Key Largo

Key Largo!  We have had a beautiful couple of days since we left Black Point.  On Friday, we sailed basically due east to Elliott Key, where we got our first taste of the unbelievably clear water- we could see the anchor sitting in the sand.  We spent a while scraping barnacles off the rudder, which attracted a million small fish to come and swim under the boat with us and snack on the stuff we had scraped off - apparently hull growth is some sort of delicacy for fish.  Then yesterday we had a relaxing sail and motor to the southern end of Barnes' Sound just above Jewfish Creek, which is where "the Keys really begin," according to our snooty guidebook.  As the sun set we were the only boat on the whole sound. 

Today we mostly motored because we were cruising through little creeks.  The banks were all mangroves, and we saw a ton of gigantic birds, all sorts.  We anchored in Tarpon Basin and dinghyed ashore- there's some sort of community building that has a public dinghy dock.  Unfortunately, because I was in mortal fear of both running aground I opted to anchor as soon as we found a likely spot, which left us with a fairly long row into the dock.  But at least we're a solid half-mile from any other boats, who all anchored more reasonably close in.  It was a bit gnarly walking down the side of Route 1, but we made it to a tiny shopping center where we are enjoying a key lime milkshake and the internet.  We're headed back now to check on the boat, and then see what's going on at John Pennekamp Park.