As much as I'm fascinated by the history of the northern (upper) Keys, I've always been of the opinion that there's not a lot in Key Largo for the average tourist. Key Largo, to me, is a town that people go to just to say they've been to the Keys when they don't quite have the time or the ambition to make it the last two or so hours to Key West.
Unless, of course, you're a diver, that is. These days, the town of Key Largo, it seems, exists for two reasons. One is to serve the neverending flow of traffic down into the Keys - cars that are full of kids that haven't eaten OR used a bathroom in at least a half hour since they left Florida City! The second reason, of course, is the reef, more on that later.
The highway is four lanes here. If you're curious, the two southbound lanes are where Flagler's railroad was in the early twentieth century. The northbound lanes are where the original highway (mostly) was. In some places, there is quite a lot of development BETWEEN the northbound and southbound lanes. At Mile Marker 105.6, between the highway lanes, is where the original Key Largo railroad depot stood from 1910 until shortly after the Labor Day hurricane of 1935 wiped out the railroad.
Most of the island of Key Largo is densely populated - with people, motels, shops, restaurants, dive shops, and all manner of souvenir shops where one can get everything from T-shirts (3 for $10! the sign says) to seashell-encrusted toilet seats (seriously). Even with four lanes of traffic, there are a lot of lights, a lot of cross streets, and a LOT of people turning into and out of the aforementioned shops, restaurants and motels. All this combines to make for what can sometimes be a thoroughly dreadful traffic experience.
One might expect that being closest to the mainland, that Key Largo would have been the earliest settlement in the Keys. But not so. Key West had already gone through boom and bust several times over before Key Largo ever saw any serious settlement. Even the arrival of the railroad did little to grow the area. In the early days (mid-1800's), pineapple and lime farming was the mainstay of Key Largo, with the community at the time bing called Planter and situated more toward the southern end of present Key Largo. But even into the 20th century there was no fresh water, no electricity and no way to communicate with the outside world save the daily train that came through. It wasn't until the Navy brought fresh water through in the mid-40's in the form of a pipeline that the area began to grow.
Undoubtedly, the most popular attraction in Key Largo is John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park. The entrance is on the Ocean Side at MM 102.5. When the park was originally chartered, it consisted of nearly 100 square miles, every last bit of it completely under water. This was sort of a problem, you see, because there was no place to build a parking lot, an administration building, a bathroom or anything else for that matter. It took the generous donation of some private landholders to create the first bit of dry land in the park and yet more donations later to provide actual right-of-way to create a road out TO the park.
Today, there is a very nice visitor center, and inside is a very nice reef aquarium. There is the obligatory film and gift shop that will do it's best to part you from your money. Here also is where you can find out about everything from the beaches (manmade and not particularly exciting), boat rentals, snorkeling and dive trips, camping, and glass bottom boat rides. Pennekamp is definitely worth a day trip if you've got the time to work it into your busy schedule, but you really do need to allot an entire day to it. Don't try to do it on anything less. And make sure you get there early, because the park DOES have a maximum capacity, and they DO reach it early sometimes.
I'm not a diver, but they tell me there is a nine-foot tall statue of Jesus out there at Key Largo Dry Rocks if that's your thing.
If diving is not so much your thing, you, like Luca Brasi, can swim with the fishes. Or at least the dolphins. There are several places to do this in Key Largo, all in the area right around Pennekamp.
But you're on your way to Key West. So enough about Key Largo for now. A couple of last things, though. In case you're counting, the second bridge you cross (after either Jewfish Creek or Card Sound that got you here in the first place) is right in the middle of Key Largo over the Marvin Adams waterway - a man made channel right through the heart of Key Largo providing a way to get from one side of the island to the other without going the long way around. Key Largo is over 25 miles long, so points on opposite shores that are mere yards apart as the crow flies would be 20 or more miles apart by water if it weren't for the cut. And lastly? Stop for Cuban coffee or a con leche at Denny's Latin Cafe around MM 100 on the bay side. It's right across the street from the Holiday Inn, so you can go there after you see the African Queen. Then get on down the road - don't waste too much time in Key Largo, there are so many better things to see and do.
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