on 6 September 1622 near Key West. The cache of $450 million included more than 100,000 Spanish "Pieces of Eight," gold coins, Columbian emeralds, silver and gold artifacts, and more than 1,000 silver bars.

That night, I was ready to go bar hopping on Duval Street, which boasts a New Orleans Bourbon Street-like nightlife, but my hubby was tired. Compromising, we walked to Sloppy Joe's Bar for one drink.

Decorated with Hemingway photos and marine flags, this famous watering hole is always crowded, noisy, and steeped in beer. We elbowed our way in, figuring that we couldn't leave Key West without raising a glass to the island's most legendary resident in his favorite bar.

We left Key West the next day, planning an overnight stay on Islamorada. Passing some of the 1,700 islands, or keys (most of them are tiny and uninhabited), I felt neither here nor there, more in a twilight zone of locations known simply by their numbered mile markers.

We stopped to take sunset photos, lingering until the afterglow disappeared and then drove right past our lodging on Islamorada. We backtracked and arrived at La Siesta Resort.

The key's original name, Islas Moradas (pronounced eye-la mor-ah-das), translates to purple isles. Pick the name derivation, as no one knows if it's from the purple-shelled snail or the colors of the orchids and bougainvillea. I found the place enticingly full of mystery and intrigue.

I awoke immediately the next morning when the sun's ochre rays filtered into the room. I crept to the sliding-glass door, opened the drape, and found... an amazing sight. A hammock rested between two palms by the patio and a huge swirl of sand like a labyrinth garden lay beyond.

I wanted to enter and follow the path, but hesitated. My footsteps would desecrate the pattern, like making tracks through freshly fallen snow. Yet I couldn't resist. I had

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