| For the first time we felt quite at home with the scooter in Key
West. Everybody uses them there. You can hire them by the hour or day. They
aren't cheap. |  |
 | Down at the
dockside is Mallory Park where there are statues of many people who have
played a part in the development of Key West. Many of these people were referred
to as wreckers since they made a living by collecting goods from the ships
which were wrecked on the many reefs around the keys - not like wreckers in
other parts of the world who lured ships on to the rocks deliberately. |
| Here are some of the busts with plaques explaining who they were
and the parts they played in the development of Key West. |  |
 | One of the most
famous people in the town's history was President Harry Truman who spent a lot of time
down here and even built a mini White House for the times he lived and
worked from here. |
| There is some hurricane damage still visible, mainly from Wilma but it could also have been from Katrina which passed through here on its way to New Orleans.
Mostly it is roof tiles covered in blue tarpaulins supplied by FEMA or
windows boarded up. That balcony is also twisted. We found evidence like
this in most of Florida, but recovery is generally much further forward. |  |
 | Some of the
buildings are quite impressive. This now houses a museum, one of the many in
Key West which is very tourist oriented. |
| Another impressive building. This one has some Spanish influence
reflecting the close links with the Caribbean islands. There are many
different influences on the architecture here. |  |
 | There are lots of
bars full of tourists drinking. It is a lot busier when the cruise liners
are in harbour. When there are no ships in it is very quiet. It is quite a
long way down here from the mainland. |
| Although we are south of the Bible belt, this is still a very
religious area and the churches are large and imposing with some Spanish
influences. |  |
 | Some houses are
equally impressive with some that are similar to those we found in the
wealthier areas of New Orleans. Florida is a very wealthy area and here we
find an impressive historical legacy in the architecture. |
| On the southern edge of Key West are some particularly impressive
houses, complete in this case with statues in the garden. |  |
 | On the other side
of the road is an even larger house in a different style. This is
Southernmost Mansion. Many of the houses are attractively coloured with
blues and pinks being particularly favoured. |
| There are dozens of shops aimed at the tourist market. Jan just
fancied this swing but I couldn't see how we would get it home. |  |
 | As with most of
these places there are many art galleries and here, as you might expect, the
paintings have a strong nautical influence . |
You also get art
in motorbikes from this massive one with 12 in wide wheels and a huge engine
to the mini bike with 12 in diameter wheels on a chopper style. The size of
the seat is a good indicator of overall size.
 | And sticking with
the art theme is this car covered in ceramic tiles. I can't see how it helps
in driving it but it is art! |
| This is not quite the same but perhaps it can be classed as a
'work in progress'. Many Americans have something like this somewhere. |  |
 | At the
southernmost tip of the island is this bollard showing that we have reached
the southernmost tip of the US. We are now only 90 miles from Cuba. We had
to wait ages to get a few seconds to take this shot. There was a constant
stream of people wanting to do the same. |
| So we started back along the south coast of the island, which is
mainly beach and very tropical in its look. But then the Bahamas are only
100 miles away. |  |
 | The beach seems
to go on for ever but is actually only about 3 miles. This was the largest
beach we found in the keys and the only one we could really get on. |
|