Gumbo Limbo Nature Center, Boca Raton, FL - Aquarium, Butterfly Garden, Intracoastal Waterway-1080HD

An end-all, be-all compilation vid of my trips to Gumbo Limbo Nature Center from 2014-2019. *Completely replaces previous video with improved vids & pics.*
Gumbo Limbo is a non-profit nature facility located on the A1A in Boca Raton, FL, between the Intracoastal Waterway and the ocean. It’s open 7 days a week, free to the public (donations encouraged) and functions in multiple capacities: 1) Small aquarium, with four large tanks that pump in sea water from across the A1A. Two of which are ~40,000 gallons and two stories high, while the others are ~3 ½ feet tall, and ~20,000 gallons. All four feature a large assortment of sea life, from assorted tropical reef fish and the occasional small shark; sea turtles, rays, eels, barracudas, remoras, lobsters, etc., and all of which you’ll see here. The sea life is ever changing, so you never know what you might see when you visit. 2) Sea turtle rehabilitation facility, where sick and injured sea turtles are brought in from up and down the Florida coast to hopefully be rehabilitated and re-released. Visitors can view the recovering turtles in their temporary holding areas and read about their stories. If a turtle has too much damage to be released then they remain as permanent residents/mascots of the facility; 3) Florida Atlantic University research facility, where visitors can check out some of the research being conducted in the FAU Research Gallery building. The Gallery also holds additional small fish tanks with a rotating array of smaller sea life, including exotic aquarium fish, sea horses, urchins, shrimps, sea stars, mollusks, anemones and so on; 4) Hardwood hammock boardwalk trail, where the 40+ foot observational tower giving great views of the Intracoastal Waterway is in the process of being rebuilt; 5) Ashley Butterfly Garden and Trail, with flowering bushes and plants that encourage a variety of butterflies, including Monarchs, Swallowtails, Ruddy Daggerwings and Zebra Longtails. The Ashley Trail leads to 6) ….the Intracoastal Waterway, and a small peaceful patch of white sandy beach with Mangroves, where you can sit on one of the two benches and watch the boats and yachts go by. One of my favorite parts. ☺ Next to the beach is a Seminole style Chiki Hut. There’s also a really nice gift shop that’s actually one of the better gift shops that I’ve encountered at any of these nature/wildlife facilities in south Florida.
There’s nothing else like this place in the region, in terms of the variety of things you can see and experience, and all for free/donation only. I just feel fortunate to live only a mile and a half away.
A note though that it can be difficult to take pics and video here only because all of the large tanks are located outside. Even though they have overhead roofs they’re open air, and accessible 360 degrees all around, versus backed up against walls. So these factors create a LOT of reflection on the glass, which I’ve tried my best to minimize when filming. But it can’t be avoided, which is why I don’t have even more photos in the slideshow. Also, the two smaller ~20,000 gallon outdoor tanks have metal “rope” rails around them, so the closest you can get for pics/vids is about ~3 ½ feet away, while resting your camera on the metal roping. Another note is you’ll sometimes see vids of fish clumping together against the sides of tanks. That’s definitely not due to a lack of room to spread out. A big clue would be that they always do it on the sides of the tanks that have the most people on the other side. ;)
My absolute favorite thing to experience when visiting are the “curious fish,” as I call them, which you’ll see in multiple vids here. Anytime I go I’ve watched as the various fish come over to where I’m standing, checking me out for prolonged periods of time. In thinking about why this is, I’ve come to the conclusion that fish are incredibly telepathic (lacking a means for vocal communications they would have had to evolve alternate means to communicate, including the electrical fields they emit which enable them to swim as One in perfectly synchronized schools…) and I’m obviously giving off very loud thoughts/vibes as I stand and focus on them very intently. My loud thoughts being something multiple intuitive people have even confirmed. The fish definitely pick up on it, as viewers will see in so many of these vids. It was because of this place that I realized….fish are way smarter/aware than most people realize. And despite their lack of ability to make facial expressions you can still clearly see the intelligence in their faces and eyes.
If you’re somebody who loves the ocean and sea life, or nature in general, then this hopefully will be an interesting video that gives a nice sampling of the Gumbo Limbo experience.
(Music during slideshow - "Asleep at the Wheel," by Working for a Nuclear Free City. NOTE: This is a non-monetized channel, no copyright infringement intended!)