August 4, 2010

• …the harbor becomes the sea…

  thursday
  i’m on a boat

  

  so, thursday we woke up to a gorgeous sunrise and got ready quickly for our day-long excursion on the great big sea.  this charter was the only thing we’d booked in advance, and we’d been looking forward to it like crazy!  after we checked in, we boarded the sailboat and settled in with an awesome crew and excellently diverse crowd of fellow passengers. 

  

  sitting in the harbor

  

  lex helped raise one of the sails, and he was wicked good at it!

  

  he also looked wicked good on the deck of the ship

  we sailed for about two hours, and then we got into kayaks right off the side of the ship and headed on a kayak tour through the mangrove forests.  lex and i were in a kayak together, of course, and we’re pretty awesome at it.  whenever we got a chance to maneuver around on our own, we really flew in an amazing groove. 

  

  we spotted lots of wildlife while we were on the tour, and lex managed to snag a shot of this osprey.

  anyone who knows me is well aware of the fact that i soak up every ounce of knowledge you can throw my way.  any chance i get to learn something, i’ll take it.  that’s a way in which the crew completely excelled.  in fact, everything we did in the keys was drenched in history and local lore–it was perfect for my hungry brain!  but these guys?  they were constantly doling out the trivia and tidbits.  naming animals, telling about different islands, anecdotes galore!  i love people who seem to have done their research

  after we finished up the kayak tour (and were well on our way to being turned into lobsters by the big ol’ sun) we got a chance to free swim in the clear waters while the crew prepped some lunch.  speaking of which, one of the best parts of this particular charter was how completely accommodating the company was.  snacks, freezing drinks, and lunch were all provided–and awesome vegan options were made available!  homemade hummus from a local business, all sorts of fresh, fresh fruits, and pb and j, woo!

  

  me, enjoying a cool cup of water in the midday sun

  while we all ate and chatted, the captain directed the ship towards the next leg of our adventure–snorkeling.  now, i’d never snorkled before, and i was really excited–if a bit apprehensive.  i’m a good swimmer, but i was concerned about that whole mask/tube/fin thing.  after several minutes of mild panic, and a short trip back to the boat to snag a noodle (because, while i can swim and breathe, i apparently can’t do both at once, haha!) it turned out to be loads and loads of fun!  i got super into it–and lex and i saw some really awesome things.  tons of fish, of course, but also giant lobsters and crabs hiding out under rocks and a lion fish chilling in a hole.  it was ridiculous.  and awesome!

  
  i adore this one–lex took it of the sail he raised against the perfect blue sky

  after snorkeling, they brought out more snacks and drinks for us to enjoy while we headed back towards to docks.  that was some of the best snacking and drinking i have ever done.  i don’t know if i’m the only person who experiences that *stomach gnawing the spine* kind of hunger after being in the water, but man–it always gets me!  so i was glad to have a handful of tortilla chips and some scoops of that hummus.  yum!!

  by the time we got back to dry land, we’d had an amazing, wild, excellent, awesome day.  i will go ahead and put it out there:  if you’re heading for the keys and looking for something to do, please, please, please check out danger charters.  the crew was fantastic, the trip was amazing, and we couldn’t have booked a better excursion for our last full day in the keys!

  • 9:14 pm
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