The Florida Everglades – USA 7/1/17 – 9/1/17

(t) The next day we set off for the Everglades and decided to take a few towns in on the west coast on the way down. First stop had to be Fort Myers, always good to stop at a namesake. Once again another lovely town with some great rusted metal sculptures dotted around. We didn’t spend too much time here, quick wander and then onto Naples. Naples is a very affluent town with huge, gorgeous town houses and more Ferrari’s than you can shake a stick at. We had also arrived on the day of the art show so all down the main street were stalls displaying and selling all sorts of amazing artwork. We had a walk along the beach whilst we discussed which beach house (read mansion) we were going to buy when we win the lotto. We then stopped off in Chokoloskee (a wee bit Deliverance!) to watch the sun go down, we sat in rocking chairs at a campsite huddled in jackets and scarves as it was freezing! Onto the hotel and once checked in we ventured out for dinner and found a great Thai restaurant – makes such a change from burger joints or Mexican.
In the morning we headed for the Everglades National Park, we hadn’t even driven 2 minutes before we saw a huge alligator just sunning by the side of the road. We did a few different walking tracks through the mangroves which is full of turtles, alligators and numerous birds including huge vultures giving you the evil eye from high vantage points. A drive down to Flamingo which is the most southern point where we had the chance again to view Manatees fro the dock side, we did see a few but the water is quite murky, better for them as they can sleep peacefully.
The next day we visited the Miccosukee Indian Village to see how they live, cook, weave, carve and catch alligators. The little museum was very interesting with regards to how this once fairly populated area was cleared of its human residents to rebuild the area as a preserve. After a quick lunch (we decided against the alligator burgers) we went for an air boat ride through the everglades to what was once a little indian settlement. The ride was awesome, skimming over the reeds and lilies, the water so flat it perfectly reflected the sky and clouds above. We were a bit worried at one time as after a big bang the engine cut out!!!! We hadn’t hit anything we shouldn’t have fortunately but of all the places to be stranded! Anyway, our driver soon fixed the problem and off we went. So pleased we had the chance to do the airboat as most places now ban them.