Key West Cemetery

Today we did some chores around the boat and then headed downtown at 1:00 pm.  Our goal was to visit the historic above ground cemetery and return at 4:30 without spending money.  Can we do it?  Do we have to stop at bars and dessert spots when we are downtown?

The Key West Cemetery was destroyed by a hurricane in 1846, and this one was opened in 1847.  We took a self-guided tour around the sunny acres.  This reminded me a good bit of touring Oakland Cemetery in Atlanta. The time of founding is similar.  The garden feel is similar.   Here there is a Catholic section and a Jewish section.  In Atlanta there is also a section for poor and for blacks.  There were some key differences though that made us know we were in Key West.

When we saw the first iguana on the graves, we were surprised.  There were gangs of them though.  Green and black, orange and grey, large and small.  They were sunning on the gravestones.

Here's another iguana.

White ibis pecked at the ground around one section.  

Los Martires de Cuba is a monument honoring the Cubans who died attempting to free Cuba from Spanish rule during the Ten Years War, 1868 - 1878.

The U.S.S. Maine Monument honors those who lost their lives when the Maine was blown up in Havana Harbor in 1898.  This disaster led the US to declare war on Spain.

It is interesting to see how closely the history of Key West is bound to Cuba.  Just think.  Soon boaters may be planning trips to Cuba instead of to the Bahamas after stopping in Key West.  The distance to Cuba is the same as the distance we traveled coming Wednesday from Little Shark River to here.  

After walking around the cemetery, we still had some time.  It is hot here.  We were walking back to the wharf and passed a shady garden.  What building was this?  The library!  We went inside and enjoyed reading magazines in the air conditioning for an hour before going back for our ride to the marina.  Mission accomplished.