Day 5: Big Pine Key

We’ve been itching to get out and paddle, and what better place for the first paddle of the season than the Gulf of Mexico?

We had a bit of a delayed start. I made a full breakfast in our cottage, then we ambitiously doused ourselves in sunscreen. At Bahia Honda State Park Dan torched the tops of his feet. Seeing the results first hand of inadequate sunscreen protection we made sure we were prepared. So, we headed to Big Pine Key to rent a few kayaks.

The kayak rental place is on Big Pine Key which is home to the Key Deer, an endangered species. Key Deer are tiny (they only grow to 90 pounds) and look like miniature White Tail deer. We drove around the protected area for a while and were fortunate enough to see three of them gnawing on some roadside grass.

Upon final arrival at the kayak rental place our nerves heightened. There has been a small craft warning for the past three days (which has kept us from snorkeling) and scouting the area it looked like we’d have to cross a pretty wide bay and the chop was intimidating. We met [can't remember his name, we'll call him Bill] at the picnic table under the palm tree. We decided our best bet was to have Bill take us and our kayaks out by boat into the mangroves, then we’ll paddle home with the wind at our backs. Tanned, laid back, and a natural paddler, Bill made us feel quite at home. While a professional operation, this was no slick tourist guy. His office is a house boat, and his credit card machine is housed in a waterproof tub. In order to run our card, he pulled out the machine, plugged a wire into a nearby telephone pole, and hoped he had enough paper to run the slip. Yup, this is just how we like it.

During the boat ride out Bill pointed out a few landmarks to help us keep our bearings, then we stopped, hopped into our boats and set off. We cruised along the edge of the mangroves for a while, and within the first 30 minutes we saw a bunch of tiny fish, a shark and a stingray (well, Kristin and I saw the cloud of silt from the stingray, Dan claims he saw the real deal).

During the trip back we wound our way through tiny inlets of the mangroves, snacked on granola bars, and kept our eyes peeled for more wildlife. We saw hundreds of fish, a horseshoe crab (did you know they are white?), three sharks, something that looked like a puffer fish, turtle, cormorants, great blue herons, and several other species of birds. The water was crystal clear and warm – like a giant interactive aquarium.

After 3 hours of paddling we had reached the bridge and the wide channel. Time for the big crossing. We encountered a few 3 foot swells, an outgoing tide, and an incoming stiff wind, but in total it wasn’t too bad. A few splashes over the bow and we were safely across pulling our kayaks up onto shore.

A few hundred yards up the road was No Name Pub, supposedly famous (though none of us had heard of it). We stopped for some beer, conch fritters and nachos then headed home.

This is our last night in Little Torch Key and tomorrow morning we head north again to Islamorada. We’re hoping for calmer winds and a chance to do some snorkeling, but just thankful so far for such a great trip!