Apart from the Visitor Center, Biscayne National Park’s 172,971 acres are only accessible by boat. On New Years Day, 1966, the schooner Mandalay ran aground on Long Reef within the park’s boundaries and that is the snorkeling destination I will explore today followed by a brief visit to the Island of Boca Chita. The following images represent my first attempts at underwater photography and were taken with a very inexpensive camera which is to say they are not up to my normal standards.

I don’t have a lot of experience snorkeling but it is hard for me to imagine a more enjoyable site. I was surrounded by huge numbers of fish of seemingly infinite variety and could have easily spent the entire day in the water except for that small matter of the setting sun. On the way back into port I was able to frame some para-sailers against the Rickenbacker Causeway and the Miami skyline for an interesting photo.