Key West, Florida 23.07

Key Largo, Montego, oh, baby why don't we go.. 

Pärast hommikusööki ja suplust soojas ookeanivees (aga mitte enam nii suurte lainetega) oli aeg Miamist edasi liikuda. Ees ootas reisi kaugeim punkt alguskohast, Key West. Mitte sihtkoht, kõik peatuskohad olid omaette põnevad. 

Tollivaba tee Miamist Key Westi kestab ca 4 tundi (või rohkem), kuigi vahemaa on ca 260 km (tollitee ca pool tundi vähem, olenevalt liikluse tihedusest). Sest kiiruspiirangud ja kaherealine tee. Tegelikult võib selle vahemaa vabalt terve päeva või paariga läbida, oleneb, kui palju peatuseid teha. Aga hoolimata sellest, et kiirus on aeglasem ja kiirtee puudub, kõik sõitsid kannatlikult üksteise järgi. Kui järgmisel päeval Miami poole tagasi sõitsime tekkis mitu korda mõte, et Eestis oleks selline mööda süstimine toimunud. Seal lihtsalt ei olnud. 

Meie alustasime tegelikult natuke enne Florida Keys saarestikku, mandril, Robert is Here puuviljapoest. Kui Robert oli 6-aastane, avas ta puuvilja putka, et aidata isal farmi toodangut müüa. Tähelepanu haaramiseks tegi tema isa sildi "Robert on siin". Sellel päeval müüs 6-aastane (mõnedel andmetel 7-aastane, kuigi enamik kohtades ikkagi 6) Robert kogu oma toodangu - sündis ettevõtja. Aasta oli siis 1959. 

2024 on Robert ikka siin. Pereettevõte on laienenud. Lisaks puuviljadele müüakse hoidiseid, seal on loomaaedik, söögiala, lastele mängimiskoht. Ja isegi aare on aia taga palmi sees olemas. Hinnad on ka muidugi reklaamile vastavad. Aga kui juba seal, võtsime kõik smuuti. Saad ise valida kolm koostisosa, kõik värsked ja valmistatakse kohe kohapeal. Soovitatakse key laimiga, mida me ka tegime. Lisaks juurde minul kaks hapumat valikut. Ema võttis üheks mamey, mille tõlget ma ei ole leidnud. 

Seejärel asusimegi Florida Keyside poole teele. Florida Keys on Key-nimelistest saartest koosnev saarestik, mis on ühendanud sildadega, algupäraselt raudteesillad, mida on 182 km kohta kokku 42. Suurimad linnad Key Largo, Marathon ja Key West. 

Sain alles vahetult enne reisi aru, et The Beach Boys'i "Kokomo" laulus mainitud Key Largo ongi see Key Largo ja jääb meie teele. Tean seda laulu juba ammmmu, aga enne ei osanud kuidagi kokku viia. 

Esimese peatuse tegime kohe pärast Key Largot asuvas Tavernieris, lindude varjupaigas. Kõik sai alguse matemaatika õpetaja Laura Quinnist, kes hoolitses haavatud metsikute lindude eest. 1988. aastast Florida Keys mitteametlik metsikute lindude rehabilitatsioonikeskus avas ametlikult uksed 1991. Mittetulundusühinguna töötav varjupaik päästab, rehabiliteerib ja vabastab linde. Raha tuleb suuresti annetustest ja vabatahtlikust piletitasust. 

Lindude varjupaigas tutvusin lähemalt juba eelmistel päevadel nähtud põneva bengali viigipuuga, mis tundub koosnevat lõpmatu arvust tüvedest. Linde oli loomulikult ka. Ja hoiatus krokodillide liikumisala kohta. Ei näinud ühtegi. 

Ja siis ikka edasi. Istanduse Key's (Plantation Key) asub värviküllane Vihmatünni (Rain Barrel) küla. 

See on üks lahedamaid kohti. Küla ei saa märkamata jääda, vähemalt sissepääs, tee ääres on suur homaar. Nagu tohutu, 9m kõrge ja 12 meetrit pikk, realistliku välimusega homaar. Selle taha jäävad mitmed poekesed, üks värvilisem kui teine. 

Rain Barrel küla sai alguse 1978. aastal, pakkudes kohalikele kunstnikele eneseväljenduse ja sissetuleku väljundit. Kunagi asusid seal küpressist tünnid, mis inspireeris käesolevat nime. 

Homaar Betsy tellis kohalik restorani omanik skulptorilt Richard Blazelt ning selle valmistamine algas 1980ndal Marathonis ja lõppes viis aastat hiljem, aga siis oli restoran uksed sulgenud. Kui sinna kool rajati, siis läks Betsy lattu hoiule ja 2009. aastal toimetati praegusesse asukohta. 

Aga küla on täis võrratuid suveniire ning käsitööd. 

Siis tahtsin ära näha Fredi-nimelise puu, kes kasvab 7-miilisel sillal, mis ühendab Rüütli (Knight's) Keyd Väikese Pardi (Little Duck) Key-ga. Sild oli ehitamise hetkel üks maailmas pikimaid, olles osa USA Route 1-st. Tänapäeval on asukohal 2 silda, milles üks on avatud liiklusele ja teine jalakäijatele (1909-1912, raudteesild). Kui raudteesild 1935.aasta maavärinas kahjustada sai, loodi alus teisele. Ülemere maantee valmis lõplikult 1982. 

Fred on siis Austraalia männipuu, mis asus kasvama mahajäetud raudteesillale umbes 30 aastat tagasi. See osa sillast on ligipääsetav ainult paadi või õhu kaudu. Minu puudulik eeltöö selgus kohapeal, ja Fredi lähemalt ei näinud, kui mööda sõites. 

Ja siis jõudsimegi reisi kaugeimasse punkti, Key Westi, mis on 6x2 km saar Florida väinas. Kaugus 260 km Miamist ja 153km Kuubast, elanikke 26 tuhat, rahvastiku tihedus 1823 (Eestis 30) ruutkilomeetril. Key West on Route 1 kõige lõunapoolsem tipp. Palju hooneid pärineb 19. sajandi lõpust, 20. sajandi algusest. 

Vanalinna piirkonnas on tõesti armsad, pastelsed hooned. Jälle tuttav piparkoogi ääristus kaunistab nii mõndagi katust. Key Westis on elanud nii Hemingway kui Harry S. Truman. Ning Key Westis on USA lõunapoosemat punkti tähistav poi, mille juurde jalutasime õhtul. 

Enne seda parkisin Truman hotelli parkmismajja. Tagurdasin ilusti oma suure Jeepi kitsaste postide vahele. Käisime sisse registreerimas ja selgus, et parkimiskohad on kindlaksmääratud ja pean hoopis kõrvalkohale liikuma. Pole probleemi, tagurdasin veel kitsamate postide vahele. 

Heh. Sisse registreerides saatsin vanemad nende kohvritega tuppa ja läksin ise autoga tegelema. Hotelli sisehoovi jõudes olin toanumbri ära unustanud. Käisin paari vale ukse taga koputamas. USAs helistamine on natuke kallis, seega pidin retseptsioonist uuesti toanumbrit küsima minema.

Truman hotell on mõnusalt väike ning asub Key Westi peatänava, Duval St, paralleeltänaval. Õhtusöögi saime kohe üle tee asuvast Duffy's Steak & Lobster Housest. Hiidkreveti pastale eelnes kalasupp. Yumm. Isegi liiga suur portsjon. Vanemad piirdusid mereanni salatiga. 

Pärast õhtusööki vahetasime majutuses riides ning võtsime suuna Key Westi randa. Lõunatipus on ookean tõesti nagu supp aga erinevalt Miamist oli põhi kaetud mitte kõige pehmemate vetikatega. Heh. Pärnu ranna tunne tekkis, kõnnid ja kõnnid ja vesi ulatub juba poole põlveni. Lained njetu. Aga võtsime soojast ookeaniveest viimast. 

Seejärel tagasi majutusse, nüüd juba teadaolevale parkimiskohale ja edasi mööda Duval tänavat ja sellega piirduvaid suveniiripoode Põhja-Ameerika lõunapoolseimat tippu tähistava poini, mis paikneb seal aastast enne minu sündi. 

Õhtut jäi lõpetama Truman hotelli mõnusa meeleoluvalgusega bassein. Ja kui veel Miamis läks pimedaks 9ks, siis siin saabus pimedus järsku ja veel varem. 

After breakfast and swimming in the warm ocean (with calmer waves than before), it was time to move on from Miami. Ahead lay the furthest point of the trip from the starting location, Key West. Not the final destination though, as each stop along the way was exciting in its own right. 

The toll-free drive from Miami to Key West takes about 4 hours (or more), despite the distance being around 260 km (the toll road is about half an hour shorter, depending on traffic). Speed limits and a two-lane road slow things down. In fact, you could easily take a whole day or two to cover the distance, depending on how many stops you make. But despite the slower speeds and lack of a highway, everyone patiently followed one another. On our way back to Miami the next day, I couldn’t help but think several times that such patient driving wouldn’t happen in Estonia. There, people would be overtaking at every opportunity. Here, it just didn’t happen.

We actually started our journey just before reaching the Florida Keys, still on the mainland, at the “Robert Is Here” fruit stand. When Robert was 6, he opened the stand to help his father sell farm produce. To attract attention, his father made a sign saying “Robert Is Here.” On that day, the 6-year-old (or 7, according to some sources) Robert sold all his goods—a young entrepreneur was born. The year was 1959. 

In 2024, Robert is still here. The family business has expanded. In addition to fruit, they now sell jams, and there’s an animal pen, an eating area, a children’s playground, and even a treasure hidden behind a fence in a palm tree. The prices match the hype, of course, but since we were there, we all had a smoothie. You can choose three ingredients yourself, all fresh and made on the spot. Key lime is highly recommended, which we opted for. I added two more tart ingredients. Mum chose mamey, which I couldn’t find a translation for. 

After that, we headed towards the Florida Keys. The Florida Keys are an archipelago of islands named “Key,” connected by bridges—originally railway bridges. In total, there are 42 bridges along the 182 km route. The main cities are Key Largo, Marathon, and Key West. 

It was only just before the trip that I realised the “Key Largo” mentioned in The Beach Boys' song “Kokomo” is, in fact, the very same Key Largo we’d be passing through. I’ve known that song for ages, but I never made the connection. 

Our first stop was in Tavernier, just after Key Largo, at a Wild Bird Sanctuary. It all began with a maths teacher, Laura Quinn, who took care of injured wild birds. In 1988, the Florida Keys unofficial wild bird rehabilitation centre officially opened its doors in 1991. The sanctuary is a non-profit organisation that rescues, rehabilitates, and releases birds. Most of the funding comes from donations and voluntary ticket fees. 

At the bird sanctuary, I also got a closer look at the fascinating banyan tree, which I’d already spotted on previous days. It seems to consist of an endless number of trunks. Of course, there were birds as well, and a warning about crocodiles in the area. We didn’t see any.

Then we continued on. In Plantation Key is the colourful Rain Barrel Village. It’s one of the coolest places. The village is impossible to miss, at least the entrance, as there’s a huge lobster by the roadside. It’s enormous—9 metres tall and 12 metres long—and looks very realistic. Behind it are several small shops, each more colourful than the last. 

Rain Barrel Village began in 1978, offering local artists a space for creative expression and income. At one time, there were cypress barrels here, which inspired the name.

Betsy the Lobster was commissioned by a local restaurant owner from the sculptor Richard Blaze, and it began being built in Marathon in 1980. It took five years to complete, but by then the restaurant had closed. When a school was built in its place, Betsy was put into storage, but in 2009 she was relocated to her current spot. 

The village is full of delightful souvenirs and crafts.

Next, I wanted to see a tree named Fred, growing on the 7-Mile Bridge, which connects Knight’s Key with Little Duck Key. At the time of construction, it was one of the longest bridges in the world and forms part of the famous U.S. Route 1. Nowadays, there are two bridges—one for vehicles and the other for pedestrians (the old railway bridge, built between 1909 and 1912). When the railway bridge was damaged by an earthquake in 1935, it laid the foundation for the new one. The Overseas Highway was fully completed in 1982.

Fred is an Australian pine tree that began growing on the abandoned railway bridge about 30 years ago. That part of the bridge is only accessible by boat or air. Unfortunately, due to my lack of planning, I didn’t see Fred up close, just as we drove past. 

Then we reached the furthest point of our trip, Key West, a 6x2 km island in the Florida Straits. It’s 260 km from Miami and 153 km from Cuba, with a population of 26,000 and a density of 1,823 people per square kilometre (Estonia’s density is 30). Key West is the southernmost point of Route 1. Many buildings date back to the late 19th and early 20th centuries. 

The Old Town area is full of lovely pastel-coloured buildings. Once again, I noticed familiar gingerbread-style trim on several roofs. Both Hemingway and Harry S. Truman lived in Key West. The island also has a buoy marking the southernmost point of the USA, which we walked to in the evening.

Before that, I parked at the Truman Hotel car park. I carefully reversed my large Jeep between narrow posts. We checked in, only to find out the parking spots were assigned, and I had to move to the next space. No problem, I backed into an even narrower spot. 

Heh. After sending my parents to the room with their luggage, I went to sort out the car. Once inside the hotel courtyard, I realised I’d forgotten our room number. I knocked on a couple of the wrong doors. Since calling in the US is quite expensive, I had to go back to reception to ask for the room number again.

The Truman Hotel is nice and small, and it’s on a side street parallel to Duval St, Key West’s main street. We had dinner across the street at Duffy's Steak & Lobster House. The huge shrimp pasta was preceded by a fish soup. Yummy. The portion was almost too large. My parents stuck to a seafood salad. 

After dinner, we changed clothes back at the hotel and headed to Key West’s beach. At the southern tip, the ocean is truly like a warm bath, but unlike Miami, the seabed was covered in not-so-soft seaweed. Heh, it felt a bit like Pärnu Beach—you walk and walk, and the water only reaches your knees. There were no waves. But we made the most of the warm ocean. 

Then we headed back to the hotel, parked in our now familiar spot, and strolled along Duval Street, browsing the souvenir shops on our way to the marker for the southernmost point in mainland North America, which has been there since before I was born. 

The day ended with a relaxing swim in the Truman Hotel’s pool, lit by mood lighting. While in Miami, it was dark by 9 pm, here nightfall came suddenly and much earlier.

Miami, Florida 22.07

Party in the city where the heat is on, all night on the beach 'till the break of dawn, Welcome to Miami, Bienvenidos a Miami

Hommikul tegin jälle väikese jalutuskäigu vastassuunal eelmise hommikuga. Paralleeltänavale jääb hotell The Villa Casa Casuarina, paiknedes kunagises Versace häärberis, mille trepil kunagine omanik elu kaotas. 

Tänavad olid enamasti tühjad. Madalad majad ja piisavalt rohelust, lisaks pargid. Leidsin paar bengali viigipuud, mis tunduvad koosnevat lõpmatutest tüvedest, mis on tegelikult õhujuured. Lisaks juba eelnevalt mitmeid kordi märgatud võrratult värvilised krotonid. 

Pärast hommikusööki verandal järjekordne suplus, siis auto rooli ja ligi tunniajane sõit viis meid Everglade rahvuspargi põhjaossa, Sawgrassi. Everglades on USA suurim troopiline looduslik park ning kolmas rahvuspark Death Valley ja Yellowstone järel, millest esimene on külastatud, teine äkki kunagi. Pargi põhjaossa jääv Sawgrass alustas kalastuskohana, 1970ndateks pakkus teenust üks hõljuk ja nüüd on sellest saanud üks suurimaid atraktsioone. 

Sawgrass rekreatsioonipargis pakutakse lisaks kalastusele ja matkamisele hõljukisõite rabas ja see oli ainuke reaalne lootus näha ühte 1.3 miljonist Florida alligaatorist. Jah, ma tean, et selle mürina peale ei püsiks ükski gaator paigal aga meie ajaraami silmas pidades oli see suurim võimalus. 

Pileti peab ette broneerima. Ja jälle, pilet maksab 26.95 aga maksud juurde ja saame 30.46 dollarit. Sest miks kohe õige hind panna? Selle eest siis 40-minutiline, kuskil 20-inimesest koosnev grupisõit. 

Juba kohale jõudes märkasime, et taevas muutus järjest süngemaks. Võtsime vihmakeebid autost kaasa. Kuna jõudsime natuke vara, no mitte ametlikult, sest jõudsime enda broneeritud vahemikus, siis nende ajahäda tõttu pidime ikkagi ootama. 

Hõljuki sõitu oodates saab vaadata vangistatud alligaatoreid, meie ainukesed. Siis tegime tuuri suveniiripoes ja kogunesime paadisõiduks. Meie giid ei tekitanud kõige suuremat turvatunnet. Paat tegi korralikku mürinat. Taustal oli näha järjest tumenev taevas. Giid suhtles aeg-ajalt baasiga ning andis teada, et teatud suunal on võimalus edasi liikuda. Nägime kolme lindu, kellest ühest sõitsime ilmselt üle. 

Paat tegi aeg-ajalt loomulikult peatusi, uurisime ringi, kas märkame kuskilt silmi. Aga peale lindude ei õnnestunud märgata ei alligaatoreid, kalu ega kilpkonni. Jah, kahel nädalapäeval on öötuur ka. Seejärel jõudis torm meile järele ning pidime enne 40-minutit tagasi pöörduma. 

Enne minekut käisin veel ühte topsi otsimas, mis peitus õnneks esimeses kohas, kuhu käe sirutasin. Taevas järjest tumenes.  Jõudsin tagasi autosse ja siis avanesid taevaluugid. Seekord sadas korralikult. Kuna oli sobiv aeg lõunasöögiks, siis lühikese sõidu kaugusele jäi Westonis asuv Key Food Supermarket. Jätkuvalt sadas. Parkisime auto ära ja no mis see väike sadu ikka teeb. Uhh.. kui ebamugav oli läbimärjana külmas poes olla. Lasime endale hiiglasuured grillvõikud teha. Alguses oli mõte igaühele oma aga kui esimese suurust nägime, siis piirdusime kahega. 

Seejärel veel pool tunnikest sõitu ja Dolphin kaubanduskeskus, mida reklaamitakse kui Miami suurimat (outlet) keskust. Dolphinis asub üle 240 poe, millest nt ainuüksi Ross on juba gigantne. Õhtusöögi võtsime samuti Dolphinist. Aga see oli ilmselt reisi tagasihoidlikum. Korralikke söögikohti ei olnud, selline kiirtoidu pakkujad. 

Õhtuks tagasi majutusse. Kui esimene päev parkimismajja jõudes eelviimsel korrusel koha leidsime, siis sel päeval randa minnes oli parkimismaja täituvuse tõttu suletud. Seekord leidsime koha juba madalamal ja sellega probleemi ei olnud. Ja päeva lõpuks ikka randa. Sest kui juba Miamis, siis maksimaalselt ookeanis. 

Party in the city where the heat is on, all night on the beach 'till the break of dawn, Welcome to Miami, Bienvenidos a Miami 

In the morning, I took another short walk, this time in the opposite direction to the one the day before. On a parallel street is The Villa Casa Casuarina hotel, located in the former Versace mansion, where its previous owner tragically lost his life on the steps. 

The streets were mostly empty. There were low houses and plenty of greenery, along with parks. I spotted a couple of banyan trees, which seem to consist of endless trunks but are actually air roots. I also came across more of those wonderfully colourful crotons that I'd noticed several times before. 

After breakfast on the veranda, another dip in the ocean, then into the car for an hour’s drive to the northern part of the Everglades National Park, Sawgrass. The Everglades is the largest tropical wilderness in the US and the third-largest national park after Death Valley and Yellowstone – the first of which I’ve visited, and maybe the second one day. Sawgrass, in the northern part of the park, started as a fishing location and, by the 1970s was offering services with just one airboat. Now, it’s become one of the biggest attractions. 

At Sawgrass Recreation Park, alongside fishing and hiking, you can take airboat rides through the swamp, which was our best chance of seeing one of the 1.3 million alligators in Florida. Yes, I know no gator would stay put with all that noise, but given our time frame, it was the best opportunity. 

You have to book tickets in advance. And again, the ticket costs $26.95, but with taxes added, it comes to $30.46. Why not add the tax in the first place? Hmm? That gets you a 40-minute group ride with about 20 people. 

As soon as we arrived, we noticed the sky growing darker. We grabbed the raincoats from the car. We were a bit early – well, not really, as we arrived within our booked time slot – but due to their scheduling issues, we had to wait anyway. 

While waiting for the airboat ride, you can see the captive alligators, which were the only ones we saw. We then had a look around the gift shop and gathered for the boat ride. Our guide didn’t inspire the greatest sense of security. The boat made quite a racket. The sky behind us was visibly darkening. The guide communicated with the base from time to time and informed us that certain directions were still safe to explore. We saw three birds, one of which we probably ran over.

The boat made occasional stops, and we looked around to see if we could spot any eyes peering out from the water. But apart from birds, we didn’t manage to spot any alligators, fish, or turtles. Yes, there’s also a night tour available on two days of the week. Then, the storm caught up with us, and we had to head back before the 40 minutes were up. 

Before leaving, I searched for one more geocache, which I luckily found in the first place I reached for. The sky continued to darken. I made it back to the car just as the heavens opened. This time, the rain was torrential. As it was about lunchtime, we drove a short distance to Key Food Supermarket in Weston. The rain continued to pour. We parked the car, thinking, “What’s a little rain going to do?” Ugh... It was uncomfortable being soaking wet in a cold shop. We ordered enormous grilled sandwiches. Initially, the plan was to get one each, but when we saw the size of the first one, we settled for two between us. 

After another half-hour drive, we arrived at Dolphin Mall, which is advertised as Miami’s largest (outlet) mall. Dolphin has over 240 stores, including Ross, which is already enormous. We also had dinner at the mall. Nothing too exciting.  

In the evening, we returned to our accommodation. On the first day, when we arrived at the parking garage, we found a spot on the second-to-last floor. But on this day, as we headed to the beach, the parking garage was full and closed off. This time, we found a spot on a lower floor, so no problems there. And of course, we ended the day at the beach again – because if you’re in Miami, you make the most of the ocean.