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Tropical Breezes Crypto columnist Jenny Rudd and Mat Tomlinson drive across the world-famous bridges of the Florida Keys. The borders are open! We wanted to listen to big ideas about blockchain and have a fun holiday at the same time. The Bitcoin 22 crypto conference was being held in Miami, so we booked our tickets and tacked on a few days beforehand to explore the Florida Keys. After booking the gorgeous Betsy Hotel for a week in Miami, we decided to go where the tropical breeze took us in the Keys, thanks to booking.com’s flexible cancellation policy, an essential in Covid times. Each morning we’d flick through the local hotels on the app, check out the reviews and photos and then book the accommodation. It was super-easy and we found some great deals. Into the vibe After the long flights, we were keen to get straight into the Florida vibe, so we headed to the Tranquility Bay Resort on Marathon, about halfway down between Key Largo and Key West which are at either end of the chain of coral islands. Tranquility Bay turned out to be an upmarket resort with two and three-bedroom weatherboard townhouses painted fresh white and curving round the resort’s private lagoon. Cape Cod chairs were slung with lemon-yellow beach towels and children splashed around with snorkels and masks, looking at colourful coral and tiny fish in warm, shallow water. Three swimming pools, a cute restaurant, beach bar, and plenty of water toys like jet skis and kayaks made this an ideal start to our holiday. In Florida, we discovered the journey is half the fun. Bridge to happiness Driving across the bridges between keys is magical, floating over an undulating blue blanket of sparkles. Pigeon Key, off the world-famous Seven Mile Bridge, is a little dot of land between Marathon and Duck Key. You can access it by foot or bike along the old bridge, or a 10-minute ferry from Faro Blanco Marina in Marathon. WI NTE R 2 0 2 2 | I N F O R M E D I NVESTO R 1 0 2