After confining ourselves to a 1 mile by 1 mile area in old town Key West for four days, we were ready to stretch our legs and head out of town for a day trip. We had booked a Jeep Renegade through Key West Adventures, a local car rental company that specializes in adventure vehicle rental owned/operated by a mom and pop and son family/former Chicagoans/sick of the cold/finally moved to Key West.
The son Steve would be picking us up promptly at 8:30 am from our hotel. GG and I had to make a quick run to Cuban Coffee Queen to get our daily fix before the pick up. We wolfed down the Cuban sandwiches and drank Cortadito by the pool while waiting for our pick up.
We would be heading to the Turtle Hospital in the Marathon area just passed the Seven Mile Bridge for our first stop today.
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| Cortadito to start the day |
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| The colorful paper straws at the downtown store where we did the pick up |
We picked up our white Jeep Renegade with additional rental beach set (beach chairs and umbrella) shortly after 9:30. We were on our way out of town. The drive from Key West to The Turtle Hospital is just shy of 50 miles which would take us roughly one hour. We had made an 11:30 reservation at the Turtle Hospital so we should have no problem making there on time.
The Turtle Hospital was a rehab hospital for rescued sea turtles. Its mission is to rehab the injured sea turtles of various kinds brought in from different parts of the US. It also houses a population of sea turtles with buoyancy disorder, meaning that these sea turtles can no longer dive and hunt for their own food due to injuries. It was a one-time hotel with a salt water tide pool but the owner had turned it into a turtle rescue center due to a series of accidental events.
We got there around 10:45 so we had plenty of time to use the restroom and check in. We checked in and got our wristband tickets. We read about turtle rescue in the small check in/gift shop area while we waited for our 11:30 tour to start. Shortly before 11:30, our guide Caren had gathered us in front of the hospital to start the group tour.
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| Arrived at the Turtle Hospital in Marathon |
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| Watching a video about turtle rescue after checking in |
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| Reading more about the turtle rehab and rescue process |
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| Sea turtle related contrabands seized by custom |
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| MM in the center courtyard |
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| MM fashioning her purple wristband ticket for the 11:30 tour |
The tour started in the main conference hall of the hospital with Caren giving us an overview about the various types of sea turtles and the kind of injuries the turtles sustain. It was an extremely insightful talk. We learned a lot in a short time and were quite taken aback by the injuries on sea turtles us humans caused.
After the short talk, Caren led us through the main surgical room where needed surgeries would be performed. There was no scheduled surgery at that time. We exited the surgical room and Caren led us through various salt water tanks where the rehabbing turtle residents live.
Caren explained the history of the hospital, the types of injuries some of the residents sustained and the progress some of the residents are making.
Finally, we would reach the large tide pool where the permanent turtle residents live. Caren gave us some food to feed the turtles. We tossed the food into the pond and watched various turtles with permanent injuries taking in the food. Most if not all these turtles are with buoyancy disorder and some had visible large hump on the shell due to spinal injuries from boat strike.
The tour lasted just around one hour. By 12:30, we had worked up quite an appetite for our lunch spot - The
Keys Fishery which is located just down the road from the hospital.
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| Our guide Caren giving us the talk about sea turtles |
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| Listening to Caren, a large replica of the leatherback sea turtle shell hung on the wall |
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| Touring the OR, no surgery at the time we visited |
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| 2021 updates |
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| Caren giving us a talk about one of its rehabbing residents |
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| Lily, a loggerhead sea turtle, she was rescued due to boat strike and floating |
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| The former hotel room now houses the staff |
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| Gulf of Mexico view from the hospital |
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| Another resident, the tumorous fibropapilloma (FP) can be seen on its head and flippers |
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| We all need some help |
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| Caren giving us a talk about its permanent residents at the tide pool |
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| The issue of buoyancy disorder can be seen from these residents |
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| Another colorful resident |
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| Saying goodbye to the hospital, ready for lunch |
Keys Fishery, a popular stop along the Interstate 1, is known for the large stone crab claws. We waited in line for probably about 30 minutes to place our order. The mustached young fellow with cut off jean shorts who took our order had to put a pause on ordering for sometime to let the kitchen catch up.
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| Waiting in line at the Keys Fishery |
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| View of the small dock from the line |
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| A very important historical site |
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| Not quite 15 minutes |
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| We are going with the colossal size |
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| Tough choices |
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| Finally our turn |
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| Quite the stat |
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| 1:30 pm, lunch is served |
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| They are big |
We feasted on the stone crab claws, lobster reuben, coconut shrimp, fish fingers, and hog fish francaise until we couldn't. With the sun high in the sky and temperature reaching well over 80's, we stumbled out of the fishery and attempted to head to our next destination - Bahia Honda State Park.
Bahia Honda State Park, especially the side facing the Gulf of Mexico with view of the overseas highway, is a picturesque spot we were heading to. We started to head back south on the 1 and made a left into the state park entrance. A bit to our surprise, the park trooper had temporarily closed the park due to parking lot being full. This situation did not deter us from planting our umbrella onto the beach. We were told to hang back by the Veterans Memorial Park and try to get back in a bit. So we did. We parked by the Atlantic Ocean facing park, took some pictures, and dipped our toes in the shallow water. We made it back into the BHSP around 3:30 pm and there were plenty of parking spaces.
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