While writing this I’m listening to Bertie Higgins singing about Key Largo. I think the  Caribbean flair is something that has me getting addicted to coming here more often. We arrived in Key Largo in the early afternoon and were debating on what to do. The receptionist recommended Keys Diver for snorkeling. For that day all afternoon tours were booked and the sunset tour was cancelled due to an upcoming storm. So we booked the 9 am tour for the next day. This caused a shift in plans as we wanted to spend the whole day in Miami. We then decided to drive out to the John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park. We paid over 9$ to get in. Which is ok. The entry fee for Lover’s Key is 8$ and has been that way for several years now. We thought that we might get some snorkeling done there.

Here too the water was a bit murky and full of algae and seaweed. Karsten found some sunken cannons at the Cannon Beach but a thunderstorm came up and we had to leave the water. Returning  to our hotel the Marina Del Mar our next decision was where to eat. Next to the hotel was a bar and restaurant called Skippers Dockside. The choice was easy as we just had to walk over and not worry about who is driving. I decided to have a Key Lime Colada. This was made with Bacardi superior rum, keke beach liqueur, coconut creme and fresh pineapple juice. At the end of the evening I had two of them. Karsten wanted something frozen too after he finished his beer. Well the waitress sold him a Killer Colada, similar to mine but double the rum.

We decided to head back to our hotel to be bright and fresh for our snorkeling tour the next morning. I was a bit apprehensive as for sometime now I was uncomfortable with putting on a mask and my face in the water. My idea was getting into the water with everyone else and paddling around.

We were awake on time, went downstairs to the lobby to have our continental breakfast consisting of bagels, cereal, coffee and watery oj. I wasn’t really hungry as the next thing nagging my mind was getting seasick. Thinking it is better to be safe than sorry I didn’t eat much. Just in case Eric and I took our travel sickness pills. Our hotel was directly on the marina so we had a minute walk to the boat which was perfect. Boarding was at 8:45 and at 9:00 we started off to the White Banks Dry Rocks. The water was calm and Eric and I were both doing well. We then were fitted with fins an inflatable vest and goggles and snorkel. When we reached our destination getting into the water was easy. Karsten gave me a noodle and I experimented with the snorkel and goggles. I ended up sticking my head underwater and I was was thrilled by the coral reef and the fish. I couldn’t stop. I was snorkeling!

We snorkeled for about an hour and then headed back. It was a perfect decision to start our morning off with this activity. The captain and his mate were also very nice and I think the fact that Nate explained how he would help if someone was in trouble in the water had a calming effect. This wasn’t our last time snorkeling.