This is it, the last day of vacation….we fly out early tomorrow from Fort Lauderdale. So we are up early to take the ferry out to Fort Jefferson and then will drive north when we get back around 6 tonight.
What are the Dry Tortugas you may be asking? It is the group of islands furthest west in the Keys. Called ‘dry’ because there is no fresh water on any of the islands.
Called ‘awesome’ by us. Easily the best day we had on vacation! Let’s start with Suzanne’s photos and then we’ll move the aquatic ones….
Fort Jefferson. It is big and brick and really impressive looking for something that was never finished and not really utilized.
But man, the beach is as pretty as it comes.
You can only get here by the ferry or seaplane…the trip is shorter by plane but you don’t get to stay out here as long. You can camp overnight, but, there are no facilities.
I’d be tempted to try the camping sometime….really peaceful.
We did our beach time and snorkeling first and only made a quick pass at the self-guided tour of Fort Jefferson as the day was winding down. Yes, that is a moat around the perimeter.
The last picture here is the one to note before we go underwater. There is a north beach and a south beach here….and north docks and south docks. They are abandoned now…only the pilings remain. But the snorkeling in and around those pilings? By acclaim….the snorkeling is the best we’ve ever seen!
From the gorgeous coral….especially the purple fan over there on the left….
to the swarms of big fish hanging around the bottoms of the pilings…
The bottom of the pilings were maybe 8 ft deep? easy to swim down and take photos and check things out….
The best part, and really, these photos don’t do them justice, were the literally thousand of little fish that were swimming in swarms as you moved into the interior of the pilings….you’re just floating there….move your hand towards them and they all move away…and slowly come back. Just awesomeness……
Christopher liked the pelicans…and they were everywhere. A target-rich environment!
Some of the big fish…including multiple barracudas,….
More pictures of a crazy ton of fish….
The guide on the ferry recommend heading off-shore to the reef and also checking out along the moat wall….we tried those, nothing even came close to being as cool as swimming around the pilings.
