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A town at sea level seems to invite a disaster from the whims of elements with much of the property being uninsurable.
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Most greenery along the way is the ever-present tangles of low-lying mangrove forests along the water.
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Wouldn’t you prefer to be on higher ground?
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The Keys seem the end of the line for more than just geography as vagabonds chase the ‘island escapism’ dream. A wealthier cocktail set is lured to the end of the line at Key West by its legendary history, including famous Americans. Ernest Hemingway set up shop there and did his share of writing while gazing at the sun dancing on the water. The small city island, about 6 kliks by 2 kliks (4 miles long and 2 miles across) was the winter White House of President Harry Truman. A naval air station and the city airport take up much of the island. The small city’s main street, 14 block-long Duval Street, crosses the island from the Gulf of Mexico shoreline to the Strait of Florida and the Atlantic Ocean. Feral chickens strut about and cluck defiantly.
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The city population of Key West is about 25,000 and a major draw for cruiseliners. However large cruiseliners are now dis-allowed as the city voted in 2020 to only receive 1500 visitors a day. Amsterdam, Venice, and other popular destinations are likewise necessarily limiting the number of visitors per day.
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Heritage architectural styles from centuries past are a tourism draw.
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Since 1847 a chunk of Key West real estate has been devoted to those in the majority in above-ground tombs and epitaphs. As with many cemeteries a lot of history is imagined by inscriptions and dates on the gravestones.
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Most above-ground tombs, however, give scant particulars of the occupants.
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Bars abound in laid-back historical Key West.
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Locals take in recent flicks at the Strand ............
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...........and the Tropic.
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A banyan tree provides welcome shelter for sculpted couples dancing the day away.
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Margaritaville was swarming with winter tourists. Escaping the northern winter, many wandered the streets looking for historical landmarks and architecture. Or bars. Pastel tones with gingerbread trim on the old wooden houses often include the most-inviting vine-festooned verandas where adult drinks are just an arms-length away. Others visit the waterfront to rent boats or join tours to the uninhabited Marquesas Keys or further westward to the Dry Tortugas where the historic Fort Jefferson occupies almost the tiny Garden Key, accessible only by boat. The fort is the largest brick structure in the Americas with over 16 million bricks keeping the mid-nineteenth century fort still standing.
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Heritage homes dominate the residential streets of ‘Old Town’.
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One can’t help but reach for a camera while strolling residential Old Town.
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The flower lady pedals her wares in Old Town.
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Mega-yachts rub hulls with plebian fishboats, sailboats, and boats for hire.
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Languidly drifting along with the current are large tarpon which are sometimes caught by sport fishermen. Apparently despite their fine taste the tarpon has countless small bones, a serious hassle for enjoyment.
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Sunbathing is focused on a sandy shoreline in the city. Cruiseliners lurk beyond.
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A 65 foot schooner of the “Danger Fleet” provided a lookee at the environs, both at sea level and below. A stingray glided by just below on the seabed. We were in the Marquesas Keys, very small inaccessible and uninhabited cays, often nothing more than a tangle of the very familiar mangrove forest
lining shorelines in these shallow waters.
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Fingerlings of mangrove…….
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………….and mangrove islands in shallow water are endemic.
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Later we paddled double kayaks around the mangrove ecosystem for a closer view of the ubiquitous plant protecting small species of fish while acting as a protective seawall for incoming surges, especially appreciated during hurricane season. In deeper water a nurse shark was spotted slinking malevolently and efficiently through the bleached coral.
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Mangrove tangles discourage further exploration.
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We got above the crowd by renting a Cessna to explore the landscapes, seascapes, and cityscapes recently driven, paddled, and strolled through. The pilot Hogan, in his mid-seventies, had logged over 30,000 hours in the cockpit --- confidence soared after he mentioned that stat. We flew out of Key West airport for views that Jimmy frequently saw from the cockpit of “Hemisphere Dancer”, his trustworthy amphibious aircraft that he piloted for years, often to his concert destinations. The shallow water around the Keys housed countless tiny mangrove jungles, the surrounding water in varying shades of turquoise and blue.
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Underwater topography offers abstract tropical imagery.
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Leaving Key West we drove east and stopped for the night at a charitably rated zero-star motel in Big Pine Key. What a dump. Continued the theme with some junk food (much of the Keys being a nutrition desert) and a sixpack for supper, no white table-cloths involved, as we were on a mission to nearby No Name Key to spot one of the rumoured pygmy Key deer. This involved waiting quietly in the car at a small refuge parking lot surrounded by low-lying bush and waiting as sunset faded to twilight, then night. We didn’t wait long. The pygmy Key deer is a protected species so they aren’t especially skittish around people being quiet and motionless. One curious deer appeared to have adopted us, sticking around for some time outside the car before selecting a more promising venue.
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Mallory Square faces the setting sun, attracting gatherings every sunset. Tonight a juggling busker works the crowd to fill his outstretched hat.
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Many in Key West are passionate supporters of their separation identity as the Conch Republic. A Conch Republic passport is yours for a fee for further fun with flags, festivals, and frolic that dominate the altered state of the Conch Republic. Walking the streets of Key West is to the tune of Jimmy’s ‘island escapism’ sound, the “sovereign state of mind” of the Conch Republic and the end of the line.
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