Just cruisin' and chillin' in Marathon

So I skipped a few days of blogging to go along with how life has been lately; very laid back. Even the ride up from Key West was like a pleasant walk in the park -- a park with calm seas, light blue water and classical music playing in the background. Captain Ken got me liking Vivaldi, Mozart, Handel and Beethoven a whole lot more on this trip. I do have to say though, the great composers do have the wide open, serene ocean to enhance the whole experience of listening to their music. Not that it's not good music anyway. The ocean and classical music just go together.

Here in Marathon again, we've kind of made ourselves at home. Monday, the day of our arrival, was unusually humid, at least compared to what I've experienced down here. It was a pleasant change from the windy days we've had though, which actually started right back up the next day. The past three days we've seen wind up to 25 knots again. It's made many of the things we want to do, like diving and snorkeling out on the reefs, a little to risky to venture out.

After about six weeks cruising down the coast, we finally put our bare feet in some beach sand today. There really aren't many beaches in the Florida Keys, believe it or not, but there is one on Marathon just at the end of Sister Creek. After taking the dinghy down the creek we dragged it up onto the beach, worked on getting rid of all our strange tan lines, and then took a dip in the cool water. On the ride back we explored some of the quieter creeks off Sister Creek. The mangroves all around us made it easy to pretend we were deep in the Amazon or Congo.

We then spent the evening at the tiki hut in the Marathon marina. After having some pizza, we talked with some locals who are also living on their boats. Perpetual travelers, nomadic sailors, rambling spirits, they were the kind of people you felt like you knew your whole life. They gave us some fresh sweet corn, and homemade chocolate chip and pistachio cake, while we listened to Sublime, Pearl Jam and Bob Marley in the tiki hut. Then we rode back to the boat in the dinghy in the dark of night with boat anchor lights guiding the way and the wind at our backs.

St. Mary Star of the Sea and other Key West pics

We stumbled upon this church, appropriately named St. Mary Star of the Sea.

 This is the view from the southernmost point of the continental U.S. looking back towards land at the crescent moon above the Southermost Guest House. We also walked past the Southernmost Hotel and crossed the souternmost intersection. Then we came to the southernmost beach, walked out onto the southernmost pier and for a few brief moments, as I looked out from the edge of the pier I stood as the southernmost man in the continental U.S. Who said I accomplished nothing on this trip? Captain Ken photos

 Going back to St. Mary's, this is the parish's perpetual adoration chapel.

 Inside the chapel

 Child statue at the grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes at St. Mary's, Key West. Built by Sister Louis Gabriel of the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary in 1922, locals say the grotto has protected Key West from the full brunt of a hurricane since then.

Admiring the parish's Stations of the Cross.

 Statue of Mary at the grotto.

 Crucifixion station

Our Lady of Lourdes grotto.

The convent on the parish grounds served as a hospital during the Spanish American War.

Bust of Sister Louis Gabriel in the Key West Town Square.

Now I'm seeing iguanas on the streets. 

Or maybe I was just "wasting away again in Margaritaville" cafe on Duval St.

A different lifestyle in Key West

Living in a mooring field is very different from common modern life. It's hard to underestimate the beauty of waking up to the sun gently rising over the water, and enjoying a Corona as you watch it set, while knowing that you're in your own remote spot accessible only to those who also have a boat handy.

As I found out the hard way though, electronics don't like salt water; and I think my cell phone bit the dust when a few salt water crystals got inside it. Riding to shore on our dinghy, which we dubbed Enterprise, could be a wet ride, so we have to keep everything covered every time we ride in and out . The ride to shore from our spot in the Garrison Bight Key West mooring field is about 20 minutes long by dinghy. Also, Wifi is no longer working out in the mooring field, so we came into Miami Subs today to get Internet, and that's where I am now.

 Avalon and Bayshack (our buddy boat) in Garrison Bight, Key West. Captain Ken photos

 Avalon at rest in Key West

Avalon at rest in Key West

But these little inconveniences can't dampen my spirit. When we first came to Key West, I noticed on a tourist map the prominent presence of St. Mary, Star of the Sea, a minor basilica that takes up a whole city block. It just goes to show, even if you are going to Key West to party on Duval Street, God is never too far away.

I promise to get photos of the basilica. Stay tuned.

Made it to Key West

From Marathon we traveled about fifty miles southwest to an island where iguanas and roosters roam the streets and cruise ships come to dock every day. Key West, the Southernmost City in the continental United States, with all its tourism and hoo rah, welcomed us with fair weather and good fortune. The five hour ride down from Marathon was smooth as can be. Also, after days of struggling with the dinghy motor off Boot Key, it started up right away this morning as if the motor simply liked Key West waters more than it liked Marathon’s.

Our buddy boater Michael also met up with us here, so the three of us wandered around the island for a few hours looking for a West Marine store, and kind of got our own pedestrian tour of the tourist section of town along the way. We saw some well-known bars and restaurants, like the official Margaritaville bar owned by Jimmy Buffet, and Sloppy Joe’s, which was one of Ernest Hemmingway’s favorite spots. The bars and restaurants on Duval Street, the main drag, are too many to count, and even on an early Tuesday afternoon the streets were crowded. 

Along our walk we passed an impressive basilica, Our Lady Star of the Sea. The parish grounds occupied an entire block with its convent, perpetual adoration chapel and school. After walking further through town, we came to a park that had a whole section with busts of all the historic figures that have connections to Key West. One of the busts was of Sister Louis Gabriel of the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary. She served the Key West community and is said to have known everyone on the island except transients. She served in a hospital during the Spanish American War and helped establish a school on the island. She also had a grotto depicting Our Lady of Lourdes built at the aforementioned church, which happens to be the oldest parish in the Archdiocese of Miami (1851), and has the first Catholic school in the archdiocese as well (1868). With all of the things I’m coming across on this trip, it’s comforting to know that there were faithful ones who came before me wherever I go. 

Here are some random photos of the day.

A rooster near the Key West cruise ship dock.

This ship, Carnival Conquest, woke me up this morning blasting its horns just outside Garrison Bight, which is where we're tied to a mooring. 

Dinghy day

Captain Ken promoted me to “captain of the dinghy’ today, and I take the responsibility with honor. Aside from the days we’re docked at a marina, the dinghy is our main means of transportation to and from shore. Steering the little vessel in recent weather proved to be a bit tricky and wet with all of the wind and waves, but I managed. Apparently though, others didn’t fare as well. The big rain a few days ago flooded areas, and a nearby restaurant wound up pumping 40,000 gallons of water out of their parking lot. The sea waves rose to seven feet and even in the harbor the winds got up to 20 knots today. In Key West, a sailboat was struck by lightning, shorting out all of its electronics. But life on the sea is great! Really.

The coolest part about today was riding the dinghy to Bordine’s for lunch. Sure, the fish quesadilla was great, but I found the novelty of going to lunch by boat to be the best part. So I wasn’t being sarcastic. Living on the water is great.  

Dinghy expedition on Marathon

Exploring the creeks along Marathon’s islands in the dinghy, as we did today, will be a fond memory of mine for a long time. The islands here are very narrow, like most of the Florida Keys, so I didn’t expect there to be many navigable waters all around us as we went back and forth from the boat to the marina. Sisters Creek, for example, goes all the way from the harbor to the ocean, where it provides access to a beach. A very small island within a half-mile of the beach is accessible by dinghy as well. Needless to say, that’s where we went.  We circumnavigated, but finding no place to come ashore we headed back. It was no more than a half hour to get back to the boat.

Our buddy boater, Michael, headed for Key West today since the weather was fair. We would have gone with him if we hadn’t paid for a week here already. We’re in no rush apparently. If we headed for Key West Monday, we’d still have more than a week to continue exploring and enjoying the keys. 

Rain, rain and then lots of rain

Well, we’ve been hanging out in the Marathon Marina mooring field for a few days and plan to stay here for the rest of the week. Captain Ken bought a new dinghy today, so we spent the day getting that straightened out, picking the dinghy up at the marina, getting it towed back to the boat, putting a motor on it, then riding it back to shore to get lunch with a buddy boater we met along our way. We walked to Keys Fisheries to eat there again, and just towards the end of our meal it started pouring…. and I mean pouring, wind howling, lakes forming around us. We were stuck in the partially-covered restaurant for about two hours and eventually decided to take a taxi back. We then waited at the marina for the rain to stop and headed back to the boat. The forecast calls for rain the next two days. I’m just thankful we’re in a safe harbor. Last night a storm that could have flooded Central Park came through too. 

Captain Ken keeps talking about day trips out on the dinghy, but considering the perpetual eminence of storms like those of last night and today I’d be just as content inside the boat with all the hatches locked. Let the crazies take on those unforgiving waters. Once upon a time I might have said bring on those five-foot waves of treachery, but it seems the fine edges of the salt crystals in the water have weathered my spirit down to a more prudent mariner -- if I could yet claim to be one at all.