Every Friday I do an article about a place or happening in Florida that is for a special kind of person - not for the average, ordinary run of the mill folk. These sites are for adventurers, free spirits and people looking for something a little different.
Today's focus is on the world's first underwater cemetery - and it's right here in Florida.
Just off the Florida coast near Miami is a small island paradise named Key Biscayne, home to the only underwater cemetery in the world. The manmade reef and underwater city are located 3-1/2 miles off Key Biscayne's shore covering 16 acres of ocean floor.
Instead of spreading ashes over ocean waters, at Neptune Memorial Reef the ashes of loved ones are mixed with cement designed for underwater use and fitted into a mold, which a diver then places and secures into the reef. A copper and bronze plaque is installed with the person's name, date of birth and death. There is also a line for a message.
Visiting a loved one is for divers, too, as families must charter a boat to the site and scuba dive down the reef. The man-made site is divided into sections so that as a diver swims down the reef pathways there will be themed areas done in sculptural elements.
The reef is designed to last forever and engineered to withstand the harshest hurricane that has hit Florida in the last 100 years. So if you’ve always wanted your final resting place to be serene, underwater and unique, then Neptune Memorial Reef could be just what you want.
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