Nanseann: Day 135 Feb 26 70 miles Las Olas Marina Ft. Lauderdale

Yes, there are crocodiles on Key Largo protected within Crocodile Lake National Wildlife Refuge. Remember they are protected ..... You aren't!!!! Alligators have a broad flat snout and Crocodiles have a long skinny snout if you get close to one.

We are in the Upper Keys.....Key Largo is over 30 miles long and is the largest island in the Florida Keys.

8 AM departure....we're getting good at this....of course....you get up, walk Saddi, have a bowl of cereal and get ready to go........We leave Blackwater Sound and go under Jewfish Creek Bridge.....a new 65 ft bridge completed in 2010. Blackwater Sound gets its name from the mangrove roots and cypress that make it look black.

Jewfish Creek Bridge....US 1

This is new cruising ground for us.....we have always cross the Jewfish Creek Bridge on US 1 and headed south when we arrived by the motorcoach. Today we head across Little Card Sound, Card Sound, Barnes Sound and into Biscayne Bay. We are on open water with winds pushing us down the waterway. The Atlantic is on Starboard and the mainland is on Port. But we are not close to land. The Sounds are shallow and you must follow the markers as we are on the ICW and our path is well marked.

Card Sound Bridge

Card Sound

Captain is moving on

USCG at work

Stiltsville

Stiltsville is a cluster of structures built on the finger flats of Biscayne Bay. The homes in Stiltsville survived decades of hurricanes, but the National Park Service wants them removed. They had bay bottom leases that expired in 1999 but the legal battle continues today whether they stay or go. We couldn't get close because you need to go by dinghy and the captain was on the move.

Biscayne Bay is a renowned park, preserved as Biscayne National Park and is over 35 miles long. On the Atlantic side you have Key Biscayne which is divided into two areas: exclusive homes for the rich and famous and preserved lands open to public access. The southern end of Key Biscayne is one of the state's most coveted parks: the Bill Braggs Cape Florida State Recreation Area, famous for its beaches, sunsets and views of Miami. Again a dinghy ride would be the best way to get there.

Miami Skyline....WOW

I read the book "A Land Remembered" by Patrick D Smith about Soloman MacIvey who as a boy sold 24 baby buzzards in cages for Carolina parakeets in West Palm to the rich folks. He and his father then traveled to Miami to invest money in land. The Land Man said "Well, there's a right nice beach over there if you push through the mangrove swamps to get to it. Plenty of skeeters too. It ain't fittin' to plant crops on but if you want some land over there, I can drop the price to 50 cents an acre." And Soloman had sold enough baby buzzards to buy 12 hundred acres. And today........

From Rickenbacker Bridge to Boynton Canal, this 57-mile stretch is the most congested collection of narrow canals, opening bridges, personal watercraft, and "weekend warriors" of our ICW experience. So get ready for the picture show!