Summer is gone, but there are places in the world where it stays forever. Beyond the sky-scrapers of glass and steel of the pulsating city, there is the sandy beach of the Florida Key.
The Overseas Highway links the islands of the Florida Keys, Isla Morada, Boca Chica and Rodriguez Key, as they spread like a chain of pearls. The Mercedes-Benz CLA runs through them, straight into a world that is both old and new, while the passengers of the automobile breathe in the Caribbean freshness.
The CLA reaches the most southern point of the continental United States. For some, this may seem the end of the word. For others, this end is just a beginning: the turquoise waters of the Gulf of Mexico melt into the sky of the same summer shade. The most captivating road comes next: the “7 Mile Bridge” connects the mainland with the islands, splitting the ocean in two.
Getting closer to Cuba (only 145 km away), the Florida feel turns into a Latino one. The warm breeze, the footprints in the sand, the loud seagulls greeting and, above all, morning coffee on the veranda of an old Victorian house, away from the city hustle and bustle. What more could they wish for?
If Key West might sound familiar, no matter where you are in the world, you are right to remember the name. The old town has attracted bohemian artists through decades. Famous writer Ernest Hemingway has lived right there for ten years, starting 1928, finding inspiration and challenges for his work. Today, his home is a museum and a shelter for more than 40 polydactyl (six-toed) cats. Some of them are descendants of Hemingways’ cat.
Shall we get back in the Mercedes-Benz CLA and head back north again or shall we spend the fall in the south?
Source: Mercedes-Benz.