Visit to Tampa II--The Aquarium

Dear Family and Friends,

Another day to kill so I decided to spend it visiting the Tampa Aquarium. I'm not overly fond of fish, but they come in pretty colors and the swimming motions are soothing, plus aquariums are usually in air-conditioned buildings, so it seemed like a pleasant way to pass the time. The bus drive told me where to get off to catch the trolley. I didn't understand his directions, exactly, but I got off doubtfully and headed in the direction he indicated, and found a group of obvious tourists slowly burning in the sun. They were also headed towards the Aquarium, so I followed them on the the very charming trolley which took us about three short blocks, then we raced desperately across the street to catch the even more charming old-fashioned streetcar. Tampa's excellent transportation system supplied me with a pass good for all three modes of transportation and it is a super bargain.

Our tourists had a wonderful time, questioning the conductor about her training and job, posing with her for photos, and rining the bell at the crosswords. They had the whole streetcar laughing, but they hopped off at Channelside (apparently a shopping mall) and we progressed sedately on to the next stop, the Aquarium. I was slightly annoyed that instead of stopping right in front of the Aquarium it stops a distance away, in front of the parking lot. In hot humid weather every step not walked is a blessing. However, this forces you to walk past all the eco-information signs put up around the landscaping, and they were interesting and informative. In fact, I started experiencing a twinge of guilt about my own garden, and as I am planning to replant it, I thought I might check into a few native plants myself someday. Perhaps.

Inside the Aquarium I was trapped by the photographer and most unwillingly had my picture taken, something I detest. I got my revenge by not even looking on the board for the horror that I knew would be there. My eye was caught by the list of events for the day, and I noticed the dolphin cruise. Upon enquiry I learned that they take a boat into the bay where dolphins (actually porpoises) often come and frolic, and with like we might see them, so I bought a ticket. The cruise was not for a couple hours, so I headed upstairs to see the first exhibit.

My friend, I fell in love! The Aquarium is marvelous, magical, informative, exciting. It's only drawback is that like all public buildings, the vast halls and hard surfaces magnify sounds and it is extremely noisy, made worse by the hordes of school children. I heartily approve of school children running around looking at animals and getting carried away by nature and learning a bit of responsibility, so I accept the noise as the price we must pay for the benefits, but it was a relief when later in the day the children went home and volume went down.

Before entering the first natural exhibit, take the time to enjoy the paintings of The Highwaymen. These are paintings by self-taught black artists who painted gorgeous pictures of the Florida scenery on whatever came to hand--wallboard, pieces of wood, etc., and sold them on the highways to passing cars. Anyone who bought one has a real treasure.

The first section of the Aquarium is about the freshwater in Florida, the underground aquifers, the springs, streams, ponds, lakes, rivers. You enter through an imaginary cave, one of the many holes in the porous rock that collects rainwater. Look up and you appear to be looking from below to the surface of a spring with a gentle rain falling. A dead branch lies in the water, and I was lucky enough to see a turtle enjoying his shower. To the side you can see typical freshwater fish swimming along with you, with plenty of identification signs and information about the life cycle of the fish and the interrelationship of the rocks, plants, water, and weather. A few steps and you are eyelevel with the surface of your pond. Just a few inches away on either side you see waterfowl swimming or preening. If you are lucky the otters are out for their daily swim and you are treated to an incredible water ballet. Overhead arc the trees that might border a stream, and more birds are perched in them, or occasionally flying overhead. I saw a green-winged teal thoroughly grooming himself, while his mate settled down on a branch for a nap. On the other side a pair of ruddy ducks were demonstrating swimming and diving techniques. A duck underwater is an awesome sight. The otters were demonstrating backflip technique. Every so often they would climb out and dive back in, twisting sinuously as silver bubbles of oxygen streamed out of their fur in a comet tail.

An exhibit on the hammock (small mounds of land with a different ecology that provide islands of dry land during times of flooding) had a moorhen with his red face and shiny black feathers. You cannot hurry through the exhibits. You must stand and watch quietly, letting the eye rove and learn the shape and color and movement of the forest. Eventually details appear. That shadow in the back resolves into a night-crowned heron; the patch of dapple becomes a box turtle; the swaying of a branch reveals the white egret standing among the leaves grooming himself. The red lichen becomes a pileated woodpecker, and the log lying in the water drifting gently becomes a Louisianna gar. The alligators hang grinning in a cluster at one end of their tank to the delighted disgust of the visitors, and unfortunately my brains starts to play "Never Smile at a Crocodile" for the next hour. The gorgeous and improbable roseate spoonbills one my heart totally. Such lovely shades of pink, round soft bodies, and amasing beaks that are reminiscent of Walt Disney's "Alice in Wonderland" creatures are endlessly fascinating. I eventually tore myself away to see the water changing to the shallow salt water of the mangrove swamps, with stingrays and humongous catfish slipping along the bottoms. White ibis and blue herons stalk in the background, and as we round the last corner the saltwater fish come into view. Exhibits on how to fish humanely and the water lab (it's funny--listen to it) bring you out to the shore birds--terns and sanpipers, and finally to the central hall again, where you can sit in a rocking chair and rest your feet or go to the No Bone Zone to pet a star fish. I questioned the supervisor thoroughly as to the risk before putting my hand dubiously into the ice cold water to stroke a sea anemeone.

Outside is a sunny terrace so I went out for a moment to warm up my frozen hand and admire the raven in the cage, who was clearly annoyed about being admired. He had pecked at a child who had her face up against the cage. She was angrily scolding the raven, but I though the scolding should have been directed at the parent who cautioned the child not to put her face so close to an unknown animal. I refrained from preaching for once, and merely nodded my sympathy while I bent to admire the shrimp plants. This changed the tune in my head to "Shrimp Boats Are A-Comin'), and being thoroughly warmed I went in to visit the coral reefs section which takes us into the sea waters off the Florida coast. Here were the pretty, brightly colored fish in improbably shapes, colors, and sizes. The Lookdowns looked like the proviles of Roman emperors on old coins, an impression added to by their silver tones. Every one shuddered in delight at the huge six-foot green moray eel. Fortunately only about a foot and a half of his body projected from his rocky crevice or I think we might have been downright terrified, but the circumference of his head--easily 10 or more inches around--gave plenty of indication as to the gargantuan size of this creature. As you penetrate further there are exhibits on how fish sleep, coral reef development, how fish cope with parasites, the incredible shapes they develop for camoflauge. We arrived in time to see some of the penguin parade in which a pair of penguins are brought out to meet and greet the school kids. I know and they know that penguins are not part of Florida's natural fauna, but they sell. Likewise, an exhibit titled "Here There Be Dragons" showing sea horses, pipe fish, and oh wonder of wonders, sea dragons, brought me in. I indulged in a few romantic moments imaging tanks of sea horses and dragons in my on home, but fortunately learned that an animal needing several hours of care and feeding three or four times a day is not practicle for someone who travels a lot and is not rich enough to hire professional caretakers.

So with a sigh I went on to the shark tank, where I learned a bit about how not to act like shark food and watched their special "swim with the sharks" program. A few more fish, an exhibit on water monitoring, and you find yourself blinking on the ground floor atrium, conveniently next to the gift shop.

I will save the dolphin cruise for another day.

Love

---

---