We’ve enjoyed many wonderful places since we’ve been cruising.  Some of our favorites have been fairly populated areas, such as St. Michael’s and Annapolis in Maryland, Sarasota in Florida and Islamorada in the Florida Keys.  Some have been very isolated and peaceful, such as Cape Sable in Florida and Cacaway Island off the Chester River in Maryland.  And some very tropical, such as Bahia Honda Key in the Florida Keys.  But our favorite spot so far has to be the Dry Tortugas…it was paradise! 

     The Dry Tortugas National Park lies about 70 miles west of Key West and consists of 7 islands (keys) and numerous coral reef.  Some of the keys are closed to the public, such as Hospital Key and Long Key.  Bush Key, a bird nesting sanctuary, is closed from February to September.  Loggerhead Key is open to the public during the day.  It has a lighthouse on it and offers great snorkeling at a nearby windjammer wreck.  The main key is a 10-acre key called Garden Key.  All boats in the National Park had to be anchored within one mile of Garden Key from sunset to sunrise, so the other keys were daytrip stops.  Camping is also allowed on Garden Key.  The main attraction of Garden Key is Fort Jefferson which is a fort started in 1846.  Construction lasted for 30 years, but was never completed.  

     Why is the Dry Tortugas so unique?  One reason is that you must get there by either boat or seaplane.  There are two ferries that run out there daily if the weather cooperates.  These ferries usually carry a couple hundred people for a 4-5 hour stop to explore the fort, snorkel around the moat wall and enjoy the beach.  (OK…so it isn’t quite paradise during those 5 hours of the day…too crowded!)  Another reason for its uniqueness is that there are no services available.  For campers and boaters, you must bring everything you need with you, including water.  They are named “Dry Tortugas” because there is no fresh water available on them.  And all trash must be packed out with you.  So you must be completely self-sufficient to stay there and must be prepared to stay longer than expected if the weather is too nasty to leave.

     To us it was paradise!!  We enjoyed the self-sufficiency required to be there.  During the times the ferries were not there, it was extremely peaceful!  At those times, there was usually nobody on the beach.  It was very tropical…white beaches, palm trees and beautiful water.  We finally got a chance to swim and snorkel there.  We had great snorkels around two wrecks, a Windjammer wreck off Loggerhead and a brick wreck off Garden Key, as well as around the moat wall.  We took Max and Bailey on walks every morning and evening around the moat wall surrounding the fort and did our “moat walking snorkel” which was to see all the tropical fish in and around the moat wall from atop the moat wall (it was so clear you could look down and see all the tropical fish almost as well as snorkeling).

     Our favorite part was trading for fresh seafood!  Since Blaine has been an excellent fisherman, we didn’t need to trade for fish, but we did trade often for fresh lobster!  YUM!  There were fishing boats that would go out for the day and would anchor in the harbor in the evenings.  These boats would trade fresh seafood for beers and sodas.  We traded for lobster on three separate occasions with our most amazing trade being 5 lobsters for 6 sodas.  Boy, am I going to miss that lobster! 

     Another wonderful aspect of the Dry Tortugas area was that, due to the common bond of self-sufficiency required to be there, it created a closer community of boaters.  Most boaters that were there were very friendly.  We had a wonderful lobster cookout with two other boats that were there.  We used one of the charcoal grills on Garden Key to grill lobsters under a towel soaked in salt water and everyone brought a side dish.  The lobsters were absolutely fabulous and we had a really special time with our new cruising friends.  

     We planned on staying in the Dry Tortugas for two weeks, so we were stocked with enough supplies and water for a month or more, including extra beer for trading.  We enjoyed it so much that we would have stayed there for at least three weeks if we could have.  There is a visitation limit for all boaters and campers of 14 consecutive days and 30 days per calendar year, so we had to leave after our 14-day stay.  We will miss our paradise, but we will definitely be back!