National Parks- Dry Tortugas, In the middle of nowhere!

Dry Tortugas National Park, Florida is a small archipelago which is a remarkable place in the middle of Gulf of Mexico. 70 miles from Key West, comprised of 7 small islands and 100 square miles of ocean is accessible only by boat or seaplanes. These tiny islands are farthest, westernmost and most isolated of Florida Keys. It seems these are closer to Cuba than American mainland! One tiny and remote place rich in history and marine wildlife.

Well, why the name Dry Tortugas? Tortugas in Spanish means Turtles. The islands are breeding places for Large Sea Turtles and these islands are driest places in Florida. Though surrounded by infinite ocean there is not a drop of drinking water here. So the name! With the shallow water around the park is heaven for snorkeling. Small patches of coral reef and at times one could sight a turtle or a big fish!

The only island accessible to the tourists is Garden Key which is also home for the historical military coastal fortress Fort Jefferson. It is the largest masonry structure in the western hemisphere. Built of around 16 million bricks, has 2,000 arches and still the fort was never completed! The construction was stopped considering the damage to the island.

I started my journey from Key West early in the morning. There were many on the ferry that day to the Dry Tortugas trip. People looked at me with curiosity- I was wearing a fleece jacket and a woolen scarf in the hand in Florida! It was funny, one teenage girl spoke out loud about it! No worries I thought :) Boat ride includes a complementary breakfast- juice, coffee, doughnuts, bagels, and fruits. Lovely! I had my breakfast, took more coffee and secured a seat outside on the dock. I was the only one there outside, rest all were enjoying inside. 

Interiors of Fortress

It was cold already, hmm that is why I had taken my fleece jacket! As the ferry rode the huge waves the ocean looked more darker. Now, one by one my trip-mates were coming out because of seasickness! They lined up at the back of the ferry to throw-up. It was cold and unfortunately most of them were not prepared for that cold ocean breeze. It was really cold. Then a lady looks at me and says ... You knew huh? Smart ...

We passed Loggerhead Key, far away in the horizon, a little patch of land and a beautiful lighthouse looked amazing! After reaching Garden Key everyone there forgot about seasickness. The water and the fortress were worth all the trouble. There was some introduction about the fort, island,  followed by leave-no-trcaes-policy and safety tips. Soon after that I registered for overnight camping which is on first-come-first-serve basis. I was happy I got a campsite and asked the NPS staff how many were camping that day. He replied ... you are the first one and only one so far ... OMG! 

Adult Brown Pelican

It was heaven to get into the ocean water. Water is perfect- the turquoise color and the clarity of water to see the marine life underneath! It is an amazing world underwater! The experience is beyond words! Batches of colorful and not-so-colorful fish swimming along and then I saw a Barracuda, a big one. The shallow water allows sunlight and the silvery barracuda was all shining like a star. Though I could not sight a sea turtle someone claimed they saw one. It is hard to imagine how it is deep inside the ocean!

It was time for all others to pack up and board the ferry while for me it was time to unpack! It was really a funny-weird feeling. Everyone was looking at me raised eyebrows and wishing me luck! I was camping all alone in the open, on a tiny island 70-miles away from the mainland! Well, not so alone! The NPS staff live there inside the fort premises :)

Garden Key Lighthouse

As the day faded and the night approached the whole scene transformed into something unimaginable. The whole world around me turned into blue. The starry sky and the ocean whispering with every wave that crashed into the shore, the birds screaming once in a while, the owl hooting from inside the fort and the cold breeze. I was wide awake and with me was the lighthouse. I had mixed feelings of excitement and weird fear. Everything made me eternally happy.

I pulled out my sleeping bag and a sheet from the backpack and spent the whole night watching stars. You remember me saying that I forgot to pack my tent in my earlier post on Key West? That is one of the  craziest things I have done! The most amazing scene I have witnessed was the night fading into the bright morning. I slept until the ferry arrived. I walked around the fort once again on that walkway(pic-3) took few more pictures before boarding the ferry. Again I repeat, all of the beautiful pictures of underwater life as well as my camping glory sunk into the Biscayne Bay along with my Dear P-O-S camera.

On the way back I was thinking ... If at all I were an American citizen I would give up everything and opt to work as NPS staff and live in Dry Tortugas NP for three years! Sigh! It is not going to happen! Whenever I get a chance I will come back here ... to the fortress, to the blue water ...

Note: Ferry trip for camper- $180 (and for non-camping day trips $165), National Park entrance fees- $5, Camping fees per night- $3. Ferry ride provides snorkeling equipment.

Other destinations in this road trip: Everglades National Park, The city of Key West, Biscayne Underwater National Park, Sanibel Island.
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Related articles-
Colorful sunrise at Key West
Key West, Home for the sunset
Everglades National Park- An Alligator Alley
Butterflies of Florida
National Parks of USA.

This post is linked to Our World Tuesday, Nature Notes and Wild Bird Wednesday.
If you want pictures please ask me :)
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Scrapbook- A Travel Blog by Kusum Sanu is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.