One of the unexpected aspects about our stay in the Florida Keys is the wind: It has been fierce. With the exception of a few days, the wind has whipped around our little sand spit of a peninsula constantly. It has averaged around 20 mph with some days the wind clocking in the low 30s. We didn’t think we would mind it much but it has curtailed some of our expected activities. For instance, in past years we would snorkel just off the nearby beach that is sheltered by a coral reef off shore. But with the wind creating breaking waves over the the reef, the water is murky and turbid. Even when the wind ebbs, its aftereffects remain for many days. Our tans are also being enhanced by nature’s skin peel in the form of blowing sand that stings the legs and arms. This constant exfoliation has minimized the time we have spent ocean side.
The mostly northeasterly wind has been blowing in large chunks of rack as well as Portuguese Man-Of-War jellyfish. From a distance they look like deflated blue party balloons with some ribbons on the bottom. But those ribbons are far from nice as these tentacles can deliver a stinging and painful blow to anyone that touches them. As the rack piles up tide after tide the clean beach is now ringed with mounds of brown-green-yellow detritus. Tiny flies swarm en masse around the rack and a few dead fish that have been picked over by birds lay on their sides. Minnows can be seen swimming along the edge of the rack keeping safe from the nearby sandpipers and other shore birds that are looking for a meal.
Walking outside our apartment seems more dangerous than likely as the coconut trees sway side to side as would an undulating dancer in time with the breezes. On top of the trees’ frond-laden skirts sit large caches of ripe, yellow coconuts ready to drop with the slightest nudge. We always traverse the areas near the coconut trees warily as it is rumored that coconuts kill more people than sharks each year. .
The biggest setback with the wind for me is the bicycling as it has been directly along the lines of the bicycle path. The good news is that half of my ride feels effortless as the wind is at my back. I can figure out the speed of the wind as my bike has an speedometer. When it feels as if there is no wind at my back, I look at the speedometer. Most days the winds are over 15 mph. But I fare better than the birds, which struggle against the breezes. Pelicans and osprey hover with difficulty over the water as they look downward to snare a fish. The wind decreases their overall success. But they ultimately succeed grabbing a fish that they either swallow on the spot or bring back to a net of hungry chicks.
