Nature « Living la vida Boca

Yesterday the kids and I decided to head out to explore the great outdoors. There is a nature center here in Boca Raton, Gumbo Limbo Environmental Complex, that we visited about a year ago upon first visiting the city we’d soon be calling “home.” Gumbo Limbo, named for an indigenous tree, is an area of 20 acres which has been reserved “specifically for a nature center and the preservation of a natural plant association known as a tropical hammock.” As we walked along the boardwalk through the hammock, there was a sign indicating that the land which we walked on was where our forefathers once walked upon arrival to a new land – America. We are located south of the “Treasure Coast,” a name “derived from a number of ships of Spanish galleons (especially those of the 1715 Spanish treasure fleet) that wrecked off the coast during the 17th and 18th centuries. Artifacts from these ships have still been recovered today, both by amateur and professional treasure-hunters.” (Wikipedia). It’s fun to think of what treasures may still lie out in the turquoise blue waters of the Atlantic – or under our feet as we explore nature.

We enjoyed watching a naturalist feed the residents of the tanks at Gumbo Limbo where nurse sharks, sea turtles, triple-tails (fish), and a couple of huge spiny lobsters reside. After our visit to Gumbo Limbo, we picked up lunch and returned to Red Reef Park where we sat at one of the gazebos. We enjoyed our lunch while watching the speed boats, yachts, swimmers, and snorkelers enjoy the beautiful day. It was a good day of exploring.