Hanging Around Key Largo

This afternoon we spent hanging around Key Largo.

I say afternoon because the morning was spent sleeping in, having breakfast, laying by the pool and waiting for our new room to be ready.

We wanted a room by the pool with a king bed instead of one upstairs with a queen and we had to wait until they cleaned the room.

Not a big hardship.

Which meant we really didn’t get going until about 1 pm.

We headed back to “Rober Is Here” as last night we ate the dragon fruit that we had brought there a couple of days ago and it was delicious.

Saturdays are a happening there.

The parking lot was full and everyone was parking on the sides of the road.

You could hear music and once you got around to the front of the building there was a man playing the guitar and singing.

Scooping up another dragon fruit, mango and avocado we headed to the cashier to make our purchase.

Once that was done we headed out back to see the birds, goats, emu and tortoise.

Rob peeled off a small piece of mango and tried to feed it to the little parrots (Sun Conure) and they very cleverly got it through the wire.

Not sure if the close-knit wires were to keep the birds in or the humans out, but the little birds got a taste of mango and they seemed to like it.

After leaving there Rob spotted a barbershop and as it was time for a haircut stopped to see if they had time for a cut.

Twenty minutes later and a good nap on my part, Rob appeared cut, shaved, trimmed and smelling great.

It always feels good when you do some self-care and he came out relaxed and looking good.

Then… we were off to Key Largo as there was a large wildlife reserve that I was interested in seeing.

But… it turns out that it’s just for the wildlife which is wonderful.

They wanted a place where the wildlife didn’t have to interact with humans so on the north end of the Key there is little or no human habitation.

Except when we got to the end of the road.

There was a huge gated community with a guard on the gate and lifestyles of the rich and famous inside.

Needless to say, we didn’t even try to run the gate (Rob was considering it) but did a “U” turn instead.

We did stop at the ranger station in the reserve as they had a short walking path that we took and discovered a Julia butterfly (Dryas iulia largo) feeding off the flowers.

Heading back into town there was a small park with a sandy beach that we stopped at and Rob pointed out a little bird on the coral which turned out to be a spotted sandpiper which we often see when we’re at Lizard Lake.

There was a couple of tidal pool and in them, I could see some jellyfish pulsating through the water.

I did a search when I got back to the hotel and found out they are called a Cassiopea Jellyfish or the upside-down jellyfish.

Here is a little information about them from the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

Down is up for this jelly—it rests its bell on the seafloor and waves its lacy underparts up toward the sun. Why? This jelly is a farmer. Its brownish color is caused by symbiotic algae living inside the jelly’s tissues. By lying upside-down, the jelly exposes its algae to the sun, allowing it to photosynthesize. The jelly lives off food the algae produce, as well as zooplankton. 

I took a video of them as I found them so fascinating and although it doesn’t look like it there is a big upside-down one in the top right-hand corner.

Leaving the park we were feeling a little peckish as we had bypassed lunch and headed to the Fish House for dinner.

It was so good the last time we were there that we had to try it again and they didn’t disappoint.

Excellent service and the food was so delicious and fresh it was beyond good.

I had shrimp and scallops in a garlic sauce over linguine and Rob had Yellowfin Tuna lightly seared.

The tuna was cut into slices and was six inches in length and about five inches wide and a 1/2 inch deep.

The meals were huge and we have enough for lunch or dinner tomorrow.

Back at the hotel and went for a walk to wear off dinner and now it’s time to relax and watch a little TV.

Life is tough!