At noon I gulped down my usual measure of Tylenol Arthritis and Advil pills. Reality was again overtaking me. My last dose was at 1:20 am this morning. Thus fortified it was onto my tricycle careering along the newly cemented sidewalk to avoid clipping between the two parked cars at the front of the townhouse. Onto the 15 MPH Max laneway, around the shaded corner past the guardhouse at the gate, swinging slowly along the curve, headed southwesterly into the sun blazing across Florida Bay in the direction of the distant Everglades.Then off the laneway across the white stone gravel down to the beach at the edge of which I stationed my tricycle, scrupulously though likely superfluously locking it, attaching it to the sign prohibiting golf carts beyond. From the basket at the back of my tricycle I removed my stick and white and blue striped towel nonchalantly slinging the towel over my left shoulder, emblematically proclaiming my insouciance. I then crippled my way to the picnic table nearby on the beach. I gratefully plopped myself onto the end of one of the heavy wooden benches, removed my boat shoes, putting my iPhone into the left shoe discreetly – though again probably unnecessarily – pushing it into the toe, Apple Watch into the right shoe toe followed by the house key with its totem pole key chain I picked up years ago on a whim at some remote gas station en route south, lip balm and my prescription glasses; shirt off, cast between the bench and the table, towel onto the table. For the first time since our arrival on Key Largo last week I was now ready to wade into the sea.
As you may know the Florida Keys are not known for their beaches. The shallow turquoise sea compensates the deprivation as I knew from past experience both here in Key Largo and at other venues further south at Tavernier, Islamorada and of course Key West. The coral reefs limit the customary sandy beaches.
Established on November 16, 1990, Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary is one of 14 marine protected areas that make up the National Marine Sanctuary System currently protects 2,900 square nautical miles of coastal and ocean waters around the Florida Keys. Within the boundaries of the sanctuary lie spectacular, unique, and nationally significant marine world, from the world’s third largest barrier reef, extensive seagrass beds, mangrove-fringed islands, and thousands of marine species.
The water was tepid. I had to haul my way through the shallow water a distance before it was deep enough to warrant a plunge. In I went, head first. The salt! After two hours floating on my back and paddling about I extinguished the immediate effect of the salt. On occasion I pursed my lips, allowing a strain of water to penetrate within, a welcome flavour which surprisingly quenched my mounting thirst (though otherwise a paradoxical threat).
There was a nearby floating raft but I hadn’t the strength or structural ability to mount the algae covered steps to the pristine top. The sea at that point was only up to my chest. I just floated and paddled and dove. For two hours. I lay on my back, floating like an inflated doll, watching above the massive cumulonimbus. The wind was from the south judging by the direction of the cloud movement. As I floated my ears were submerged. My breathing sounded as though I were in an enclosed chamber. I experimented with the rare sounds. Though I attempted to touch my feet to the sandy bottom the buoyancy prohibited the extension. When I turned over and paddled face down through the sea I watched the shimmering sunlight upon the sandy bottom, alternate shadow and light. Once while floating on my back I felt the sudden prick of something sharp. I had no idea what it was. Later I saw pointed marine vegetation floating about. Perhaps they were seeds of a plant. In appearance they were akin to pea pods but slightly larger and more durable.
Eventually the effect of the sun diminished by the constancy in the water could no longer be ignored. I was beginning to bake. Back on terra firma at the picnic table I sat triumphantly. I prepared to leave. My departure was interrupted by a tiny sand crab (perhaps 2½ inches wide) that scurried near my feet.
It was as inquisitive of me as I was of it. I spoke to it, gently. When it began coming closer to my foot I tossed some sand in its direction. Nimbly it reversed its direction away from me then abruptly turned towards me. It travelled so quickly and expertly that I lost sight of where it disappeared under the picnic table. Upon examination I saw that it must have descended into a hole which had all the appearance of being recently dug – significantly with an escape route only feet away.
I punctuated this aquatic venture by going to the central pool. The process of drying myself at the beach had disclosed the brackish effects of the sea. Once again I was the only one at the pool. The sun was already declining beneath the tops of the palm trees. After desalinating myself in the pool I stretched onto a chaise longue and soon caught myself snoring like a typical old fogey.