So much character to the Keys


Key West is the southernmost point in Florida and in the United States.Photo by jovannig

Most people who have heard anything about the Florida Keys have heard only about Key West.

We love Key West, which is tropical, full of eccentric characters and has a well-deserved reputation as party central. Chickens are protected by law so the streets have a healthy population that meander the stores and byways, stalking tourists for edible droppings.

The southern tip of Key West is just 140 kilometres from Cuba and is a way station for Cuban refugees.

The island is the home of The Mel Fisher Maritime Museum (, one of our favourite places in all of the Keys. It is dedicated to the Fisher family, who searched for the sunken Spanish treasure ship, Atocha.

The story of their disasters and successes and the treasure on display is mesmerizing.

If you find the museum thrilling, they have weeklong packages that allow you to dive the Atocha. One diver we heard of uncovered jew-elry worth a fortune on the last dive of his vacation.

Although Key West has the largest slice of the population of the Keys, it is only one of many islands that make up the coral cay archipelago. Every island has a different character, all offbeat.

Some of the islands are tiny out-crops of limestone that support just one house and a boat slip. The Keys are one of the few places where it is still possible to buy an island to live on.

The chain starts just 24 km south of Miami and curves westward to the Dry Tortugas National Park, 109 km west of Key West. The Dry Tortugas, at the end of the island chain, consist of 11 small islands and this solitary outpost of the United States has the largest masonry structure in the Western Hemisphere, Fort Jefferson.

Barbara Braidwood and Rick Cropp are Vancouver-based writers.

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