Day 22 - Key West
Para-Sailing - Swimming - Contortionists - Sunset
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| Mark at Marathon Beach |
Waking up to
clear skies increased the anticipation we were feeling about one of the major
hilites of our road trip – Para-Sailing off the Keys! We took a quick look at the beach in Marathon
before heading south to Key West. Knowing that we would need to stop for a
wi-fi connection (our hotel was not one of our favourite places for various
reasons!!!), we left quite early as we had booked for the 1:00 p.m. event and
needed to be there at least ½ an hour ahead of time.
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| Alan waiting for the Para-Sailing Team |
The harbour, from which the boat leaves, is surrounded by luxurious hotels, restaurants, and
up-market boutiques, dotted with ads for the various water activities
available. Even though we were eager to get going, the environment was pleasant
enough to allay any impatience!
Our captain
and his assistant explained how to put on the safety harness and the procedure
for ‘take-off’ and ‘landing’ on the back of the boat. It was so easy and it
just seemed that we were gently whisked up into the air. The experience was
both exhilarating and peaceful with views of the coast line and the expanse of
the ocean as it spread out before us.
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| Ready to go |
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| First 'Dip' |
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| Second 'Dip' |
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| Terrific view from up there! |
We were ‘dipped’ three times (two more times than the other three parasailers) and felt that we were up there for longer than the ten minutes that had been allotted to us. It is definitely an experience we would recommend and we’re certainly going to repeat it in the not-too-distant future.
Upon our
return, we made our way to the Southernmost Point on the Continental U.S. Typically,
there were signs up claiming to be ‘The Southernmost Hotel’, ‘The Southernmost
Guest House’, ‘The Southernmost House’ etc. etc. It was kind of interesting to
be just 90 miles from Cuba.
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| Just 90 miles to Cuba |
After pics were dutifully taken, we took a swim in the ‘Southernmost Beach’ where the water was warmer than the cool air around us.
There were a few others who were also swimming, but we stayed in the longest – probably because it was too cold for people from warmer climates. Crazy Canucks!!
One of the
things we have noticed is that there are roosters roaming everywhere in the town – not
sure why – but you can hear them crowing all day long!
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| Roosters crowing everywhere! |
We spent the
afternoon strolling around Duval Street and its surroundings, stopping for a
slice of Key Lime pie – a must when you are visiting here! Ernest Hemingway had
a home here, and frequented the saloon round the corner. (Of note, the place
where we parked had a sign to say that he had passed out in this spot!!!)
We had found
out that every evening, people gather in Mallory Square for the Sunset Celebration - where street performers and
musicians display their skills and talents. We watched a young man and his wife
put on a show that was not only unique in some of the stunts/moves that they
made, but that was thoroughly entertaining – thanks to his superb humour and
great timing. He had the crowd eating out of his hand. He is an acrobat, and
his wife is a contortionist. This combination is what made them unique.
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| Acrobat and Contortionist - very entertaining! |
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| One man steel band! |
I don’t
think we’ve ever taken so many pictures of a sunset as we did here! Out of the
80 or so that we snapped, we have included the one we thought was best.
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We kept
wondering why they were called ‘Keys’ and not Islands. According to Wikipedia, "Key"
is derived from the Spanish ‘Cayo’, meaning small island. Mystery solved –
thanks, once more, to Google! Actually, the Wikipedia site is good for reading
about the history of the keys.
From here,
we start heading northwards – moving towards cooler temperatures and eventually
back into the snowy areas. We’re gonna make the most of good weather while we
can.
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