I've learned a lot about Key West. The town was founded by "wreckers," those gutsy fortune hunters who scavenged the cargoes of the many shipwrecks that were lost on the reefs of the Florida Keys. In the early 1800s, a hundred ships a day would pass by Key West carrying cargos from Europe and New England to New Orleans and Mobile. Each year, nearly a hundred of those ships would crash on the reefs. The "wreckers" would save the lives of the crews and passengers and then claim the cargo. They made so much money that Key West had the highest per capita income in the U.S. in the mid-1800s.
The richest of these shipwreck scavengers built a fine home that was bought by Ernest Hemingway decades later. We toured the house and got a great tour guide who revealed a lot about Hemingway's genius and insanity.
Hemingway's typewriter in his studio
Hemingway's bed.
The chains were there to keep tourists out, not to keep his wife in. :)
Since it's snowing in Tennessee today, I'll include some more photos of Key West to keep my friends there warm.
Banyan Trees
The flags of Key West
An anchor in our marina that was recovered from a wreck that went down in 1622!
Agaliha in the Marina, with a sweet addition...
...a first mate.
A drink at the Hogs Breath Saloon
Another Key West sunset
Another lifelong sailing friend will join me tomorrow and we plan to set sail for the rest of the Keys. Time to move on into the great Atlantic Ocean.
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