Only in Key West: A Butterfly Dome; Daily Sunset Celebration; and Unique Off-shore Cruising of All Kinds for All Sorts — LISTEN

We've covered the bars, the restaurants, the gay guest houses, and the arts in Key West, but that's still just scratching the surface of what makes the island so special. On our final episode, we experience some of the wild and wonderful things you could only find in Key West.

Welcome again to Gay Key West Uncovered, a miniseries exploring Key West, produced by towleroad. com in partnership with Key West Tourism. I'm your host. Bobby Hankinson, and after sticking with me for five episodes, I'm finally ready to share my number one favorite thing in all of Key West. And no, I'm not talking about the Jacuzzi at the Island House, though that's definitely up there.

The one place I always make sure to visit is also the most recommended spot we heard from locals. Butterfly Observatory is so unique. Butterfly Museum. The Butterfly Observatory is so pretty. Butterfly Conservatory. They have flamingos. Uh, the Butterfly Conservatory. The Key West Butterfly and Nature Conservatory is more than just a nature habitat.

It's a passage into a fairy tale world. Birds and butterflies flap and flutter all around, some feeling classically Key West tipsy fermenting fruit scattered around in saucers. Two vibrant flamingos, appropriately named Red and Scarlet, splash and honk just in time. inches away from mesmerized guests. The only word to describe slowly stepping through into the glass domed enclosure is enchanting.

When a shimmering, saucer sized blue morpho butterfly lands atop your arm or shoulder, it's hard not to want to break out into a Cinderella song. But even for those of us who are devoutly not Disney gays, the immersive habitat is such a radical departure from the din of our daily digital lives. Getting this close to Earth's wonders feels downright alien.

Of course, the most interesting living creature on the grounds doesn't have wings at all. It's co founder and co owner George Fernandez. If you're really lucky, he'll personally and passionately take you on a tour. Here he is explaining why, when people describe butterflies as magical, they may just be right.

Using the sun and the earth's magnetic field, they fly back up north, and that'll be the fourth and fifth generation. So what's coming back home are the great grandkids of the great grandparents that flew there earlier the year before. For 20 years, the Butterfly Conservatory has been more than just a must see, all ages attraction at the end of Duval Street.

It's also an important part of the LGBTQ community's history and impact on the island. George founded the conservatory with his then romantic partner, who remains his business partner to this day. It was his vision. It was his dream of someday opening up a Butterfly Conservatory, but as I like to say, in reality, be careful what you wish for sometimes, because you're This will own you, and it has owned us for 20 years, but very proud to say that, uh, this is what I enjoy doing.

It's my passion. The Butterfly Conservatory is an easy addition to any vacation agenda, and it's conveniently located steps away from the famed southernmost point buoy photo op. No trip to Key West is complete with at least one southernmost pick, just like you can't leave the island without catching at least one sunset at Mallory Square.

The sky lights up in pinks and oranges as the sun dips below the horizon line just behind the cruise ships and sunset sails. Legend has it, Tennessee Williams started the island's first sunset celebration when he got caught applauding the sun's disappearance one day. Mallory Square is where the sunset celebration takes place and it's a nightly art festival.

There's street performers, artists, food vendors, musicians, all different types of creative people. It's And they just kinda like, you know, perform, do their thing about two hours before sunset and two hours after sunset. That's Teresa Kiecki, an artist, illustrator, and an official expert on the sunset celebration at Mallory Square.

While the Suns Disappearing Act may be the main event, it's hardly the only daily draw. It's here that Key West creatives put their talents on display to the delight of tourists and locals alike. It's a dazzling combination of stunt performers, comedians, musicians, and vendors who've made Mallory Square a meeting place for the island's artistic community.

It kind of culminated at Mallory Square in like the 70s and the 80s, so that was just kind of like the natural space. for all of these cool creative minds to just like, enjoy the sunset. It wasn't about making money, it wasn't about, there was no agenda, it was just they were there to enjoy the sunset, play their music, do tricks.

do all sorts of things. So, um, I think it was just kind of like the natural evolution of that spot. The Sunset Celebration is a big part of what brought Teresa down to Key West in the first place. After years visiting the island as a child, her fascination with the Sunset Performers inspired her to create Drawn to Key West, a lovingly crafted graphic novel that tells the history of the Sunset Celebration and includes interviews with some of the artists you'll see performing regularly today.

Performers like Reed Ridiculous Conklin. I'm Ridiculous. I'm a whip and knife juggler at Mallory Square. And sometimes a comedian, and sometimes just a bum with a whip.

Reed and the other artists stagger their performances, so you don't have to choose between watching someone balancing on a unicycle or juggling knives or swallowing fire. Each feat is impressive on its own, but the performers at Mallory Square are so much more than tricksters and stunt people. Their pop up shows are punctuated with lots of humor, as the performers do their most difficult juggling act, capturing and keeping the attention of crowds that drift in for sunset.

According to Mayor Terry Johnston, the island's sunset celebrations are about to get even better and bigger. We're getting ready to do a, um, a renovation of Mallory Square because, you know, right now, you've seen it, it's an incredible venue, but we only use it three hours a day during sunset celebration because it's too hot.

But we're putting sun sails, we're putting more greenery, you know, we're bringing some more activity, outdoor plays down there out of the back of the waterfront playhouse. But what You're not going to see change is our sunset celebration, which is going to be still the anchor of Mallory Square. At Mallory Square, you can feel the creative energy in the air.

Then again, maybe it's not in the air. Maybe it's in the water. At least that's what Ron Augustine thinks. He's a tarot reader at Mallory Square and another one of the performers featured in Drawn to Key West. This is what no one will tell you, but this is only somebody that really knows this place. I've lived here a long time.

This place is an energy vortex. It is. And what makes it so is there is a current that runs from the Bermuda Triangle around us into the Gulf of Mexico. It runs at a different speed and different temperature than the other water. That is the electrical thing. Even if you don't buy into the energetic power of the water surrounding Key West, it does have an undeniable allure.

It's difficult to describe just how breathtaking the water in Key West can be. If only I knew a few experienced sailors who could put it all in perspective. Oh, wait. Remember Nance Frank? Champion sailor, global adventurer, and owner of Gallery on Green? Well, I learned how to swim before I could walk, and I've been in the water all my life.

Um, I can't live without the water. I just can't. And on every Sunday I go boating. And it's just this peace, peace that comes over you when you're in the water. Peace when you're in the mangroves. It, it's just something that I never think about work or woes or worries when I'm in the water. It's just all so tranquil and beautiful.

So you could be out there and there's nobody else around and there's no, you know, you don't have the TV, you don't have the radio. It's like quiet and the colors are just a magnificent turquoise and You know, blues and greens, and a lot of times the water's crystal clear. You can look down from the boat and see everything down there, and then you get in, it's a whole different world down there.

You know, things you couldn't even imagine unless you do it. Of course, we had to ask Captain Karen. Lesbians love to fish. I take a lot of lesbians fishing here. Uh, snorkeling with dolphins, sunset. There are plenty of ways to get on the water. You can charter a trip with Captain Karen in Venus Charters, a great way to see North America's only living coral barrier reef.

While Adrenaline Junkies can ride jet skis or go parasailing with businesses like Fury, Key West. Our personal favorite way to see the water is aboard a catamaran offering male only clothing optional excursions as well as LGBTQ plus sunset sails. When he's not working as a digital nomad and quoting Bob Dylan, Greg C.

Slick, whom we first met in our premiere episode, is a first mate aboard the Blue Q. During the day trip you set sail and you go out for a four hour Sail and then you snorkel. One of our snorkel spots are out at a reef closer to Key West. Um, after doing that, if the weather is good, we head out to a sandbar and you just hang out there and you know, have some drinks and socialize and some snacks.

Um, with the folks in the water around the boat, um, and then in the evening we watch a beautiful sunset for two hours and sail around. In my experience, the Blue Q has been a great way to meet other guys staying at different guest houses. The captain, first mate, and majority of guests drop their speedos once the boat gets comfortably away from shore.

Like most things in Key West, it's a casual, friendly, go at your own pace sort of vibe. Though, sometimes, the ship isn't the only thing at half mast. Sometimes the guys can get a little frisky. Um, that can be entertaining as well. It's a fun vibe, you know, it's more of a party vibe. Treating your swimsuit for your birthday suit may be the best way to let the island's magic wash over you.

I would argue at least one naked swim is an equally necessary item on your Key West bucket list. Don't just take it from me. Take it from Key West's most fabulous spokesman, Pony Charvette. You know, if I'm going swimming, the board shorts come off and there is nothing as magical as jumping into this crystal clear water that's 80 degrees.

and you're truly free in every sense of the word. There is nothing like swimming naked in the waters of Key West. Having experienced it myself, it's tough to deny the transformative power of the waters of Key West. Lots of places can claim to have excellent food, wild nightlife, and ample art. But Key West proves the difference between merely a good vacation and a great one.

A good vacation gives you a break from your everyday life, and Key West certainly does that. But a great vacation sends you back changed. And Key West has certainly changed me.

Gay Key West Uncovered is produced by Towleroad and sponsored by Key West. For more information on LGBTQ travel to the Keys, go to FLA Keys. com