Island of Bones

(Key West, FL, 3/15-17/2010) Since we made it as far south as Miami we decided to go ahead the rest of the way to the farthest end of Florida and the Continental US, to Key West. Key West is not the most western key in the chain of islands that is the Florida Keys. Rather it gets its name for an Anglicized pronunciation for the Spanish name for the island. Since the keys are largely coral, there is no where to dig. So, Indians did not bury their dead, but rather left them to the elements. When the Ponce de Leon discovered the island in the 1500's the soldiers declared it the Island of Bones.
Key West is an interesting mixture of natural beauty, man-made industry and ingenuity and the debauchery that comes with too much of a good thing. Duval street rivals New Orleans Bourbon Street for the number of bars and strip clubs. Though only a mile long, it is called the "longest street in the world" as it literally runs from the Gulf of Mexico (one sea) to the Straits of Florida (another sea). Mallory Square is a large boardwalk area on the Gulf side where every evening they celebrate the sunset. Street performers entertain the crowds in a big party atmosphere leading up to (and well after) sunset. Joy actually got volunteered to help "The Great Rondini" escape artist perform part of his act! Key West has been home or favorite vacation spot for many famous Americans perhaps the most well known story is of Earnest Hemingway. We took the tour of the home he owned where he lived from 1933-1937.
My favorite Key West story and bit of history is that of the wrecker industry that existed here in the late 1800's to early 1900's. The water's in the Straits of Florida are treacherous to navigate. On average twice a week a ship or sailing vessel would wreck on the shallow shoals. The townspeople had lookouts on rooftops and the cry would go out "wreck ashore" and the wreckers were off with their boats to see who would be the first to get to the wreck. The first one there was captain of the wrecking crewing and received 50% of whatever profit was made from the sale of the salvaged cargo 25% would go to the owner and 25% to the town. As a result, Key West in 1900 was the wealthiest city per capita in the entire United States. The industry died off with the advent of better navigating devices and steel hulled ships.
The highlight of our trip to Key West however wasn't the interesting history or the raucous tourist community this has become. The highlight by far was the visit with the Coast Guard Chaplain (as Joy shares in another blog).