Hemingway, turtles and Key Lime Pie

Like many before her, Rachel Roberts falls for the charms of the Florida Keys.

"They say you find love when you least expect it, and that was certainly the case when Ernest Hemingway visited Key West in 1928. The American author had only planned a flying visit to pick up his new Ford Roadster from a dealership in the small city, but stayed for seven weeks while his car was finished. By then, he’d fallen hook, line and sinker for the considerable charms of Florida Keys, the archipelago of around 1700 islands that arc from the south-eastern tip of America, bisecting the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean.

It doesn’t take long for the Keys to work their magic; we were seduced by the laidback nautical vibe almost immediately. It’s a place where you can while away time watching fluffy-feathered pelicans grooming themselves on the boardwalk; a place just made for lazy days messing about on the water. Many of the people we met on our week-long 165-mile road trip, along the iconic Highway One from Miami down through the Florida Keys, feel the same way. Like Richie Moretti, the charismatic founder of The Turtle Hospital in Marathon, roughly halfway down the Keys. "Something magical happens where the sea meets the shore here," he explained. "People get into your heart."

Or, turtles, in Richie’s case. The converted motel that houses the hospital is pure Americana: a sprawling series of low-rise buildings painted in a cool shade of vintage turquoise. Since Moretti opened up in 1986, hundreds of injured sea tortoises have been rehabilitated. The hospital runs educational tours, and on the day we dropped in we were lucky enough to accompany two of them, Woody and Levi, on their speedboat journey to release them back into their ocean home.

Turtles are protected in these parts today, but they were once on the menu for hungry sailors, as we discovered when we visited the Dry Tortugas, America’s most remote National Park. The Portuguese explorers who arrived here in the 16th century named it ‘Tortugas’ after the abundant supply of the creatures in the area. Today, you can take a 90-minute ferry – Yankee Freedom II – from Key West across the Gulf of Mexico to this seven-key archipelago, or if you’re feeling flush, cut that time in half by flying across by sea plane. We were greeted on the main island, Garden Key, by Ted, a chirpy Ranger who gave us a fascinating tour of Fort Jefferson, the huge hexagonal military fortress that spans most of the island. His knowledge was impressive; it will come in handy this year for the 100th anniversary of the establishment of America’s National Parks. The Key is encircled with powdery white beaches, and the feel of the sand between our toes was heaven. Then it was snorkels on: 99% of the parks’ hundred square miles are submerged beneath the crystalline waters and we immersed ourselves in the technicolour world below the waves.

Another fabulous location to see nature’s underwater garden is at John Pennenkamp Coral Reef State Park, in Key Largo, established to protect some of Florida’s most beautiful coral reefs. The Spirit of Pennekamp is a glass-bottomed boat that offers a fail-safe way to get a glimpse of some of the 600 fish and coral formations in this area, including yellow-tailed snapper and lion fish.

After seeing them up close, it can feel a little odd tucking into these fish for dinner, but many of the restaurants make use of sea’s rich bounty. A favourite was Chef Michael’s, a bit of a local institute in Islamorada. A speciality here is spear-caught Hogfish – an illuminated sign outside declares ‘Peace, Love and Hogfish’ – and if that doesn’t float your boat, you can sample other local fish like Mahi or the rather brilliantly named Wahoo. And of course, we tried many variations of Key Lime Pie, Florida’s official pie, but the jury’s still out on our favourite.

Our own brief love affair with the Keys ended where Hemingway’s started, in Key West. It might be compact (just 4 by 2 miles wide) but there’s a unique buzz about the place, at the tail end of the Keys. We joined other tourists on the renowned conch tour; this miniature train winds through streets lined with pistachio-hued plantation-style houses – many with charming stoops – and the dramatic-shaped Gumbo Limbo and Banyan trees. It’s a fun way to get your bearings and to locate places of interest, like Hemingway’s Home and Museum (Whitehead Street).

Like many seaside locations, properties carry eye-watering price tags – up to around $3 million in parts of the city, but Key West still retains an arty, laid-back vibe. The bright Rainbow crossing painted on Duval Street sums up the ‘all-are-welcome’ attitude of the city. Renowned bohemian Mr Hemingway would have approved."

For more info about the Florida Keys, visit www.fla-keys.co.uk. Virgin Atlantic flies twice daily from London Heathrow to Miami, return economy fares from £627 per person.

Pictures by Bob Krist/Andy Newman/Frazier Nivens/Florida Keys News Bureau/HO.