Buskers, Boats and Bars in Key West

No one person can describe Key West. Just the mention of Florida’s southernmost island brings a myriad of images to the listener.  For me I see buskers, boats and bars.  There is no shortage of any of those. 

Ed and Tom at Schooner Wharf Bar

Others immediately conjure Jimmy Buffet and visions of Margaritaville.   Then there are the reef divers and deep-sea fisherman who see light green-blue waters when they define Key West. For others Key West is their party place with a pick of over 300 bars with liquid beverages as varied and unique as the Island itself.  

Eccentricity and individualism add to the color and experience of Key West.  On one visit we were not surprised to see a faux Anna Nicole Smith, dressed in a form fitting red floor length red gown, slink through patrons drinking mango mimosas with their breakfast at the Schooner Wharf Bar.  If an open-air bar can become quiet, it came as close as it could be that day. Some of the best female impersonators call Key West their home.

There are sculpture gardens, butterfly gardens, and beaches.  Key West is also the southernmost point of the United States and is marked with a larger than life red, yellow and black buoy that provides photo ops each day for countless tourists. 

Key West sunsets draw both locals and visitors each night to Mallory Square where just about anything can happen.  Sunset brings schooners and catamarans to sail back and forth along the waters edge while fire jugglers, acrobats, fortune-tellers, musicians and vendors line up along the bulkhead to entertain and pander to the crowd. 

Key West street performers are referred to as buskers.  Busking is a custom that comes from a time when wandering minstrels and bards traveled from place to place while performing to earn food or lodging.

Before recording and the electronic age, busking was a common way for performers to earn a living.  The term busking is said to have origins in Great Britain.  At sunset, be prepared to throw a few coins or bills in the hat or guitar case as buskers sing or perform for their supper.

At the historic seaport, schooners of days long gone, sit waiting to fill with tourists for scheduled tours that allow visitors to experience life on a sailing ship of old.  Mixed among the majestic schooners sit catamarans, fishing vessels and sailboats that offer diving, snorkeling, parasailing, fishing and history tours.

A Key West Christmas Tree with Lobster Traps

One fishing boat maneuvers in between an already docked sailboat and motorboat.  At the controls the captain completes a sideways shuffle using one screw to neatly stop at the dock along the bulkhead.   One by one the crew pulls fish from coolers, positioning the catch around the back of the boat in U-formation.   

Four foot and longer tarpon appear in the waters below waiting for the captain and crew to clean the fish.  As scraps go overboard, the almost tame tarpons snap up a free and easy meal.

My most recent foray to Key West began with husband, Ed and his brother, Tom, in late November. Even though I have visited there several times, there is always something new to see there. There is also something new to learn.

This year Key West, celebrates the State of Florida’s 500^th birthday, the anniversary of Ponce de Leon’s discovery of Florida and the Gulf Stream in 1513.  Colorful red, white and blue banners featuring historic trivia hang from streetlights throughout Old Town. 

There is no documentation that Ponce de Leon ever set foot in the Florida Keys and the fabled quest for the fountain of Youth is mostly myth.  However, the Spanish explorer is credited for discovering the chain of islands west of Key West that he called the Tortugas for the sea turtles his men captured as food.

According to Key West history tidbits, the English later added the word Dry to the island chain warning sailors of the lack of fresh water on the islands.  I added another piece of trivia to my already overloaded brain circuitry when I learned that Ponce de Leone named the Florida Keys Los Martiers (The Martyrs) because the islands reminded him of suffering men.

Key West’s history is not complete without mention of the legendary Henry Flagler who built the Florida Overseas Railroad connecting the keys to the mainland.  He rode the first train into Key West during 1912.

By that time the industry of sponging, turtling, and the tradition of wrecking were already giving way to cigar making, tourism, churches and hotels.  By the 1890’s there were over 200 cigar factories in Key West that produced over 1,000,000,000 cigars a year for export.

Of course, history buffs all know that the first international phone transmission took place between Key West and Cuba on Christmas Day 1900.   And don’t forget that Earnest Hemmingway called Key West home for a time and the descendants of his six-toed cats wander around the grounds today.  Sloppy Joes Bar continues to pay tribute to its most famous hard drinking patron.

President Harry Truman stayed in his humble getaway in Key West.   American presidents to include Kennedy, Reagan, Eisenhower, Clinton and others have visited there.

Key West also continues to offer a haven for artists of all genres.  There are many galleries tucked in among the bars, shops and restaurants throughout Key West.  Renowned Maine painter Winslow Homer spent time in Key West, as did John James Audubon.  American folk artist Mario Sanchez hailed from the Keys.  The son of Cuban immigrants became famous for his carvings and vibrant paintings of life during the 1930’s in old Key West.

It doesn’t matter if you are strolling down Duvall, Simonton, Catherine or Whitehead streets; there is something in Key West that will make you smile.  Kick back.  Do a little happy dance.  Go on a pub-crawl or take a ghost tour.  Trying to choose what to do is the kicker.