« A Red Sky At Morning | Home | Birthday Burgers »

Scenic Silver Springs

Posted by sila
Sunday 01 February 2015 at 12:00 am.
Used tags: , , , ,

While we were in Ocala, Florida on a work trip, the local colleagues recommended that we visit Silver Springs, Florida and try out the glass bottom boats. So that is what we did! It was not far from our hotel (one town over) and quite convenient, and as it turned out, it was really really amazing! We all loved it! So here are some pictures.

Silver Springs State Park

OK, here are a lot of pictures! We weren't there more than a few hours but it really was very cool. We would definitely go again if we had the chance, to experience the glass bottom boat again.

* Mouse over the pictures for captions

We start with some photos that we took while waiting for the next glass bottom boat tour to begin.

Hanging out on a bench
Bit bundled up as although it was sunny it was in the 60s F (about 15 C)

Some of the gorgeous swampy flora:

Sadly no mangroves or mudskippers visible
Bridge was build around the tree instead of cutting the tree down
Makes me homesick for my old mangrove swampy hometown

And then it was time to get on the boat!

Waiting to get started

Here is a section of the underwater photos. The water of Silver Springs is amazingly clear and these photos do not do it justice. It is by far the clearest water I've ever seen. These waters are potable (drinkable) and are even pumped out to make bottled water. The springs are fed by the underground aquifer and stay at a constant 72 F (about 21 C) all year round. Just one of these underground springs (I believe it was Mammoth Spring) puts out so much water every day that it is enough for half the population of the world to drink in one day. Plus did I mention how ridiculously clear these waters are? If it had been a warmer day, we would have braved kayaking these waters so I hope we get to go back here at some point so we can do just that. Anyway, here are the photos taken through the glass bottom of the boat:

Bubbly as the boat goes fast from one underwater spring to another
Fishy fish
Hundred year old downed cypress tree underwater
Spot the 500-year old boat hull under the tree
Camouflaged turtle!
More fishy fishes! (The tour guide told us the names of the fish but that information has completely fallen out of my head)
The sandy bottom and other artifacts are clearly visible
Another clear water fishy shot
Underwater grass

Next, some of the above-water scenery while on the boat tour:

Lovely serene scenery
Birds in the trees
Birds and turtles (yes, the tour guide mentioned the bird and turtle species but I did not retain that information, sorry)
Patch of red in the trees caught my eye
Spanish moss in the trees (neither Spanish nor moss, but there you go)
Bunch of turtles on a log!
Kiambang-like (water lily?) plants in the water
Plantation house peeping through the trees
Lovely Florida cypress covered in Spanish moss
And a palm tree next to this lovely Cypress

And then the tour was over. Sadness for everyone. Both children (even Adik!) were completely absorbed by what lay beneath the glass bottom boat.

Waiting to get off the boat

This is what the boats looked like from afar:

Glass bottom boats

We then walked around the main part of the park for a little while:

Yaya looks at the kayakers with great envy
OK I may have a thing for these gorgeous trees
Yaya and Adik play under the trees
I think Adik found Spanish moss on the grass
Vin relaxing on a picnic table
Adik has recovered from skinning his knee not two minutes before this photo was taken
You can see the underwater grass clearly from the walkway

We really did enjoy this park and highly recommend the glass bottom boat tours. At bedtime that night, Adik said that his favorite part of the day was the glass bottom boat ride! Perhaps one day we will return for the tour and a day of kayaking on these lovely clear waters.

Adik endorses the green message!

four comments

Hisham
Hisham (Email ) (URL) - 09-02-’15 07:51
sila
sila - 09-02-’15 09:42
Sam
Sam - 17-02-’15 12:22
atuk
atuk - 07-03-’15 10:36


(optional field)
(optional field)

Comment moderation is enabled on this site. This means that your comment will not be visible until it has been approved by an editor.

Remember personal info?
Small print: All html tags except <b> and <i> will be removed from your comment. You can make links by just typing the url or mail-address.