We have been here a month and with a possible weather window looming for us to cross to the Bahamas soon, we have to bid farewell to Marathon. Bob and I have never been to the Keys before and we thoroughly enjoyed exploring by boat, rental car, foot and bike. Here are a few things that we’ve enjoyed here in Marathon.
Boot Key Harbor in Marathon is a real boating community held together by the lively morning Cruisers Net broadcast every morning on marine radio Channel 68. It is a great way to get to know who is here as well as get help with any boating problem and even sell some of your boating treasures. It is based in Marathon City Marina which also hosts yoga in the morning as well as Meet-Greet-Eat every Wednesday night from 5-7pm complete with jamming musicians. There are so many talented boaters here who are willing to share their knowledge especially Joe, who gives daily weather forecasts and also hosts the Bahamas Bound discussion groups.
Sombrero Beach was a nice destination 2 miles away from us by bike or foot and a much easier journey by dinghy. When you are in a location for a month, you don’t mind getting the heavy bikes off the flybridge and setting them up and deploying the dinghy more regularly. Very few boaters have cars here so everyone is zipping about on a bike or dinghy and it’s great exercise as well as fun. It’s amazing how many groceries can be stuffed in a bike basket. However, on our last trip to Publix, we spent $600 on food and wine and had to wheel 2 shopping carts down the road back to our marina. You have not really experienced down-sizing until you try to find room on a 32 foot trawler for this load but we are ready for the Bahamas.
I really enjoyed my daily morning walk around the golf course and Flamingo Island. Flamingo Island had their block party this week and a number of us regular walkers almost expected to be invited. We stayed at Sombrero Resort Marina and the marina staff, Kyle and Greg, were very helpful and accommodating. I really liked the pool especially when they heated it up a bit.
The best part of Marathon was meeting so many wonderful people. There are so many Loopers taking a month here and it was great to reconnect with Loopers that we have traveled with and meet others who have been ahead of or behind us. The food is always great at Looper get-togethers especially the Sombrero pot-luck on 2/24.
For dining out, we would recommend Keys Fisheries and if you have a car, Key Colony Inn. Frosty’s has the best view and Sombrero Dockside offers nightly music.
We did way too many projects, but they are finally done----YEAH!!!!!!!! During the work process, fellow Loopers dragged us away and “forced” us to go boating with them. Thank you Tom and Debbie on “Catrina” and Rose and Gary on “Rose’s Pick”. Here’s Bob steering “Rose’s Pick” and really liking all the bells and whistles.
The only thing that I will not miss about Marathon is Iggy, the iguana. This 4 foot marauder hides on the condo roof or in trees at Sombrero Marina, waiting for a hot sunny day and then tries to get on boats. He almost got on our boat but our boat neighbor showed him who was boss with a boat pole. On the other end of the spectrum is a gentle giant manatee which regularly swims up by our boat and agilely moves its 12 foot frame between boats and the dock but its back shows 8 scars of propeller blades from boaters who did not see her.
The Keys are a long, long way from the Great Lakes, but who knows, you never know what will happen and where our home port will be.
Boot Key Harbor in Marathon is a real boating community held together by the lively morning Cruisers Net broadcast every morning on marine radio Channel 68. It is a great way to get to know who is here as well as get help with any boating problem and even sell some of your boating treasures. It is based in Marathon City Marina which also hosts yoga in the morning as well as Meet-Greet-Eat every Wednesday night from 5-7pm complete with jamming musicians. There are so many talented boaters here who are willing to share their knowledge especially Joe, who gives daily weather forecasts and also hosts the Bahamas Bound discussion groups.
Sombrero Beach was a nice destination 2 miles away from us by bike or foot and a much easier journey by dinghy. When you are in a location for a month, you don’t mind getting the heavy bikes off the flybridge and setting them up and deploying the dinghy more regularly. Very few boaters have cars here so everyone is zipping about on a bike or dinghy and it’s great exercise as well as fun. It’s amazing how many groceries can be stuffed in a bike basket. However, on our last trip to Publix, we spent $600 on food and wine and had to wheel 2 shopping carts down the road back to our marina. You have not really experienced down-sizing until you try to find room on a 32 foot trawler for this load but we are ready for the Bahamas.
I really enjoyed my daily morning walk around the golf course and Flamingo Island. Flamingo Island had their block party this week and a number of us regular walkers almost expected to be invited. We stayed at Sombrero Resort Marina and the marina staff, Kyle and Greg, were very helpful and accommodating. I really liked the pool especially when they heated it up a bit.
The best part of Marathon was meeting so many wonderful people. There are so many Loopers taking a month here and it was great to reconnect with Loopers that we have traveled with and meet others who have been ahead of or behind us. The food is always great at Looper get-togethers especially the Sombrero pot-luck on 2/24.
For dining out, we would recommend Keys Fisheries and if you have a car, Key Colony Inn. Frosty’s has the best view and Sombrero Dockside offers nightly music.
We did way too many projects, but they are finally done----YEAH!!!!!!!! During the work process, fellow Loopers dragged us away and “forced” us to go boating with them. Thank you Tom and Debbie on “Catrina” and Rose and Gary on “Rose’s Pick”. Here’s Bob steering “Rose’s Pick” and really liking all the bells and whistles.
The only thing that I will not miss about Marathon is Iggy, the iguana. This 4 foot marauder hides on the condo roof or in trees at Sombrero Marina, waiting for a hot sunny day and then tries to get on boats. He almost got on our boat but our boat neighbor showed him who was boss with a boat pole. On the other end of the spectrum is a gentle giant manatee which regularly swims up by our boat and agilely moves its 12 foot frame between boats and the dock but its back shows 8 scars of propeller blades from boaters who did not see her.
The Keys are a long, long way from the Great Lakes, but who knows, you never know what will happen and where our home port will be.
