Day 11: Islamorada to Florida City

February 13, 2015

Just as we had noted on the way down, the section of the Keys from Florida City to Islamorada is the least interesting. The water is not visible from the roadway, so all you see is traffic and businesses. Actually, we know that after Key Largo the businesses disappear, and you are just left with traffic. It will be, then, 50 km of pretty much nothing as we push to make it back to the Everglades Hostel. Dodie is in the Publix right now, and I am hoping she comes back out not only with food for the next three days, but also some goodies for the next 50 km!

A bright spot along the road so far was that Wendy, the lady of the lost iPhone, spotted us as we pedalled along. This must be a pretty small Island! She waved us down and we had a warm reunion. This time Wendy had her dog, Chloe with her. Chloe apparently helps out at work. We love dogs, and enjoyed meeting Chloe as well.

The last real pelicans are near the south end of Islamorada, but we can still look at souvenirs.

There are hundreds of these manatee mailboxes installed along the way. Here was our big chance to buy some.

Yesterday, Wendy had her Dad's iPhone 6+ with her. It was the first time I had looked at one up close. And right now the man sharing this bench with me has one too. It is an interesting size - just almost too big to be a phone and just almost too small to be a tablet. On the other hand, as a dual function device like that it could be a good choice for bicycle touring. Of course, if I would go for something that size it would not be an Apple, not until they put a microSD card slot in it!

Just as Dodie was coming out the Publix, who should roll up but the Joycycle Chicks. We noticed right away that Maureen was now sporting the same knee brace as Dodie, meaning that she had gone with Dodie's recommendation. So this spawned the following cheesecake style shot:

Stocking up for the Everglades wilderness

The stuff Dodie brought out of the store weighed at least 20 pounds, and we added 5 pounds of water. Not all could fit on my bike, but mostly it did. Surprisingly it didn't really bother me. If they would have any hills here it no doubt would be a different story.

The next 35 km, from Key Largo to Florida City, is difficult in its own way. We took Highway 1 rather than the alternate, Card Sound Road. The highway is almost completely sealed off by high fences on both sides, so except for two Marinas along the way, there is no turning off and no services. For the first part of the ride, heavy traffic kept speeds down, but later and especially where the road becomes two lanes each way, it turned into a high speed raceway.

Despite these drawbacks, from what we have heard #1 is still a better choice than Card Sound Road.

It took us until sunset to make it to Florida City. We were glad that we already were familiar with the hostel, since there was no one immediately at reception. We just led our bikes on in, poured a coffee in the kitchen, and started typing this on the house computer. We did finally find someone, and since it is dark and we are beat, we are just paying $15 each for the right to collapse on any sofa we can find.

The place, even more so than before, is buzzing with young and old budget travelers. Six young German kids were chatting by the kitchen, making us homesick both for Germany and for our German friends actually at home. The lady sitting beside me just now is from Wales, and the fellow beside her is from Missouri.

One of the few living things not in a car, between Key Largo and Florida City

The hard to spot floating rock by the boat is our first Manatee

What turned out to be our typical road for today

The setting sun painted this on the concrete road divider

We made it to Florida City just as the light failed.

Today's ride: 74 km (46 miles)
Total: 534 km (332 miles)

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