Marine Life and Sunset Tour!

OK, so this post is a day late. I had a long day yesterday and although I am committed to keeping folks up to date and want so badly to post daily, I sometimes get tired and last night I was tired! So I will do TWO posts today, one covering yesterdays adventures and one covering today's adventure! I will try not to let it happen again!

One of the most interesting tours we do is our Marine Life Explorers Adventure. This private half day tour offers our customers a "hands on" experience with our local sea life. Our own marine biologist (Cristina) travels with us to help identify the local wildlife and sea life as it is encountered throughout the day. This trip has it all. We visit a shelling island that can only be accessed by boat, we head to grass flats to net the sea life where each find is identified and explained by Cristina, and we go in search of dolphin, birds and other wildlife to complete the portfolio of fun and adventure. Additionally, we take along a kayak for even more fun and entertainment for those wishing to venture out in the shallow bays around the grass flats.

The weather was OK, although we did have to wear light jackets and the wind was quite brisk as we headed from Snook Bight Marina to our destination. We did encounter dolphins early on and continued to see them throughout the morning. Even from the shoreline of the shelling island we could see several dolphins playing in the pass. I think the fishermen were a little upset that they were playing so close to the boat. Dolphins eat fish and fish see dolphins as predators! My guess is the fishermen were not catching as many fish as they could because the fish were hiding from the dolphin! What do you think?

So after a great morning of kayaking, shelling, netting, birdwatching, dolphin watching, wind surfing (well OK, no wind surfing, how about WIND RIDING), we headed back to the marina and said goodbye to our guests! Great day, great fun, good job Cristina!

Later in the day I took 6 great people out on a sunset cruise. Again, the south wind affected our journey to Big Carlos Pass and I had a tough time keeping the salt spray from getting my guests damp. Dolphins were a little tougher tonight than they were last night however we were able to see them. Sunset happened, but we could not see the actual setting due to low level clouds. The clouds did, however, enhance the afterglow which for me is even more pretty than the actual sunset.

I shared with the group my interpretation of how the "Green Flash" occurs when the sun goes down. This optical phenomenon can occur if the sky is clear and there is no haze on the horizon. The less technical explanation can go something like this. Our eyes collect colors and interpret them from four basic spectral colors. Those colors are yellow, red, green and blue. When the sun sets, as it lowers itself down and sinks into the horizon, the first two colors that set and go out of our line of site are yellow and red. Whats left is green and blue. If the sky is clear and there is no haze, the blue colors left as the sun sets blend with the blue color of the sky. All that is left is GREEN. All of this takes place the instant the last sliver of sun fades away. At that instant, your eyes pick up on that green. It is a flash of green! So, there you have it! The GREEN FLASH!

If you have seen the Pirates Of the Caribbean, At Worlds End, an explanation was given, not of what the green flash was, but what the resulted when the green flash occurred. Every time the green flash occurs, according to pirate lore, a dead pirate is allowed to return to earth from Davie Jones Locker! My wife thinks this is how I ended up here!

So, after a great day, I found myself tired and in need of rest. I hope our guests enjoyed the day. I certainly enjoyed having them on board! Thanks for another great day and another South Florida Adventure!