Dry Tortugas: Part I

Day Five (Wednesday, March 14^th):

We got up bright and early to make our ferry to the Dry Tortugas. We had to have all our gear on board the Yankee Freedom Ferry at 6:30am even though the boat didn’t depart until 8:00am. The conditions look great for the trip!The boat ride out is 70 miles which is about a 2.5 hour ferry ride. Breakfast is included so after dining, I went out to enjoy the sea breeze since I didn’t want to be cooped up upside the air conditioned boat. The ride is mostly across open water with no land in sight so when the Fort finally comes into view it looks like an oasis. Before we could disembark we were lectured by Ranger Dustin on the dos and don’ts of camping on the Island. Basically beware of rats and Cubans storming the beaches at night.
Here is the small port where we disembarked:We got the tent set up and decided to go for a walk around the fort. I wasn’t expecting it to be so huge but it was amazing!!

The weather was absolutely perfect. Just hot enough that walking around the dark, cool fort felt refreshing.
The architecture is amazing as well and it photographs very well. Granite spiral staircase:
The contrast of the red brick and the bright blue waters outside are spectacular. Here is Island Key which is closed due to bird nesting:
Inside the magazine: