Straddling the deep waters of the Atlantic
and the warm shallows of the Gulf of Mexico,
the Florida Keys are
strung together by the Overseas Highway,
an engineering marvel which arcs
across 44 of the archipelago’s 17 hundred keys.
There’s a saying in The Keys,
that for every mile
travelled down the Overseas Highway,
the real world gets left further behind.
After the one-hour drive from Miami,
celebrate your arrival at the
Upper Keys by kicking back at Caribbean Club,
the setting for the Bogart
and Bacall movie classic, Key Largo.
From Key Largo,
follow the mile markers south to Plantation Key,
the sleepy gateway to Islamorada,
a 20-mile stretch of six keys
known as the sportfishing capital of the world.
At Windley Key Fossil Reef Geological State Park,
follow the hammock trails
to quarries where a century ago,
laborers cut great blocks
of coral for Henry Flagler’s overseas railroad.
Nearby, at the Keys History and Discovery Center
learn more about this incredible
railway, which ran all the way to Key West
until it was forever derailed
by the 1935 Storm of the Century.
Hurricanes have played a
recurring role in the Keys’ history.
Pride of place at the
Discovery Center are incredible artifacts
salvaged from the ill-fated Spanish Fleet of 1733,
whose treasures were blown
across an 80-mile stretch of Keys’ coastline.
Clear waters, rich marine life,
and the lure of sunken gold
have long made the Keys a magnet for divers.
While you’re in Islamorada,
be sure to drop into the History of Diving Museum,
which celebrates humankind's never-ending quest
to explore a world that’s
even less well-mapped than the moon.
Islamorada offers treasure far more accessible
than the Spanish galleons which line the coast.
You’ll find it in the liquid gold
creations of Florida Keys Brewing Co.
And in the golden flame
of the artisan’s torch at Rain Barrel Village.
It’s in the sun-kissed salsa
which graces the catch of the day.
And in the silver flashes of
hungry Tarpon at Robbie’s Marina.
But most of all,
it’s in the stiffening breeze
which shapes the evening clouds
and carries the promise of even more adventures.
From Islamorada,
leave the Upper Keys behind
and begin your Middle Key wanderings
amid the gumbo-limbo, crabwood
and mangroves of Long Key State Park.
A few miles south in Marathon,
top up your tank with a Lobster Rueben.
Then make tracks to Crane Point Hammock,
where you’ll find 64 acres
of trails, historic sites, and a nature center
that helps the Keys’
injured birds find their wild wings again.
The spirit of conservation
continues just down the highway,
at Marathon’s Turtle Hospital,
which specializes in the rescue,
rehabilitation and release of some
of the keys’ most chilled-out visitors.
When you’re ready to continue your migration south,
cross the breathtaking
Seven Mile Bridge, to the Lower Keys.
Pull over at Bahia Honda State Park,
where a five-minute rest stop
can easily melt into five hours of bliss.
After drying off, head to the
end of the Overseas Highway to Key West.
Known to fun-lovin’ locals
as the capital of the Conch Republic,
Key West is more than just a
stunning destination, it’s another state of mind.
Key West’s 7-square miles are flat,
so swap out the rental car
for flip flops and head for Duval Street,
which runs right through the heart of the Old Town.
Start at the street’s Northern end,
at Mallory Square, where cruise-ship day-trippers
fan out into the city with margaritas on their minds.
Follow Duval south, along a pastel streetscape
where the architectural
styles of the Bahamas and Spain
rub shoulders above the passing
parade of souvenir shoppers and bar hoppers.
At Duval Street’s southern end,
wade into the waters of South Beach,
where Tennessee Williams
took his morning swims during his 34-year stay.
Storytellers have long been
lured by Key West’s freewheeling spirit,
and no writer embraced that
spirit more than Ernest Hemingway.
Just a block off Duval Street,
call into Hemingway House
where the Pulitzer and Noble prize-winning author
spent some of his happiest and most productive years.
Right across the street,
climb the stairs of the Key West lighthouse,
which often guided the writer
home after a long night of carousing.
Key West has also been a favorite with Presidents.
Down by the waterfront
look for the pearly walls of the Little White House,
the winter headquarters of President Harry S Truman.
Just up the street,
be dazzled by Spanish gold, silver and emeralds
in the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum,
named after the treasure
hunter who scoured the seafloor
for 16 long years before finding
the wreck of the legendary galleon, the Atocha.
You could spend
days exploring Key West’s architectural,
historic, and creative treasures,
but as often happens in the Keys,
it’s Mother Nature who steals the show.
Dive into the Key West Eco-Discovery Museum
and learn the secrets of
Florida’s rich undersea and intertidal worlds.
Then head to the Historic Seaport, raise the mainsail,
and head off for an afternoon of
snorkelling on North America’s only living reef.
The road may end in Key West,
but the keys continue for a further 70-miles,
to Dry Tortugas National Park.
Take the 2-hour cruise, or treat
yourself to a 40-minute seaplane flight,
and step ashore at one of the
USA’s most spectacular national parks.
Spend the day exploring the
casements and parade grounds of Fort Jefferson,
whose 16 million bricks
were all shipped from the mainland.
Then pull on your facemask
and snorkel in some of the clearest,
most pristine waters on the planet.
All that sun and sea spray can make a person thirsty.
So after a day on the
high seas, tie up back at Key West,
and whet your whistle on a
rum-tasting tour or in a Mojito-making class.
If free-flowing cerveza is more your thing,
just follow the sounds of good music and laughter to
iconic watering holes like the Green Parrot,
a favourite with locals
and blow-ins for over 125 years.
But there’s no greater
show in Key West, no better time to be had,
than at Mallory Square at dusk.
This is where it all comes together,
the characters…the music…the flavors of the Keys.
As the sun hangs above the
horizon like a molten Spanish doubloon,
bathing every face with its
golden glow, a spirit is shared by all.
It’s a spirit which says, “look at us, we’ve made it,
we escaped the Real World, and found paradise”.
