We had the opportunity to travel to the Caribbean once again and while there, we decided to explore the Florida Keys - as we have seen them in many movies and thought it would be fun to drive from Key Largo to Key West.
We flew from Sydney via the USA to Grand Cayman in the Cayman Islands located in the Caribbean. Our accommodation was right on the beach, a great hotel with good facilities and services.
The photo above was taken at a Rum Point - a lagoon that we visited on the far side of the island. The lagoon is full of friendly rays that you can hand feed. The water is chest deep all the way out to the boats in the distance. Boaties anchor out there and walk in to purchase lunch and drinks and carry them bck to the boat!
At our hotel, as usual, we made use of the banana lounges right on the private beach that belongs to the hotel. We had drinks and food service to the lounges and that is always fun!
Grand Cayman is a pretty island and unfortunately, the weather was not always kind to us during our visit.
One of the prettiest spots on Grand Cayman is a place called Rum Point. It is where you can relax in calm waters, enjoy the local cafes, restaurants and bars. It attracts BOTH locals and tourists alike and is a great place to chill out.
Grand Cayman is a tax haven and where you can purchase tax and duty free goods. It is the place where the rich register their boats, register companies and set up stuff that they need to hide or minimise tax on. As such, it is a prosperous little island!
From Grand Cayman we flew to Miami in Florida, rented a car and headed south to the Florida Keys. Our first stop was Key Largo, which is the first of the "Keys". We chose to stay on Marathon Key as it is located in the middle between Ley Largo and Key West. Though we thought it a good idea at the time, we soon realised that all the "action" is at Key West, so if ever visiting the Florida Keys, Key West is the only lace to really stay at.
The Keys are all connected by bridges, just as seen in the movies. travelling the highway is a pretty drive, not all that exciting, but certainly interesting. The islands are not all that high above sea level, and we imagine that a high tide or rising seas would certainly flood these islands quite easily as you can see from the video below.
The islands mostly look similar and are residential with the exception of Key Largo and Key West. Key West is definitely the party island and where all the holiday makers and tourists go. Key West is the southern most point of the USA.
We walked all around Key West, and there were plenty of sculptures placed around the port area. There are plenty of touristy places to visit and lots of bars, cafes and restaurants. The weather was mostly excellent and the sunsets were spectacular. A feed and drink at Margaritaville was certainly a must (love Jimmy Buffett), and Andrew had the best Pina Colada EVER at the Westin Hotel at Key West.
We eventually drove back to Miami, where we stayed overnight and had a look around. We had dinner at Gloria Estefan's restaurant and then the next day flew to Denver Colorado where we hired a car and drove to Boulder for a quick work "thing". We caught up with a few friends at Boulder and I visited our supplier and then took all the US staff that support us out for a group "thank you dinner". The night was good fun.
We then took a couple of days to drive around and explore the Rocky's and Boulder surrounds before heading back home.
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