Girls Road Trip to the Keys
We drove down from my house in Margate Saturday afternoon so we could do some shopping at the Rain Barrel (MM87) and eat at the Hungry Tarpon/Robbie's (MM75). To do over, I would just pay to feed the tarpon at Robbie's, which is fun, and eat elsewhere. While the ambiance is wonderful the food is just ok and the service is awful. We did get some wonderfully tacky Keysie gifts, however!
We stayed at Amoray Dive Resort in Key Largo, located bayside at MM104. The room was spacious enough for two people with two beds and a big walk in closet. It was equipped with a small fridge and coffee maker. While very basic, I have no complaints as it was very clean (sleeping room and bathroom) and cheerfully decorated.
The resort is laid out with office and dive shop at the front, 2-story building with rooms on both levels heading back towards water. There is a large deck over the water and a tiki hut where they serve complimentary coffee in the morning. From the deck you can hear the music from the bar down the road - nice for sitting out at night, but totally quiet in the room.
We were in the last row of rooms, closest to the dive boat. It was super easy in the morning to roll out of bed and walk the few steps to the dock.
The dive boat is a large catamaran that can hold up to 30 divers plus snorkelers. We had 20 divers and 2 snorkelers on Sunday. I felt like we had ample room to set up and store our gear. I had requested in advance Christ of the Abyss and City of Washington as we were taking photos and wanted long shallow dives. The captain took us to the Christ statue first, and by the time we were finished with our dive the place was a mess of snorkelers and other dive boats. So instead of CofW, Capt Rob took us to North North Dry Rocks. We were the only people there. It was beautiful. Diving off Boynton Beach and Blue Heron Bridge I am very spoiled. I didn’t expect nor necessarily want to be impressed with the Keys but I was. The water that day was flat, with no current and vis easily 80-100 ft. It was so very blue and the colors of the sea fans and corals just popped. There is not as much fish as I expected but we did run into a school of 35-40 reef squid. I had also “requested” a spotted eagle ray and Capt Ron delivered.
Both Capt Ron and DM Alyssa were great. Judy and I were the only locals on the boat and watched the patience and professionalism with which they handled our fellow passengers.
I would definitely use Amoray again, both the resort and the dive op. Walt, in the office, handled everything from our room reservation to the dive with a single phone call. Not one thing was awry. I just think I will stay away from weekends, which tend to be very crowded this time of year. One last note: they give you a complimentary late check out if you're on the morning dive boat - one hour after the boat docks. More than enough time to grab a quick shower and be on our way!
