A LOVELY DAY VISITING THE FLORIDA KEYS... TO RECOVER A FORGOTTEN FLORIDA SLOWLY DISAPPEARING

From The National Geographic:

Florida Keys

A key is a small, low-lying coral island. The Florida Keys are probably the most famous keys in the world. A 205 kilometer (127 mile) stretch of road, the Overseas Highway, stitches together the islands of the Florida Keys

As you can imagine, it is an exciting trip and if you have time, to linger. In the name of progress, fast food restaurants, shops and souvenir stores which are so caricatured line the many of the small and big settlements along the highway. But the sea and the flora are the kings here and the sea gives an abundant gift to those who dare to go out.

When my friends offered a chance to accompany them on their drive to Marathon, a small town midlway to the end of the Keys, I jumped at the chance and the day was a very pleasant one 

At a restaurant in Marathon by the water (almost everything is by the water), I had a typical american lunch of these parts: filet of fish, in this case the abundant Mahi Mahi and hushpuppies , the round balls you see on the left and home made "cole slaw".

A cuban immigrant owned this eating place and a cuban joined our table. He and I got on well immediately and he was from the fishing village/town of Caiberien in Villa Clara in the Centre of Cuba, well known for its seafood. In fact many restauranteurs from Havana would think of nothing to drive to Caiberien to bring fresh seafood for their customers. 

After Lunch we drove to Deer Key and you can see why it is called so. Key Deer were roaming around freely every where in the key.

Mangroves always held a fascination for me. This part of Florida has all the varieties of mangroves and they perform a very important ecological balancing activity. Many a fish and bird call Mangrove their home 

 

In the early years of the 20th century during the heyday of american entrepreneurship and wealth, Henry Flagler regarded as the Father of Miami built a railroad over water and the keys all the way down to Key West. It was destroyed by the Storm of the Century in 1935. You can see many abandoned rail bridges all the way down to Key West, the closest point to La Habana, a mere 90 miles away, but a totally different world.

As the sun was setting, we drove back to Miami. A very pleasant day. I felt closer to Cuba, physically and emotionally.