G.A.S.P.

The next morning (3-1), I started for Biscayne with Plan A and Plan B.  Plan A would be to see if timing, budget and space availability would allow me to take a glass-bottom boat trip out to the reef.  If so, I figured that would take most of the day and I would stay the night again in Florida City.  If not, then my visit would be quick, and I would be on my way north (Plan B).

I arrived at the National Park just a few minutes after 9:00 and almost immediately found a sign identifying the schedule for the glass-bottom boat tours.  They only go out once per day, but it is from 10:00 until 1:00, so I was still okay.  I located the concessionaire and determined that the price was $20 and that there was room aboard for today’s trip.  Very quick decision – yes, I’d like to take the reef trip today. 

I had just enough time for a quick look around the Visitor Center, then it was time to get on board along with a very knowledgeable Park Ranger who would be our tour guide.

Biscayne National Park has four interlocking components.  First, the Mangrove trees that line much of the shore of the bay.  These play an important role in stabilizing the coastline.  They have long, exposed roots that wrap around rocks and then hold mud and sand in place.  In time, they allow solid ground to be built.  They form a very important habitat for both birds and water animals.

Second is the bay itself.  The National Park encompasses 180,000 acres, and 95 percent of it is under the water of the bay.  The bay is very shallow, in most places not more than about 8 to 10 feet deep.  It supports an abundance of wildlife – birds, fish, crustaceans and the gentle Manatee.  Most of the food chain for the region is here, beginning with Mangrove leaves that fall into the water and begin to decay.  The decaying leaves are colonized by microorganisms, which are eaten by one-celled animals that are in turn consumed by shrimp, crabs, insects, worms and other tiny invertebrates.  Small fish are next in line, then bigger fish and birds.  Then there are the humans who enjoy seafood.

Third are the keys.  There are a number of them in the Park, including Elliott Key that is nearly 10 miles long.  Key is not just a Florida term for an island.  All real keys began life as coral reefs.  The keys of Florida were built more than 100,000 years ago by billions and billions and billions (I think maybe trillions) of tiny coral animals as underwater reefs stretching more than 150 miles from Miami to Key West.  Prior to the last Ice Age (12,000 or so years ago), the ocean level here was 20 to 25 feet higher than today.  When the Ice Age came, the ocean level dropped dramatically and the reefs were exposed.  The ocean level has again risen now that the Ice Age is past, but still not to its former level.  Over time, the barren “rock” of the exposed reefs trapped wind and water borne sand particles, and vegetation began to grow.

Fourth are the reefs – new ones just like the ones that became keys many years ago.  Reefs are built by corals – colonies of tiny (the size of the period at the end of this sentence) soft-bodied animals called polyps.  Each polyp builds a tube-shaped skeleton around itself by extracting calcium from the sea, and hundreds or thousands of these skeletons then band together to make a coral.  Many corals, growing side by side or one on top of another then form a reef, with living organisms on the outside and dead (rock like) ones underneath.  The reefs attract an abundance of sea-life.  Every crack or hole in the reef is someone’s home – worms, mollusks, fish, eels, etc.

The boat trip takes visitors to some of these reefs, and they delight the eye.  Corals come in a variety of sizes, shapes and colors, and there are more than two hundred types of fish, most of which are very colorful, swimming all around them.  I took a number of photos through the glass bottom, but don’t know yet how they will really look on the computer.

The reefs have also played an important role in local commerce over the past few centuries.  In the 16^th century, pirate ships from Spain, France and the Netherlands came to Florida and ambushed other ships as they approached the shallow reefs.  Black Caesar was one notable local pirate, who reportedly left a large cache of silver somewhere in Biscayne Bay.  After the pirates were run out of here, a new business emerged.  People called “wreckers” made their living in the Keys by salvaging goods from ships that had been smashed on the reefs.  Business was so good that Key West was the richest (per capita) city in the United States for many years.

The National Park Service also has one sunken vessel under its jurisdiction.  They located a British Man-o-War (the Fowey) a number of years ago and have salvaged many artifacts.  I asked if they were on display and was told that they were about ready to do so in 1992 when Hurricane Andrew blew in and destroyed a number of buildings on Elliott Key.  I think it’s now a matter of time before they can afford to develop displays for what they’ve salvaged.

Biscayne became a National Monument in 1968 after concerns were raised over a proposed highway from Miami Beach to Key Largo.  In 1980, the park was enlarged and it was re-designated as Biscayne National Park.

 Click on bicyclist to see more photographs.