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The Keys have the only living coral reef formations in the continental US.  I was surprised to learn that it is also one of the most popular areas to scuba dive in the world. (Years ago I had the opportunity to get a scuba diving certification while in the Outer Barrier Reef in Australia – cool, huh!).  Rather than diving, I was hoping we would go snorkeling.

We headed off to John Pennykamp Coral Reef State Park located in Key Largo.  Pennekamp Park is the first undersea park in the US, and with the Keys National Marine Sanctuary it makes up some 178 nautical square miles of coral reefs, mangrove swaps, and seagrass beds.

And while Hurricane Ida had not yet turned into a tropical storm that would dump massive amounts of rain in the area, it was making its presence felt in the ocean.  The waters were too choppy and all snorkeling trips were canceled.  We decided on a glass-bottom boat tour.  We were told, however, that anti-seasickness pills were recommended because of the rough waters.  Rich didn’t want any.  But I bought a pack, telling Rich that we could each take one as it would be better than getting sick.   After he took his, Rich immediately wanted to spit it out, not liking it at all.  Even though I’ve never had a problem in a boat, I took mine.

The start of people heading upstairs to start the journey.

The mangrove swamps, so we were told.  We were also told the journey would be about 40 minutes to get to the reef area.

The ride was invigorating and fun.  Once we were out in the ocean, the waters were very rough.

The boat started getting tossed about.

We were told to go down a level since the waves would soon be crashing over the top of the boat.  Really?  Would it get that rough?

That’s me holding on, and that’s one of my last smiles of the day.

The water starting to crash and break into the boat.

Most people stayed on the mid-level of the boat, but Rich and I decided to get downstairs earlier.  I sat, head down, watching the water zoom by and change from a bright green to a very bright turquoise.

When the boat stopped, the captain warned that the boat would be dramatically tossing about.  He told people they could sit around the edges.  I wasn’t feeling too good and decided not to sit.  One of the crew people started handing out peppermints, saying it helps with seasickness.  Then the caption said, if you are feeling queasy (check), sweaty (check), lightheaded (check), get to the top of the boat and look out towards the horizon.  Rich turned, realized I wasn’t sitting and said, “Are you alright?”  Nope.  And I was outta there.  I was the first person to go to the top level.  I sat, breathing and trying not to get sick.

That’s Rich on the lower right.  And that’s the last time I saw him before going upstairs.  As I sat there, one person after the next came upstairs.  Then I heard people getting sick. The crew person was great, but  ewww!   I sat there talking to myself – breath, breath, breath.  I could hear the caption talking about a sand shark under the boat, then jellyfish, then various schools of fish, then another shark.  I just continued to focus on my breathing.  More people came upstairs.  More people got sick.  Egads … la la la .. don’t listen … and breath, breath, breath.

Rich came upstairs and a crew person asked if he was okay.  He brightly said he was fine, he was checking on me.  I told him to go back downstairs and enjoy the fish.  The tour went on and on, the captain kept describing the various fish and sharks.  I could care less.  I wanted the boat to get moving.  It was an hour and a half, a very long hour and a half, before the tour was finally over and we got moving.

I was lucky.  The moment the boat started moving, I got better.  Others weren’t so lucky.  Rich was absolutely fine. In fact, he said he loved the swaying. He found it relaxing. Relaxing? He said when the tour was over  he looked up and said, “Where did everyone go?”  The captain said, upstairs.  Everyone is sick!

This entry was posted on Monday, November 16th, 2009 at 1:22 am and is filed under Misc. Personal. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.