Robbie's - Robbie's & Tarpon FeedingMile Marker 70, don't miss it! If you are driving from Key Largo to Marathon or out to Key West, make it a point to stop at Robbie's. This small marina has charters, snacks, and best of all, Tarpon Feeding!. For a couple of bucks, you can purchase a bucket of small dead fish, walk out on Robbie's dock and hand feed the fish to the giant Tarpon who hang out under the docks all day long. Seriously, there are so many tarpon here it almost makes you wonder if there are any left out in the ocean. They are jam-packed into the area by the dock, waiting for tourist fish to drop to the from the sky. By the way, the pelicans are waiting for the same thing, and they will stalk you with your bucket of fish. If you dangle the fish too long over the water, the pelican will swoop in and grab it. This is really one of the best wildlife viewing activities in the Florida Keys, since you get such an up-close view of local species in their "natural" environment. Yes, it's a little bit unnatural to regularly feed them so that they are always here, but at least they're not in a tank. And watch out, Tarpon have extremely sharp sand-papery teeth that will cut you if you let them grab more than the fish. We've been there more than once when a slow-reacting tourist didn't whip her hand away in time and got bit. Also at Robbie's are some tourist souvenir booths selling shell jewelry and beads, and you can get an ice cream or drink from Robbie's cooler. They also sell T-shirts if you loved the Tarpon-feeding that much. This is one of the best stops along the Florida Keys, and is located at mile marker 77, on the Bay side. |
