Florida Keys

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I woke up at 7am, a little later than I wanted to, to prepare and get ready for a long day ahead at the Keys in Florida. I headed out to the store to get some sandwiches, orange juice and water - which were surprisingly cheap compared to the places we had been. It wasn't as warm as it was the day before and I felt that just wearing a t-shirt and swimming trunks was maybe a little inappropriate or too little.

We left Miami at 8am and drove for 3 and a half hours down to the southern most point of Florida (and mainland USA). The drive was beautiful. After we passed the Everglades national park, where there are is supposedly crocodiles and other wildlife, we came to the tip of Florida and started to cross a series of bridges.
On either side of the car was blue and green clear water and there was wildlife all around including pelicans and other seabirds and fish.

The temperature was actually cooler than Miami, but felt a lot warmer due to the higher humidity. It was only 20-22C for most of the day, but I felt completely comfortable in just trunks.
The drive covered over 40 bridges and around 150 miles in the sunshine and tropical climate. I had never realised that the weather could be so tropical in the United States and really felt I was in a completely different country. We were in the Gulf of Mexico, just 90 miles away from Cuba and also very close to the Bahamas.

During the car journey I decided to open my ham and cheese sandwich I'd bought hydrate myself with plenty of water. I am glad it was not any warmer or more sunny as it meant that I would not get bad sunburn.

The first thing I decided to do upon arriving at the island was check at the closest visitor centre, what the main attractions were and whether or not I could go snorkling in the coral reef.
One of the other main reasons for visiting Key West was the sunset party they have every day at sunset.

I was given the choice of going snorkling and missing the sunset party or choosing another activity. I opted to go para-sailing with Ace. It was extremely cheap compared to what I'd have expected and I was really excited to do it. We headed towards the harbour and pier and waited for the para-sailing boat to arrive. The trip was supposed to last around 45 minutes.
We boarded the boat and watched as two other people who were on the boat soared 400ft in the air attached to the boat on a parachute, it looked amazing. Me and Ace went on shortly after and spent about 10-15 minutes soaring in the air. It was so quiet and you couldn't really hear anything other than the quiet hum of the boat far below. We could see for miles and saw stingray and other fish in the sea below. Eventually the crew brought us back in but dropped us in the water first.
After para-sailing the boat stopped, brought the parachute back in and then asked us if we wanted to swim in the sea. They warned us that the water was cold.
I jumped in to find the water was not cold at all, and although it was January, the water was far warmer than anything you'd even find in Northern California in the summer. It was amazing to swim in the sea out past Key West in the Gulf.

Afterwards the speedboat took us back and we sat in a bar by the harbour in the sun. We ordered cocktails, Ace had a Margarita - the nicest Margarita cocktail I've ever tasted, and I ordered a Dark & Stormy.
There was also cuban cigar stand in the bar so I bought the smallest Vanilla scented cigar they had available and enjoyed the sun. I considered buying another cocktail, but figured that one drink was enough despite how good it tasted.

We then relaxed on the beach, which was far quieter and less commercial than any of the beaches in Miami, and watched the boats and birds as they sailed and soared over the sea.
It was an amazing experience and was so picturesque that I thought those beaches only existed in holiday brochures.

We left the beach at around 5pm to go to the sunset party, which was filled with street performers and had singers, guitarists, a banjo player, fire juggler etc.
The colours in the sky were beautiful and watched the sun turn from white, to yellow to orange and finally to red as it became larger and set over the horizon. It really was an experience to be savoured - and unfortunately I didn't capture any of it on camera.

Before long, the island of Key West was pitch black and all the bars were filled with people drinking and eating meals. I went to an ice cream shop to have an ice cream and was still amazed that I was able to wear just trunks at 8pm in January and not feel cold.
We bought some souvenirs and I bought a postcard from Key West before we began the long drive back.
We returned at around midnight, and I went straight to sleep to prepare for the even longer drive the following day.

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