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Turtle Hospital

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Red Mezz
Red Mezz
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3 out of 5
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The Turtle Hospital

  • February 25, 2006
  • Rated 3 of 5 by Red Mezz from Inverness, Scotland
The Turtle Hospital

The experience of the Florida Keys isn't complete without getting up close with some form of marine life, whether it is swimming with dolphins in Key Largo, fishing off the coast of the keys, or stopping in for a visit at the unique Turtle Hospital on Key Marathon. There is nothing flash about this (though it has recently gone through some renovations), but getting to be in the presence of sea turtles is an experience to be had. The Turtle Hospital was opened with the main objective of helping injured sea turtles and returning them to the wild, and has done that with great success since 1986. It is completely a charitable operation, with volunteers as workers, and most of its funding comes from private donations. Four types of sea turtles are treated in the hospital: Loggerhead, Green, Hawksbill, and Kemp's Ridley, and generally they have about 50 sea turtles recuperating at any given time. Aside from the simple experience of being in the presence of sea turtles, this is a nice thing to be a part of. They offer 45-minute guided tours of the hospital and a 45-minute tour of the turtle rehabilitation area. The cost of the tour is adult $15 and children $7.50--and though this is a bit pricey, the money all goes to the work these volunteers do and the great success they have with healing injured turtles. You must make reservations at (305) 743-2552, and the tours run daily at 10am, 1pm, and 4pm. The hospital is very easy to find and is directly across the street from the Sand Piper motel. This is an interesting and slightly different thing to see while visiting the Florida Keys.

From journal The Hemingway Awe of the Florida Keys

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