Author: Block Victor
Published: 2025/03/22
Type of publication: Informative
Issue: Disability Travel America – List of Publications
Page content: Synopsis – Introduction – Major – Ideas, updates
Synopsis: Discover the impressive wildlife of the Keys of Florida, the accessible adventures and the charm of the unique island. An obliged reading guide for travelers of all skills.
Why does it matter: This article offers a vibrant and attractive exploration of the Keys of Florida, combining their natural wonders, historical reference points and a surprising local charm. It highlights the diverse wildlife of the region, from key deer to rehabilitated sea turtles, as well as outdoor accessible activities such as snorkeling, bird and fishing observation. The piece is particularly valuable for travelers, including older people and people with disabilities, as it details adaptable accommodation, the tour options with wheelchairs and even adapted fishing ships. With its combination of practical travel tips and evocative narration, this article serves as an informative guide and an attractive invitation to experience the relaxed beauty of the keys. – Disabled world (DW).
Introduction
One afternoon, while visiting Florida’s keys, I photographed my wife Fyllis swimming with sting rays and other sea inhabitants in a huge water tank, then I pushed live fish through an opening on a plexiglass wall to feed the sharks on the other side.
Main article
Driving back to our temporary home away from home, we spent houses led by mailboxes shaped like dolphins, manatees and sea horses.
The island’s chain, which extends to the southwest from the Punta de Florida, combines Mother Nature meetings with occasional touches of rude commercialism.
Magnificent parks containing stores that sell sandals, shells and t -shirts. The lots of recreational vehicles and trailers are neighbors of exclusive resorts.
Continued…
Key West offers a variety of tempting things to see and make, from funky and fashionable to historical and hysterical. To begin with, there is the environment itself, so narrow dots that we could see that the sun rose on the Atlantic Ocean, then walk along the road later to see it in the Gulf of Mexico.
The keys include about 1,700 islands, approximately 40 of which are inhabited. The car trip takes approximately three hours without stops, after the abroad road of 113 miles long.
Florida state laws require that at least 5 percent of rooms in license accommodations comply with accessible criteria for specified disabled. Because these characteristics vary, it is recommended to verify in advance before your trip. Public theatrical places in all keys are accessible with accessible, with accessible seats for wheelchairs, convenient parking and ramps for people with disabilities.
Public and tourist transport with access to wheelchairs is available, and wheelchairs can be rented in some places. There are even fishing boats that are equipped for wheelchairs, have accessible baths and offer an elevator to passengers with lower disabilities in shallow waters for swimming and snorkeling.
Shortly after leaving the continent, travelers are immersed in the local atmosphere. The bridges and docks are aligned by fishermen looking for their dinner. The ships lodged in sports ports are available for deep water fishing excursions and travel for diving and diving.
The John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park covers 178 square miles of coral reefs, mangrove swamps and marine pasture beds. The divers and divers enjoy the forefront encounters with more than 50 multiple coral varieties and more than 600 species of fish, while the lifos can detect a multitude of resident and migratory birds.
The park has two beaches made by man. Many people are surprised to know that they are among the few sections of inviting sand on the keys. This is because the reefs hanging east of the islands reduce the construction action of the beach of the waves.
Fortunately, there are attractive exceptions. Anne’s Beach in the lower Matecumbe key is led by a high wooden ride that winds through a moor hammock. White Sand Somber Beach is one of the favorites among the locals due to its isolated location of the main street. Many Sun worshipers classify the soft sand of dust in Bahia Honda state park among the best anywhere.
The fact that there are few outstanding beaches in the keys has its advantage, because that leaves more time to discover other treasures. One of them is the variety of animal life found in nature and in national shelters and in state parks.
The most attractive is the small and adorable key deer, a subspecies of North American white tail deer that is alone in the keys. The tiny animals measure about two feet high. Most live in Big Pine and without a name, in a federal shelter.
Other encounters with wildlife are available in other places. The blue hole in Big Pine Key, an abandoned quarry, is the home of birds, turtles, numerous fish and sometimes a crocodile.
During spring and autumn migrations, shelters provide habitat for more than 250 bird species. While I am not a ornithologist, I enjoyed looking for the visiting skies with intriguing names such as Sooty Shearwater, Brown Noddy and dark eyes.
The inhabitants of the Florida Keys Wildlife Bird Center in Key Largo are protected as they recover from accidents and diseases. Those who returned to health for their launch have included the pilgrim hawk, the red -shoulders and pink tablespoons.
Sea turtles are patients at the Turtle hospital, which treats animals that have been injured and, when possible, they return them to nature. The installation even has a turtle ambulance that sometimes can be seen driving on a rescue mission. Our tour included views of the exam and surgery rooms, and the time of confrontation with resident reptiles, including those identified as Brianna, M&M and My Skomeake Victor.
A personal favorite site was the Crane Point Museum and the Center of Nature, a pocket preserved of straw palm hammocks that represents the natural habitat of the keys. We start our visit in the museum, seeing exhibitions ranging from a 600 -year -old bathing canoe to pirate ships and a realistic simulated coral rerecifes cave. Then we reviewed the labyrinth of the trails of nature, the center of wild birds, the meadow of butterflies and other characteristics of the park.
Another chapter of Keys’s story is the Seven Mile bridge. It was completed in 1911 as part of the railroad built by industrialist Henry Flagler to connect the islands with the southern end of the continent.
After the disappearance of the railroad, it became part of the road abroad. When a new section was built along it in 1982, the old structure became a favorite route for walkers, bicycle riders and so many fishermen that today is known as «the longest fishing dock in the world.»
Continued…
Bridge and boat fishing is so popular that I include it in «Victor’s laws for people who want to live in the keys.» If you don’t know how to fish, learn. Develop a taste for all types of marine food. Relax.
That last warning was spelled on a sign on the road we saw, which summarizes succinctly perhaps the greatest attraction of the Florida Cays. «Honestly now, what is your haste? You are here!»
Editorial Note: Beyond its coasts bathed in the sun and its vibrant marine life, Florida Cays tell a deeper story of conservation, accessibility and cultural charm. Whether you are looking for adventure or tranquility, this island chain offers something for everyone, as long as it opens to adopt its rhythm without hurry. – Disabled world (DW).
Author’s credentials: Victor Block has been a travel journalist for many years, and has written for the main newspapers, magazines and travel websites and served as a Fodor’s Travel Guides editor. He is a member of the Society of American Travel Writers and the Association of North America Travel Journalists. Victor is a regular taxpayer of the revisions to the World Travel section for disabled. Visit Victors’ biography for more information about their background and experience.
