Key West 2021 (page 6 of 8)

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Greta's blog, Day 6 (Thursday March 11th):

We had booked a Mangrove Kayak tour the day before - it originated off of Stock Island (the first island BEFORE Key West if you're coming from the mainland). We got up a bit early and had our typical eggs/bacon/toast/OJ/coffee breakfast and then headed out. We got to Hurricane Hole and have very little trouble finding "Lazy Dog Adventures".

We checked in and were told we had a bit of a wait before our 10 am paddle, so we wandered about the marina to look at boats, birds, etc. Our tour group was led by Bethany and was absolutely the best! I think we had 6 double-kayaks in our group (she cautioned against singles due to the wind, as she'd said the last few days were some of the toughest paddling she's had in many years). Then we all headed out for our Eco Tour in the Mangroves just between Stock Island and Key West. Right away, we saw an iguana hanging out on a branch; they are not native to the area, but are originally descended from pets that were released in the Keys, and then spread rapidly, as they have no natural predators. A little bit further in, she was able to scoop up a sea star (star fish) that we all could pass around (in the net, dipping it in water from time to time) and touch. It was about as big as a person's hand.

When we first got into the channel, she pointed out a nurse shark (they like to lie at the bottom of shallow water and sleep - they are quite harmless to humans) but only a few people saw it. We got a little ways into the channel and saw something ahead - it was MANATEES! A few people saw one, but not most of us - although we saw a lump in the water and a sand cloud. She then asked "Should we turn around? It's pretty rare to see them!" and we all agreed. We circled around and we all saw their heads pop up a few different times as well as part of the body of one. Mike and I didn't have any swim right past us but we all felt very lucky as it's apparently rare, although not unheard of, to see a manatee this far south. They tend to prefer the cooler, fresher waters in the Tampa area. We also saw a number of homes here, including a past home of Jimmy Buffett (who will rent a paddle board from them when in the area) which all looked quite nice.

Before heading into the mangrove tunnels, we pulled to the side and she scooped out what looked like a green circle on the bottom - it's a jelly fish! It's called a Cassiopeia Jelly Fish and lives on the bottom of shallow, warm waters, and extends its tentacles up towards the sun. Once we looked down over the sides of our kayaks, we could easily see them pulsing in the water - they were all over the place. We were just about to head into the first tunnel when we saw a nurse shark - one that was over 4 feet long, resting on the bottom. It woke up and swam between us and nearly everyone (including us) got a very good look at it.

From there, a lot of our tour was within the "tunnels" of the mangroves. She explained the basics of the mangroves and that these were all red mangroves. They are plentiful in this area and are necessary shoreline protection from hurricanes. If you are caught clearing mangroves without a required permit on your land, you can be fined up to $10 thousand. Once we got into the mangrove tunnels, Bethany had explained how the trees drink up & filter the salt water; their last bit of salt water is channeled to a sacrificial leaf, which turns yellow and falls off. But that one leaf keeps the rest of the tree alive and healthy. We also saw some small fish lurking in by the roots in the shadows. A lot of fish start their life in this area, as a natural nursery, and then when they are larger, head out into the open ocean. On the branches, we could see tiny Mangrove Crab. Their bodies are about the size of a quarter. At first they are hard to see but Bethany pointed them out with her paddle - you'd see them once they started to scurry away. Once you knew what to look for, you could see there were LOTS of them. There were also Mangrove Oysters growing off the roots in the water in clusters. Apparently they are edible but not very good tasting.

We came out of the tunnels for a bit and crossed an open area where we could see boats moored out. That is one way to live in the area - mooring out is free, but obviously not the easiest life. But if you can get down to the area in your boat, that is a way you can afford to stay there for a while. We paddled along a few docks and Bethany looked for more things for us to see. This time she scooped down and pulled up a Spotted Sea Hare. It was about the size of a large grapefruit; it was slimy, not happy about being pulled in and would ink her hands with dark purple liquid. We could all pass it around in the net, and touch it without getting stung; if you rubbed its back, your hand would take on a perfume-like smell that it uses for protection along with the ink. When we were about to head back into a tunnel, we were lucky enough to see another nurse shark - this one around 3 feet long or so. We paddled through the tunnels a bit more and then back to the marina. It was a very worthwhile tour for 2 hours, and if you come back in the future, you can rent a kayak and a map for a half day and explore the area on your own.

We would highly recommend Lazy Dog Adventures to others coming down in the future! They gave us a couple free postcards and a 10% discount off food/drink at the Hurricane Hole Marina & Restaurant. We headed over there and had two servings of the "bite sized fresh catch" yellow tailed snapper (it was very good and very tender as well as some water and fruity drinks. We stopped on the way back to pick up some Prosecco from CVS, and then we headed back to the condo to shower/change.

The Truman Waterfront Park (where the Coast Guard Cutter is moored) has a Farmer's Market everything Thursday from 2-7 pm. We were hoping to find pelican art for our souvenir to put on the wall or on a post. We walked past a few stands of food and things and came upon a metalworks stand. There were a few flat pelicans that were pretty cool but then we saw self-standing heron or egret that was in iridescent mother-of-pearl coloring. It was perfect! We walked to the end of the market to make sure there wasn't anything MORE perfect but there was not. Greta stopped at a wood-carver's stand and found carving of a small turtle perched on a rock that was carved out of a piece of palm wood and got that for her collection. Then we went back to Ben's metalwork stand and made our purchase. He said the art is all made by a large family and he goes around and sells them. He then showed us how it could be dismantled and would ship it back to us for an extra $20, which solves the problem of getting it home.

After being so successful at the market, we started walked down south towards/past Fort Zachary Taylor. We could see the old fort through the fencing and then later government base housing for the Navy. We walked as far as the pier at the "Southernmost" point and saw the churning water there - definitely not snorkeling water! We didn't stop to stand in line to have our picture taken at the "Southernmost Point" as we've done that in the past but did swing by one place to get a drink. Mojito for Mike (they muddled the mint - wrong!) and Greta had a Tropical Mule. We then picked up Duval and walked most of the way back, stopping briefly to look at Red Shoe Island Bistro, where we planned on eating supper. Back at the condo, we made reservations for dinner. Greta walked down to the post office to buy some stamps and mail a Lazy Dog postcard to Madison and Tucker.

We headed out after coming back to the condo to watch the sunset at Mallory Square. Mike had brought his camera, and the skies were set for a pretty spectacular sunset, with the marine layer minimal and nonexistent where the sun was setting. Despite the myriad of sail boats and sunset cruisers crossing in front of us we got a clear shot at the sunset right as it was going down. We were set up in the perfect spot apparently. Mike was able to get a sequence of pictures right as the sun disappeared below the horizon and caught the fabled "green flash". Greta got to watch it live. After the sunset we walked back to the condo, dropped off the camera, and headed to the Red Shoe Island Bistro for dinner - it had been very highly rated online so we thought we'd try it out.

It was not busy - but it really should be. The food was outstanding and hopefully they will become very popular soon (this is what a lot of the reviews read as well - go now, because it's a hidden gem at the moment). Our waiter was rather new and didn't speak much English (he was maybe French?) but we were able to get our orders in. The menu is small but it still provided a difficult choice of what to get. It started with an "amuse bouche" of a single piece of bread topped with bruschetta. We shared a bottle of wine and started with an appetizer of 4 deviled eggs topped with bacon and a seared scallop on a bed of a drizzled sauce; this was SO GOOD. Then we both ordered the yellow tail snapper with shrimp on a risotto bed and topped with lobster sauce. It was AMAZING. We were both too full for Key Lime pie for dessert but the food was wonderful. We had originally planned on stopping somewhere for a drink on our way back but were too tired so just headed back to the condo. We both read/surfed the web a bit and then went to sleep.

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