At the southern tip of Florida, one can find the Key Islands. The Keys. It is a long drive to reach the southernmost point in the USA on Key West (note to myself – why did they call it Key West and not Key South 😉). The journey is long and sometimes boring. But hopping from island to island via the numerous bridges offers different sceneries and impressive views on the bridges.

On the Eastern side you can admire the Atlantic Ocean while on the Western side you can spot the waters of the Gulf of Mexico (note to whoever is interested: if you look at Google Maps today, you will find out that it is already called the Gulf of America). All along the Keys, one can see that the tourism has developed massively. Boat tours, snorkeling, diving, sailing, eating, etc. A proper business.

We enjoyed a glass bottom boat tour starting at Islamorada to discover one of the most unique coral reefs in the world after the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. On this tour in the Atlantic Ocean waters, we could not only enjoy the corals and the fishes, but we also encountered beautiful turtles and dolphins. Emerald green waters. Fresh breeze. Untouched nature.

On the next day, we took a boat tour to the waters of the Gulf of Mexico to observe dolphins in their habitat. We started from Key West and soon could navigate aside a large group of dolphins. We then stopped over in shallow waters to snorkel and explore the coral reef. Furthermore, we encountered spotted stingray mantas and saw a shark in the distance. Many different fishes. One of which, called the Tarpon, can reach very large dimensions, could be easily spotted regularly.

In the evening, on Key West, alike Hemingway many years earlier, we strolled along Duval street, where most of the nightlife in Key West takes place. If you don’t find a bar with live music, then you are not on Duval street… or you are blind and deaf 😂. We ended at a restaurant on the pier (Sunset Pier Restaurant) and ate while contemplating the sunset and listening to live American evergreen music. You know what – we took pleasure in this.

We ended our night experience with a slice of Key Lime Pie. A must. But no one needed to force us. A delicious specialty.

The next morning, we drove the 135 miles back to the mainland to enter the Everglades. But this is another story. Stay with us.