We'll be staying in Key West for another two weeks. If the weather permits, we will start northward on February 25, to be home before Easter.
The easy life in Key West has been sunny for the last two weeks, with day-time highs in the low 80s and night-time lows around 70 degrees. We have ridden our bikes daily, finding interesting places to visit. Today, it is windy with 25 MPH gusts, with showers expected overnight. For the first time since arriving, we have turned off the air conditioners and opened the boat.
In the late afternoon, after swimming in the pool, we like to watch the fishing guides as they clean their catch of dolphin (Mahi Mahi), red snapper and spanish mackrel. The usual crowd gathers; a few cats sit on the pier and a dozen pelicans swim nearby as a half-dozen, four foot long tarpon swim near the pier. As the guide fillets the fish, he feeds small pieces to the waiting cats. Most cats prefer the mackrel. The pelicans scramble for the outer fish skin and the tarpon boil the water for the remaining fish carcass. Mackrel and snapper can go to 10 pounds and dolphin are usually 20 pounds or more.
Sometimes the guide will give one of his customers a strip of fish to hold just above the water while kneeling on the pier. Several tarpon will swim by close to the treat, then turn away. Suddenly one will lunge upward quickly, grab the fish and surprise the holder who will leap backward. Quite a show! Also, it is not unusual for anglers to boat only half of a mackrel. Other fish make a meal of them while they are being reeled into the boat.
Ebb Tide II underway
