The Keys - Key Largo, Key West, No Name Key and the Several Mile Bridge

We headed further south down into Key Largo. Enroute we tick one off the list, Taco Bell. Something izzi is keen on trying in american, something I thought was rubbish and hopefully won't be eating again, either way its one off the list which is getting smaller which is good as so is the time we have left to travel. We also hit Walmart the day before as we have no breakfast, buying plastic bowls and spoons, eating cereal in the carpark which drew some stares and reminded me of the crunchy nut advert.

We have 3 nights booked in at a nice hotel with a big pool, we have seen the forecast which looks mixed so hope for no rain and maybe a drop in temperature both which seem unlikely. The keys have some allure to us due to them being islands, enjoying all the island we visited in asia where most of them had a bohemian feel and relaxed culture to them, hopefully this is the case.

After arriving at the hotel we grabbed some tasty lunch from a bar named Skippers’ and headed to the pool. The pool was clean and big, the first thing we noticed is how many latino people were at the hotel and in general in florida so far. Further north we didn't notice as many but here we seen and hear hispanic voices all the time, lots of TV channels are in spanish as well. Everyone is very friendly and welcoming so nothing to worry about. That evening we headed to a another near by bar which seemed lively and got talking to some locals, after a few beers and once they had left we hit the sack and got some rest for tomorrow's trip.

That morning we awoke very early and headed to confirm our place on a first come first serve fishing trip. It was only $40 per person and well within our budget. Fishing is one the things we wanted to do on the trip originally thinking we could get on a boat charter but after investigating prices many ranged from $1000-$1500+ for the day which seems far too expensive and not what we were thinking. After sealing our place on the ship we had a bite to eat and headed out at 9am on our first sea boat of the trip so far.

On the way our due to maybe too much booze the night before the ride didn't sit comfortably with izzy but this soon stopped once the fishing got going. The boat travelled about 45-60mins from the harbour, after stopping and baiting up we threw out our rods, izzi making the first catch, a little yellow tail fish. The captain moved us on as not enough people were catching. On the 2nd stop everyone started shout ‘fish on’ which was to signal a catch. In total during the morning we caught a 13 fish, some keepers most of which we threw back not wanting to cook them. Luckily on the last cast out when the captain called time I started to real mine in a something big took it. It felt much bigger than the 4-8 inch fished we previously being catching, after a small and probably exaguated flight it turns out I caught a decent sized Trigger fish, the 2nd biggest fish of the day! The fishing guide came over and helped de-hook it, congratulating me on a tasty catch. The fish was a decent size, not sure of the weight but we decided to keep it for lunch that day once back on dry land. The ride home was much better both as we had had a decent ½ day fishing trip and we actually caught some fish, the highlight for me was the possibility of having it for dinner. Once back in the harbour our fishing guide filleted the fish for me. We headed to somewhere we went the night before hoping then do ‘cook your own catch’ which they did, for $11 p/p they would cook you up your catch and throw in a few sides. Overall the fillets were chunky and meaty producing some delicious white fish with sweet potato and mango coleslaw for lunch, very satisfying indeed. That afternoon we chilled by the pool calling it a day when it rained heavily for about 45 minutes, soon passing to produce once again 30 degree heat and very high humidity.

The next day I have booked a dive refresher course consisting of a small quiz to test what I reminder, a pool recapping session to go over how to use the gear and the basics of diving again and then 2 dives in the afternoon. It's been 2 years nearly exactly to the day that I did several days diving on Gili Air, Indonesia, luckily it felt great to be back under the water and it was like riding a bike and I didn't forgot anything. Izzi’s day was to bask in the sun, topping up her tan, reading and general having some down time. It’s amazing how tiring doing a bit of travelling can be.

After a quick lunch together I headed out for the dives, it was only myself and a very friendly buddy instructor to do some diving together. We headed out to one of the 30+ nature reserves of the coast. After about 45 mins we were at the first dive site, a sunken ship from the 50’s, unlike many others this actually sank and was not sunk to form an artificial reef. I have never dived a wreck before so it was very interesting. Corals form on and around the wreck like its rock, unfortunately I didnt seen a great deal of fish or other sea life other than some corals but the wreck itself was great to explore and tbh the first time actually diving after 2 years I'm glad it was a nice and gentle introducing back into diving. In total we had about 50 mins underwater exploring the wreck which was massive, much bigger than I expected. Once we surfaced the moved to another site 20 mins away and got geared up for the dive. This time lots of jellyfish were in the water so the idea is to get in a got down straight away dodging the jellies which only live in the top 5-10ft of water.

The 2nd dive site was much better, I saw some great coral and decent fish, a nice big fat crab and spent some time playing with a very protective fish who even though was about 2 inch long would swim right up to me and nibble my finger if I got too close to his coral house. One of the highlights were the coral caves or tunnels which had formed. We swam straight through some massive twisting caves which was great fun, finding a huge fish sleeping in one and another shoal of tiny fish hiding in the other. The diving was a great day out and it's a shame I don't have more time as I would go out again. In comparison to when I did it in Indonesia it didn't feel as untouched or as colourful as the reefs I saw out there. It was equally as fun but not as much wow factor as the reefs out in the Gili Islands, and no turtles of sharks which I really hoped for.

After getting back I realised I had got pretty burnt on the diving, I did have factor 50 on but two near hour long dives rubs this off obviously. That evening we struggled to find anywhere open for tea so ate again at the restaurant next door, luckily they do have good food so it wasn't that bad. The next day we awoke after another heavy storm, eat breakfast and checkout heading further south towards the tip of the keys, Key West.

Enroute to Key West the drive gets interesting, the keys are comprised of hundreds of islands all joined by highway 1. The highlight of the highway is the seven mile bridge. The bridge is exactly as it sounds, a 7 mile bridge joining two islands, also featuring in a boyhood film of mine, True Lies with Arnold Schwarzenegger. We stopped at a few places as well as the bridge to get a few photos. Although the bridges as good and give you a nice view of the islands and out to sea it's basically a straight single lane road with strict speed limits of ranging from 30-55 mph, taking nearly 3 hours to go from top to bottom.

Once on key west we notices the change a lot, this island is a holiday mecca and there is no greenery and lots of development even if it does still manage to have a bohemian feel to it. Our first destination if ‘The SouthernMost Point’, a marker buoy which marks the southernmost point of the USA, after a quick snap and dodging the crowds we head to our hotel and check in. What seems strange is that outside our hotel room a hen and two young chicks peck and scratch through the foliage, I ask the women in reception about them and she tells me I will see them all over Key West and that are native. Left over from the old ships which used to land and the influx of cubans who love cock fighting. That day we notice more as we explore the island, it reminds us a lot of Vietnam and Cambodia where chickens roam free regardless whether it's a tiny village or a huge capital city. The hotel is basic but clean and adequate, only problem is the internet is rubbish making is hard to then plan the next jumping point. We head to a supermarket again to stock up on sunscreen also buying the long sleeved UV protecting shirts knowing we have a full day in the sun with snorkeling as well the next day.

The next morning we wake at 6:15am as we have booked on a full day trip to Dry Tortugas Fort Jefferson, a historic fort in the middle of the ocean 70 miles west of Key West whose selling point is it remoteness. As its so far away and a national park you can only visit on a single boat run by the government, a sea plane or by chartering a private fishing boat which is very expensive. It claims to have good snorkeling and an amazing and impressive large fort which can be fully explored all with the knowledge that not many people will be there. It's a tad costly at $170 p/p but you get travel, breakfast and dinner as well as snorkel gear and information and guide of the fort. We arrive at the harbour, park the car up and check in. The harbour is busy and the boat will be full with 150 people on but luckily once on board it is squashed and we have a full table to ourselves. The boat departs and after a short introduction and a basic but adequate breakfast we settle down to the 2hr 30min trip the island. The boat itself is called Yankee Freedom III and is a large katerman, we play cards as well as watch for dolphins and turtles en route.

Once the islands comes into view on horizon it's appears to emerge from nothing and it's quite a spectacle to see. It sits with several small sand islands one with a lighthouse, the largest with a fort and the others uninhabited, luckily it's been a national park for many years now and still feels and looks untouched apart the obvious massive fort!

Once on the island we head out and explore Fort Jefferson, it's a huge naval fort from the 1800s  which housed 2,000 inhabitants and was designed for 1000 heavy guns. Built by hand out of 16 million bricks and was also used to house soldiers who refused to fight in the civil war. It felt ghostly and didn't feel like somewhere you want to be stuck for long periods, especially since it has no safe drinking water. After an interesting self guided tour you we headed for lunch and prepare for the next part of the trip, snorkeling.

The waters around the fort are crystal blue and corals grow all over the old docks with sea grass beds just of the beach. We get the gear and explore the first of two safe snorkeling areas. After being unable to locate the reefs we eventually found them and glad we were that we did. The waters we teaming with fish in huge shoals. As you swam with them hundreds of fish from 2ich  to 2ft swam past and around you. We hoped for turtles, sharks and stingrays but unfortunately didn't see anything like this. The corals on both sites were of good quality and size, growing directly on old dock foundations. Early we had purchased a underwater disposable camera hoping to capture some of them, I am unsure if we managed to capture anything decent as we will need to wait till we get back and have them developed. In total we snorkeled in both sites for about 2hrs and it was definitely the highly of the day. When combined with the remote nature, Fort Jefferson, snorkeling and the fact that as it's big and not many people are there giving it the feeling like you're shipwrecked the day trip out was one of the best things we have done the whole trip down the east coast.

On the way home we sat with an old couple who had camped on the island for 4 days. They were interesting and almost hippy like, currently living on a boat in key west, off grid with no mains water supply and  farm further north. We traded stories and jokes for a few hours as the boat took us home.

That night we go for an italian then get speaking to a couple with two kids. Strangely he claimed to be the brother of the man who is currently dating Princess Beatrice, he seemed legitimately but we carried on speaking with caution. Either way we spoke for an hour or so before parting our separate ways after a what felt like quite a surreal meeting we had just had even if it was that they were obviously quite drunk and their two kids quite clearly wanted nothing to do with sitting down and speaking to strangers.

The next day we checkout and head north after 5 days in the keys. Our destination if the Florida Everglades, the penultimate destination before Miami and the flight back to reality. En-route we stop at No Name Key in hunt for the endangered Key Deer, a tiny deer which only lives on the keys and is protected, luckily after speaking to ranger and driving around for a hour or so we managed to run into 4-5 of them. After some snaps and deer watching we grab lunch in No Name Pub which has signed 1$ bills stapled to every inch of the wall, claiming to have 65-700 thousand bills in the bar. Next is another quick photo stop at 7 mile bridge once again, it's a long day’s driving and still have 3 hours driving once we leave No Name Key!