Islamorada to Key West

This morning I drove down the rest of the chain of Keys to Key West.

I stopped on the way to visit the Turtle Hospital on Marathon Key. This small non-profit takes in sick and injured sea turtles and does what it can to restore the turtles to health. Some can be released back into the wild; some become permanent residents of the hospital because they can no longer survive in the wild. The only way to get access to the hospital is to take one of their educational tours. This was well worthwhile. We received an orientation and lot of information about the turtles, their anatomy and biology, and the hazards that confront them.

The problems can range from swallowing plastic, fishing line or hooks, to becoming entangled in fishing line, to tumors from papilloma virus, to run-ins with motor craft. A very common issue is a condition called bubble butt. This happens when the air is forced from the turtle’s lungs due to a forcible collision with a motor craft. The air then forms micro bubbles and migrates backward into the soft tissue and stays there. This causes buoyancy issues, including tilting the animal at an angle and the inability to descend to feed and escape predators. The solution is to attached weights to their shells to counteract the unnatural buoyancy. The hospital also performs surgery for many of the issues, including removing tumors and extracting swallowed item.

I then continued down to Key West. It must be said that The Southernmost Inn holds the dubious distinction of being both the most expensive and most minimal hotel of this entire trip. I don’t anticipate that distinction will be surpassed. It is simply a consequence of coming down to Key West just at the end of high season.

Other than missing a bar that I fondly remembered from a visit probably 20 years ago, Key West remains much the same. I decided to walk down Duval Street to Mallory Square to participate in the infamous sunset ritual. On the way, I stopped at The Thirsty Mermaid for some wine and oysters. I sat next to Matt and Amber at the bar. Matt is retired military (Marines) and Amber is a special education teacher (kudos to her). Amber is originally from Missouri and she gave me lots of tips for when I visit there in the Fall. I was surprised when I went to pay my bill and found that they had picked up my meal along with theirs. That is just good people with a bit of Key West thrown in. I will definitely pay it forward.

Mallory Square sits on the marina and is the center of the downtown happenings. It is filled with vendors and performers. And everyone lines up on ocean’s edge to watch the sun dip into the ocean. It is not so much sunset (which, if you are looking for color occurs after the sun sets) but the sun setting. A group cheer erupts when the sun finally dips fully below the horizon.

On my walk back to the hotel, I stopped in to the the Birkenstock store for a better pair of summer walking sandals. I was not looking for Birkenstocks per se, just a pair of comfortable waterproof sandals rather than the flip-flops I had been walking around in. Michael helped me find the perfect pair of Tevas, and Hunter also came over to say hello.

Tomorrow, I will continue exploring Key West.