north again, so we went to Mrs. Macs one last time, gorged ourselves on tasty food, and purchased a key lime pie for the road. We were heading to Riviera, FL for the night to stay near the Blue Heron Bridge, another dive site that we had originally wanted to dive, but the tides were not in our favor, and we wanted to get back home.
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Key Largo Part 2
The Hungry Pelican:
We arrived at our hotel around 6pm. It seemed fairly packed, but it was the last day of vacation for many, so I had a feeling it would be vacated soon. We checked in at the office and received the key to our room, the Conch. I knew from the many reviews that the rooms here were not large, but I was still a little shocked by just how small it was. Maybe 160 sq feet if you squint real hard. It was going to be 'cozy' with all our gear.
We spent a bit of time unloading, and getting aquainted with the bit of property, taking a short stroll down to the dock. Following our short stroll about, we decided we should contact Silent World Dive center to talk about what was going on and get aquainted. With it being early evening, we weren't able to get anyone on the phone, so decided to take a drive to find where they dock the boat.
We were in luck, as we pulled up, there were still a couple guys unloading gear and getting tanks put away. We decided to stop and introduce ourselves and get the low down for the next morning. We were asked to meet at the dive shop at 0745 to sign away our lives in triplicate.
Liesl and I then went to find some food. Liesl noticed a restaurant called The Fish House. I figured I might be able to find something to eat there, so in we went. Liesl ordered Matecumbe (Mahi Mahi), and I had shrimp and scallops key lime over rice. The dishes were pretty tasty, even for me, a non-fish person. With our stomachs full, and an early morning ahead, it was time for some much deserved sleep.
At the dive shop the next morning we learned that we would be diving the USCG Cutter Duane, opted out of diving nitrox as we have not yet bought an analyzer, and spent a small fortune. Liesl and I then drove to the marina where we would board the Silent World 4. Capt. Bob and the DM Robert were crewing the boat. We took on tanks and weights, boarded the boat and hit the high seas.
The trip out to the Duane took about 50 minutes. The first 30 minutes were ok, a little chop but not bad, the next 20 minutes, were a bit more rough. They gave a short briefing, including entrance instructions. I found this interesting, as every trip I've been on has had different procedures. On this dive, we were to hang on to the granny line as we step in, then hand-over-hand to the bouy, then pull ourselves to the stern of the ship along the bouy line. It was either this or fly off into the deep blue, not a good option.
We were paired up with another man named Matt, but would otherwise be solo. The current was fairly strong, 1-2 knots. The visibility as we decended was poor, less than 30 feet. We made it to the stern, and saw a barracuda, a pair of gray angels, school of grunts, as we kicked into the current for about 15 minutes, before having to turn back. Liesl took a few pictures of the crows nest, then back to the line to ascend. In all we were only down for about 23 minutes.
Back aboard was not pleasant, and we ended up getting seasick while we were waiting for the tech divers to come up from tehir 2 hour dive. We were green enough about the gills to not want to attempt another dive in those conditions. We also ended up calling off our night trip scheduled for the Spiegle Grove, as it was in the same conditions.
Sea sickness sucks!
The ride back was a bit miserable, but we made it. Liesl and I then headed to the dive shop to talk about changing our schedule around to possibly include a second shallow dive in lieu of the Spiegel trip. They agreed, and we were set for a better day ahead.
After a quick cleanup at the hotel, we ate at a great little place called Mrs. Macs, where Liesl later became addicted to the Key Lime Freeze. We ended up eating here a couple of times. Good food in a good environment.
We spent a while sitting on the dock at the hotel sipping our shakes, then it was time for bed.
more to come...
We arrived at our hotel around 6pm. It seemed fairly packed, but it was the last day of vacation for many, so I had a feeling it would be vacated soon. We checked in at the office and received the key to our room, the Conch. I knew from the many reviews that the rooms here were not large, but I was still a little shocked by just how small it was. Maybe 160 sq feet if you squint real hard. It was going to be 'cozy' with all our gear.
We spent a bit of time unloading, and getting aquainted with the bit of property, taking a short stroll down to the dock. Following our short stroll about, we decided we should contact Silent World Dive center to talk about what was going on and get aquainted. With it being early evening, we weren't able to get anyone on the phone, so decided to take a drive to find where they dock the boat.
We were in luck, as we pulled up, there were still a couple guys unloading gear and getting tanks put away. We decided to stop and introduce ourselves and get the low down for the next morning. We were asked to meet at the dive shop at 0745 to sign away our lives in triplicate.
Liesl and I then went to find some food. Liesl noticed a restaurant called The Fish House. I figured I might be able to find something to eat there, so in we went. Liesl ordered Matecumbe (Mahi Mahi), and I had shrimp and scallops key lime over rice. The dishes were pretty tasty, even for me, a non-fish person. With our stomachs full, and an early morning ahead, it was time for some much deserved sleep.
At the dive shop the next morning we learned that we would be diving the USCG Cutter Duane, opted out of diving nitrox as we have not yet bought an analyzer, and spent a small fortune. Liesl and I then drove to the marina where we would board the Silent World 4. Capt. Bob and the DM Robert were crewing the boat. We took on tanks and weights, boarded the boat and hit the high seas.
The trip out to the Duane took about 50 minutes. The first 30 minutes were ok, a little chop but not bad, the next 20 minutes, were a bit more rough. They gave a short briefing, including entrance instructions. I found this interesting, as every trip I've been on has had different procedures. On this dive, we were to hang on to the granny line as we step in, then hand-over-hand to the bouy, then pull ourselves to the stern of the ship along the bouy line. It was either this or fly off into the deep blue, not a good option.
We were paired up with another man named Matt, but would otherwise be solo. The current was fairly strong, 1-2 knots. The visibility as we decended was poor, less than 30 feet. We made it to the stern, and saw a barracuda, a pair of gray angels, school of grunts, as we kicked into the current for about 15 minutes, before having to turn back. Liesl took a few pictures of the crows nest, then back to the line to ascend. In all we were only down for about 23 minutes.
Back aboard was not pleasant, and we ended up getting seasick while we were waiting for the tech divers to come up from tehir 2 hour dive. We were green enough about the gills to not want to attempt another dive in those conditions. We also ended up calling off our night trip scheduled for the Spiegle Grove, as it was in the same conditions.
Sea sickness sucks!
The ride back was a bit miserable, but we made it. Liesl and I then headed to the dive shop to talk about changing our schedule around to possibly include a second shallow dive in lieu of the Spiegel trip. They agreed, and we were set for a better day ahead.
After a quick cleanup at the hotel, we ate at a great little place called Mrs. Macs, where Liesl later became addicted to the Key Lime Freeze. We ended up eating here a couple of times. Good food in a good environment.
We spent a while sitting on the dock at the hotel sipping our shakes, then it was time for bed.
more to come...
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Key Largo Post 1
Liesl and I had made plans to enjoy a few days diving in Key Largo, FL. with Silent World Dive Center and staying at The Hungry Pelican for 3 days, then heading north to the West Palm Beach Area for another dive on the Blue Heron Bridge. As we could not find a pet friendly place to stay, we decided to board Lizzy with Lesley (Pawkeepers), whom we have used in the past. She is great, and Lizzy enjoys her place.
We had an early morning consisting of getting everything into the car, and delivering Lizzy to Pawkeepers.
Pawkeepers is run out of Lesley's home, where she only boards 4 dogs at any given time. She is awesome with dogs, which could be recognized by the way Lizzy reacted upon pulling up to her place. As soon as the car door opened, Lizzy ran straight to the front door, waiting impatiently. After a short visit with Lesley, and dropping off the dog goodies, we were back in the car for the trip.
We had made reservations at a Days Inn in St. Augustine, Fl. the first night, so we needed to get some miles behind us (appx. 728 Miles). Luckily for us, we planned to leave in the middle of the Holiday instead of the end. Traffic was fairly light, and we made good time, stopping occasionally for gas, bathroom breaks, and coffee. No food however, as we had packed for that.
I didn't know anything about St. Augustine, except that it had cheap lodging in about the right spot for a days drive. Turns out, there's a lot more to it. Not knowing this, I didn't plan any extra time into exploring this historic little place. I almost wish I had.
The Days Inn hotel we stayed at was surprisingly clean. I say surprisingly, because we don't often spend a lot on hotel accommodations for a single night. It was an old hotel, but obviously well cleaned. Can't ask for much more, and I doubt we would have gotten it if we did.
The following morning, we ate breakfast at the attached IHOP. We spent the better part of our meal talking about how disturbing the menu was. Candy on pancakes. And everyone is thinking how great it is. Ugh.
Fast forward through my omelet, and Liesl's senior meal and we are back on the road heading south punctuated by playing the alphabet game and slug bug. There is really nothing much remarkable about the road trip down, as all you can see for the most part is trees lining the road or sound barrier.
Since we were passing by anyway, I suggested we stop off at the Blue Heron Bridge (+appx 241 miles) to get a look. Holy packed! Not a legal parking space around. We stopped in a slot designated for boat trailers, and made a quick meal from the grub we had brought along. Then, as police were shooing other people out of the spots, we made another loop through the parking lot on the off chance someone had vacated. No luck, so we headed out. On our way back to the highway, we stopped at Force-E, where we had earlier noted a sale going on. We perused the gear, and spotted a couple of books, but decided to forgo buying them. After browsing for a while, we jumped back in the car and headed south again.
The directions I had printed out, took us into a tollway. I'm not much for paying tolls (ie. cheapskate), so we took the "long route". Traffic was still at a minimum, so we got through everything just fine.
At this point it is important to remember that we are in Florida, land of the sunny beaches covered in super-model-hot-babes. Not to burst that bubble, but it's just another place people live. I'm sure there were some nice beaches, but we were bypassing them in lieu of our destination, Key Largo (+131 miles), and some hopefully spectacular diving.
While you're waiting for more...
We had an early morning consisting of getting everything into the car, and delivering Lizzy to Pawkeepers.
Pawkeepers is run out of Lesley's home, where she only boards 4 dogs at any given time. She is awesome with dogs, which could be recognized by the way Lizzy reacted upon pulling up to her place. As soon as the car door opened, Lizzy ran straight to the front door, waiting impatiently. After a short visit with Lesley, and dropping off the dog goodies, we were back in the car for the trip.
We had made reservations at a Days Inn in St. Augustine, Fl. the first night, so we needed to get some miles behind us (appx. 728 Miles). Luckily for us, we planned to leave in the middle of the Holiday instead of the end. Traffic was fairly light, and we made good time, stopping occasionally for gas, bathroom breaks, and coffee. No food however, as we had packed for that.
I didn't know anything about St. Augustine, except that it had cheap lodging in about the right spot for a days drive. Turns out, there's a lot more to it. Not knowing this, I didn't plan any extra time into exploring this historic little place. I almost wish I had.
The Days Inn hotel we stayed at was surprisingly clean. I say surprisingly, because we don't often spend a lot on hotel accommodations for a single night. It was an old hotel, but obviously well cleaned. Can't ask for much more, and I doubt we would have gotten it if we did.
The following morning, we ate breakfast at the attached IHOP. We spent the better part of our meal talking about how disturbing the menu was. Candy on pancakes. And everyone is thinking how great it is. Ugh.
Fast forward through my omelet, and Liesl's senior meal and we are back on the road heading south punctuated by playing the alphabet game and slug bug. There is really nothing much remarkable about the road trip down, as all you can see for the most part is trees lining the road or sound barrier.
Since we were passing by anyway, I suggested we stop off at the Blue Heron Bridge (+appx 241 miles) to get a look. Holy packed! Not a legal parking space around. We stopped in a slot designated for boat trailers, and made a quick meal from the grub we had brought along. Then, as police were shooing other people out of the spots, we made another loop through the parking lot on the off chance someone had vacated. No luck, so we headed out. On our way back to the highway, we stopped at Force-E, where we had earlier noted a sale going on. We perused the gear, and spotted a couple of books, but decided to forgo buying them. After browsing for a while, we jumped back in the car and headed south again.
The directions I had printed out, took us into a tollway. I'm not much for paying tolls (ie. cheapskate), so we took the "long route". Traffic was still at a minimum, so we got through everything just fine.
At this point it is important to remember that we are in Florida, land of the sunny beaches covered in super-model-hot-babes. Not to burst that bubble, but it's just another place people live. I'm sure there were some nice beaches, but we were bypassing them in lieu of our destination, Key Largo (+131 miles), and some hopefully spectacular diving.
While you're waiting for more...
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