Jan 15 Hangin out in the Keys

Toothy Smile

For the last two weeks we have had a mix of weather from hot (80s) to cold (50s) and windy. Needless to say the temp pretty much dictates what you want to do around here. We have had two fronts pass through and we had to take down Paddy O’Room each time due to the wind. We getting pretty good at taking the room down and putting it up again in just a few minutes.


On the warm days we have hit the water. There is an underwater park here where one can swim off the shore, kayak in the mangroves, or take a snorkel or dive trip to the nearby reef where you can see fish and corals. We snorkeled off the beach where they have arranged about a dozen cannons and a ships anchor to replicate a sunken ship circa the 1700s. It is in about 6 feet of water so it is easy to see, and it gives the local fish someplace to hang out.

Mangrove roots

On another day we rented a Kayak and explored the mangroves. The mangroves grow in salt water and are the basic building blocks of these islands. They grow in such a way as to create little islands, with narrow waterways or passages along the shore. The park has marked the channels for use by canoe or kayak so you don’t get lost in the maze. The water is about 6 to 8 feet deep and totally clear. Lots of fish can be seen in the mangrove roots and in the channels. When we went we pretty much had the whole place to ourselves, which made it very peaceful and quiet gliding down the narrow channels. I don’t I would want to be there with a crowd of kayakers running into each other and all the noise they would make.

We took a snorkel trip on a dive boat out to the reef. The reef is about 3 miles off shore. To get to the ocean we travelled through about a mile or so of mangroves through narrow channels marked for boat passage. Once out in the open ocean the depth was about 10 feet deep, but with many shallows in places. Out on the reef the depth was about 25 ft in the deep areas and about 2 feet deep in the shallows. On the day we went out the wind was blowing and the seas were a bit choppy. Not real great for snorkeling, but ok for the divers who go below the surface. Pats and I were able to get out on the water and paddle around for awhile. We saw a lobster, parrot fishes, a moray eel, lots corals and other fish. We were both a little sea sick from all the bobbing but it was worth it to get out to the reef. I would do it again on a calmer day.

Walkin the Dog

On the days when we just hang out, we walk the dog, take bike rides through the neighborhoods, read, nap, wander over to the dock to watch the sunset and chat with our neighbors. Pretty low key existence. It seems like most of the snowbirds here are from Michigan. Many have come to winter in Florida for many years. We are the only “westerners” that we know of.

We have taken two day trips, one to the Everglades and one to Key West. The Everglades park is only about 30 miles from Key Largo back on the mainland. We went to Flamingo, which used to be a town, but is now the end of the road in the park. There remains a dock, a National Park Visitor center and an RV park. There used to be a lodge where you could stay but it got flooded in the 2005 hurricanes. From Flamingo you can take a boat tour into the park via a manmade canal that eventually connects to Whitewater Bay to the north. Along the way you can see alligators, crocodiles, and other wildlife. There is a naturalist on board who explains the ecology of the area and identifies and plants and animals along the way.

Anhinga drying its feathers

In another area of the park, Royal Palms, there is a slough filled with wildlife that resembles a zoo. These animals are there I guess cause there is no better place to be. Alligators by the dozens, turtles, all kinds of birds, egrets, ibis, anhinga, wood storks, and turkey vultures. Ironically there are no more flamingos found in the Everglades, it seems they were eaten by the early settlers who lived in the glades at the turn of the last century. They still exist on some of the islands in the Bahamas, and at Seaworld in Orlando.

We took a day trip to Key West, 103 miles west of Key Largo. This is one of those trips that you need to enjoy the journey as well as the destination. The Overseas Highway (US 1) is mostly two lane with a 45 mph speed limit. It crosses 36 Keys on bridges ranging from 50 ft to 7miles across. The road bed is built on the remains of a rail line built by Henry Flagler in 1905. It is quite scenic but not very fast. Many of the keys are very narrow and it is hard to differentiate what is land and what is mangrove swamp. What is amazing is the amount of development on these little islands. Every coastline seems to be lined with houses and boat docks. In a place prone to hurricanes, the amount of investment in real estate, (where hurricane insurance can no longer be purchased) seems to me to be another disaster waiting to happen.

The road to Key West

Key West is stuffed to the gills with people. There is a Naval Air Station here, an international airport, a cruise ship port and a huge tourist area. It has historical buildings: Truman’s “White House”, Hemingway’s house, and other old buildings of the “conch” era. “Conch” being the term for things historically “Key West.” It is also the most southern place in the continental US, only 90 miles from Havana. The main tourist area Duval street is a mix of t-shirt shops, restaurants and bars with a tropical theme, with pirates and eclectic art thrown in. Sort of “Were at the end of the earth, so let’s party!”