After a good night’s sleep, fueled by King Crab Legs and Joe’s famous cole slaw, we made our way out of SoBe and headed for Little Havana. Because nothing says morning in Miami like a Cuban cafe de leche (for Erica) and a postre de guava (for both of us). It was an experience, but while famous, neither of us pulled out our cameras for Cafe Versailles.
From there we motored to Key Largo, known as Cayo Largo to the Spanish — Long Key. Of course the Bogart/Bacal movie was filmed here, but others include PT 109 and License to Kill. We headed to John Pennecamp State Park, which is known for its snorkeling and scuba diving among beautiful coral reefs, a shipwreck or two, and a life sized stone Jesus weighing over 2 tons. This park is protecting the only living coral reef system in the U.S. with over 78 square miles of reefs, mangroves and sea-grass beds. There are over 600 varieties of fish, some of which can be seen in the visitor center’s 30,000 gallon tank. And since we didn’t snorkel today, it was nice to see some of what we might have seen while staying dry. Instead, we kayaked the 2.5 mile canoe/kayak trail through the mangrove swamp. We did make a wrong turn or two, and Largo sound was windy and the a bit choppy, so it was a good workout.
After a rest and a trail walk for Erica and a beach read for me we headed to our next stop on the trail, an airbnb called “The Sunroom”. Our host is Leslie, and the location can’t be topped. We are on the Gulf of Florida side of the key, and the 15 acres that the owners have had since the 60’s have been developed into a sort of a compound with several houses. It sits right on the bay, with access to kayaks and sunning, and a view of the most perfect sunset. It seems that some financial hardship has set them on the road to airbnb and it further appears that they will rent out pretty much any space that can fit a bed. Our “sunroom” is sorta the dining room off the kitchen that is supposed to have some curtains for privacy. The host is in her bedroom and we have access to the rest of the cottage, but it’s a bit wierd to be sleeping in an alcove. We keep telling ourselves that the sunset and view makes it ok, but if you really think about it, this whole airbnb thing is pretty weird.
We walked a mile to a real “keysie” place for dinner — Snappers — on the ocean side. Local dish is hogfish, which was good despite it’s name and it’s likely the only place I’ve ever been where the entertainment is performed from a party boat/catamaran. It’s all an adventure for sure…
the aquarium
the compound
perfect evening
outside entertainment