Travel Guide on Key West in Florida

Go on a journey with Shepherd entertainment and discover the sites and wonders of Key west in Florida.

Female: Key West is literally the last in the line. This is where those who want to get away from the rotten air of the cities and step into a happy and bohemian atmosphere come. There’s no other place in the country where you’ll find so many bars and churches. The Florida Keys are an archipelago consisting of 800 islands. The highway connects 42 islands running 182 km assisted by 143 bridges. The famous 7mile Bridge is part of this system. It was featured in several films, for example in the Schwarzenegger movie, True Lies. Despite herculean efforts, there are several hundred islands that are accessible only by water so the old air of the Keys still remains. You can spend your vacation lying in a hammock under the palm trees listening to the faint sounds of reggae music from the distance or you can go shopping or relax during the day and go partying to a night club or bar. Or you can even go fishing. It doesn’t matter which one you opt for, you’ll notice that life is never dull in Key West. Sunset isn’t merely a time of day here but an event. Hundreds of people gather on the beach to admire it. No wonder Ernest Hemingway also lived here for over 10 years with his many many cats. There’s a festival every July in his memory which is one of the main cultural events of this area. 13 km west of Key West are the dry Tortugas which can be accessed only by plane or boat. You can see some beautiful wonders of nature here in the form of corals, fish and birds. This is the southernmost point of the country with Havana only 137 km away as the crow flies so it’s no wonder the crowds of Cuban immigrants attempt to cover this distance in their coracles and many of them have succeeded. They live in Miami’s little havana or have settled down here adding another color to the multicultural palette of the Keys. Between the homes of Hemingway and the great American playwright Tennessee Williams is where you’ll find the Key West Lighthouse. After climbing the 98 steps to the top, you’ll be rewarded with an unparalleled view. The adventurist Ernest Hemingway came from a well to do, middle class family and was born in a suburb of Chicago. His father was a nature love country doctor. They used to go hunting and camping together in the woods of Michigan or fish in the local lakes. His attraction to nature was the basis of his lifelong passion for outdoor adventures and his longing for far away isolated places. He began his writing career as a reporter for a newspaper called the Kansas City Star. He went to World War I as a volunteer. Male: Built this home in 1851, lived in it until his death in 1889. Ironically our wealthy tycoon up there managed to die here alone and without a will leaving the home in the orneriest estates South Florida has ever had to clean up. The leaving issues over this place went on for decades. The house wound up being boarded up and sat vacant until Ernest Hemingway bought it years later. Hemingway’s first look at Key West would be 1828. He was passing through on his way home from a trip overseas. Female: In the same year as the writer moved here with his second wife, Pauline Pfeiffer, his father troubled by ill health and financial problems, shot himself in the head. When the US entered World War II, Hemingway assisted the US Navy in locating German submarines off the coast of Cuba. Later, he participated in the D Day Landings where he was wounded again. He was the first to march into Paris a leader of a partisan unit. In 1953, he received the Pulitzer Prize for his novella The Old Man in the Sea. One year later, he also received the Nobel Prize in literature. Hemingway’s house in Key West is a museum today. This is where he wrote 70% of his books, in a garage that he had converted into a den. In 1940, as a result of his divorce, he lost his beloved Key West home. Soon after, he married Martha Gelhorn, a reported he had worked with. Together, they moved to the Finca Vigia Villa near Havana. In his last years, he lived in Idaho receiving treatment for high blood pressure and manic depression. On July 2, 1961, he shot himself in the head. British actor and traveler, Michael Palin has just published a book about the locations of Hemingway’s life devoting a significant section to Key West. There’s a hidden cozy little beach in the protected bay behind the house that’s a preferred practice ground for jet ski beginners. The braver ones leave the safety of the headland behind and venture out to ride the waves of the open sea. The motorboats are pulling water skiers and parasailers. Key West has long become a legend. The once impassable land is now flooded with visitors who long for a special once in a lifetime experience. You can find open minibuses all over town. Most of the tourists arrive by boat and rent a small car locally. If you’re ready to shell out more for the great American spirit, you can rent a Harley Davidson and tour the islands by bike. The sloppy Joe, just like the floridita and labordagita in Havana was made famous by Hemingway. He knew exactly which bartender in which bar made which of his favorite cocktails the way he liked it best. There’s no lack of pubs today either and if you stay here long enough, you can find your favorite spot too. Cocktails are all the better because the rum and other spirits used to make them are brought from the Caribbean. Where the excellent citrus fruits grow locally, there’s enough ice around as well. And it’s as if the regulars all want to look like the famous author. The Key West Museum presents the rich history of the area. The old wooden cottage in the harbor has been preserved with its turrets from where they can watch ship traffic. A once proud sailing boat docking at its base has become an exhibit and there’s some kind of memory of each and every ethnic group that is settled here. 300,000 Cubans fled to the United States after the 1959 Cuban revolution. Most of them found their home in Miami but they can be found in large number in the Keys where they live in peace with the native Seminole Indians, white Americans and the descendants of runaway black slaves who settled down here after the American Civil War. Key West also has an aquarium where you can see the native marine life on the coral reefs. The famous dolphin research center where the television series Flipper was shot, is in the neighboring town of Marathon. From the boardwalk, tour boats and airplanes take off to the island which is the mecca of treasure hunters and divers. In 1550, the Visitacion, a gold laden Spanish ship. In 1600, the treasure ship of Diego Rodriguez. In 1622, the La Margarita and in 1733, the fleet of Rodrigo de Torres all sank off these shores. The innumerable ship wrecks sunk around here attract professional and amateur divers like magnets.