Nemo James

2012 USA – Key West

9th January 2012
For the next part of our holiday we drove the 390 miles to Key West. The first 200 miles was boring motorway driving but when we got to the Florida Keys the scenery became much more interesting with the sea on both sides of the two-lane road. There was a railway line that ran alongide the road but it had obviously not been used for many years. Our hotel was in Duval Street and we were surprised at how lively the area was. There were bars everywhere and most of them had live music. Even in the streets there were a lot of impressive acts, like the drummer playing on the pavement using a drum kit made up of plastic buckets.

A man was standing by a push bike with a little dog in a basket in front. The dog was dressed up with clothes and a hat which sounds cruel but the dog appeared to be loving the attention. I went to take a photo but the man stopped me and said I had to pay ten dollars for a photo.

The next day we took a bus tour and the driver told us all about the history of Key West and pointed out its many historical landmarks. The most famous landmark was the house where Hemmingway once lived and wrote some of his books. They also pointed out all the bars that Hemmingway used to frequent, including one owned by his good friend Sloppy Joe. More important for us was the landmark where the first Key Lime Pie was made so that went to the top of our list of places to visit.

In the afternoon we did a tour of Hemmingway’s house complete with a very good guide who told us all about Hemmingway’s life and what an amazing character he was, although sadly afflicted with manic depression which led him to suicide. We were shown the desk where he wrote his most famous book A Farewell to Arms which was one of my favourites. There was an American coin set into the concrete patio and legend had it that Hemmingway threw it in the wet cement saying to his second wife Pauline, “You have spent all but my last penny, so you might as well have that.” The museum was also well known for having dozens of cats, half of which had six toes. They all originated from a cat that was given to Hemmingway by a ship’s captain.

That evening we went to Mallory Square which was famous for its sunset celebration being the southernmost point of the United States. A Jamaican man with a guitar was singing the old calypso song Island in the Sun giving the place a very special atmosphere and when the sun finally disappeared, everyone clapped.

Then the street entertainers started their shows. There was a 52-year-old man doing acrobatics and two juggling fire eaters on mono bikes.

A very funny escapologist who got Federika and another woman to assist him in his act.

We enjoyed the Wreckers Museum which explained why Key West became one of the richest towns in the USA. The coastline was one of the most treacherous waters in the world so a lot of ships sunk with their valuable cargo. Recovering the goods was very dangerous work but people were allowed to keep whatever they salvaged so it was very profitable. What made the tour magical was that the guide was an actor who played the part of the leader of a salvaging operation making it far more lifelike.

We really enjoyed Key West but it was definitely not a place for anyone suffering from Alektorophobia. That is a fear of chickens and yes, it is a real thing. They were everywhere. In open-air restaurants, they would sit all around you and maybe even jump up onto your table. The cockerels didn’t just crow at sunrise but all day and all through the night. As a tourist, it was great to watch them strutting around like they owned the place (not so much being woken at 4 am) but the locals were divided into those who hated them and those who loved them and it caused so much controversy there was something referred to as the “chicken war.”

So there we came to the end of the first part of our holiday and whilst we had a great time, I was surprised at how much money we spent. I remembered America as being much cheaper than England but that was no longer the case. Key West was particularly expensive which was a shame as I was told it was a great place to eat crab and lobster so we were expecting to eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner but it was so expensive we only had it once.

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