First I must write something about last night. When I got to bed a loud beeping started, like I need earplugs loud. Felt like a fire alarm but it stopped after about 20 seconds. I looked out into the hallway where another guest said his girlfriend had experienced this at a previous visit and that it at that time was people smoking in the rooms. Got back to bed, just to have the beeping start again 15 minutes later. Again, stopped after a short while.
I tried to call the front desk but no one answered so I got dressed and walked down the three flights of stairs. At the desk there was a woman answering two phones at the same time, no wonder I didn’t get an answer. Based on her side of the conversations I figured out that the alarm was triggered by the kitchen, and that the kitchen would close in roughly 15 minutes (at midnight). I got it confirmed and got back to bed. But we weren’t done yet. A third time within a period of 30 minutes, the alarm set off again. I got a bit frustrated, got dressed, and headed down again. I asked the poor receptionist if the kitchen could stop cooking? But at the time the fire department had arrived and apparently made some sort of control. I waited until they left and then headed up again. Seems like the third time is a charm, the alarm didn’t go off again for the rest of the night.
When I finally got to sleep I slept until the alarm went off at 7. Skipped the morning shower, gets so sweaty right away anyway. Packed my small backpack with water, an action camera, a power bank, a small towel, and a selfie stick. I ate the breakfast I bought last night and then headed down to the street to get picked up.
A marked minivan from Banana Joe Tours with a german guy named Hagen pulled up and with seven others we took off towards the Everglades. As on the trip to Key West earlier we got a lot of information about Miami and the Everglades during the roughly half-hour drive to Everglades Holiday Park. When we arrived we were handed off to an airboat captain whose name I didn’t catch. Quite a humorous guy so when he said he had done this for two weeks, I wasn’t sure if he was joking or not.
He talked about the Everglades as a whole, vegetation, a few birds, and of course, alligators. We saw a total of four “gators”, sometimes they can’t find any so I guess we were lucky. I do have to say I had mixed feelings about going close to the alligators. Circling around them for several minutes. Could be construed as harassment. They didn’t seem to care though, I guess they are used to it. And frankly, they could apparently stay underwater for about six hours so if they just dive they will be left alone.
All in all, it was beautiful out there! After an hour of cruising the canals we got back to the harbor and it was time for the gator show. It was run by the “Gator boys” who take care of alligators who show up in the civilization and would be killed otherwise. I get that it is a dangerous act, but it was quite short and nothing I would recommend on its own. After the show, we got into a small zoo with a couple of albino alligators, a few turtles, a raccoon and then you got to hold a baby alligator and of course, your photo taken.
One thing I have a hard time settling with regarding the USA. Both the airboat captain and the gator boy who did the show stated that they got very little or no money for what they were doing and that their wages basically were our tips. Why should I pay $40 for a guided tour, and then have to pay the person driving the boat? I can get behind the Gator boys if that’s a volunteer organization that takes care of alligators. But then the donations should be addressed to the organization, not the presenter.
After the zoo and the photos we got back into the minivan and headed to Miami. Hagen told us that the Everglades is the reservoir for drinking water for three counties. And there is plenty of water, so my observation about the frequent watering of gardens was not relevant. After that I asked Hagen for tips regarding traffic for my trip to Tampa tomorrow and we got talking about that and lot’s of other stuff and kept talking almost all the way to the hotels. Before dropping me off I got a suggestion of a restaurant, Texas de Brazil which sounded promising.
Back at the hotel I put on my swim trunks, applied lots of sunscreen, grabbed my action camera, and headed off to the beach. Played around in the water, taking photos and filming, both under and above the water. I decided to trust the waterproof bag for the phone and the trust was awarded, the phone was dry when I got back up after about an hour, most of the time the bag being beneath the surface.
When the camera was out of storage I went back to the hotel, grabbed my laptop, and went to the rooftop pool to look at the videos and photos. Went through them once but it was too hot and sunny to be able to do any work, so I jumped into the pool instead. On the opposite side of the pool, there was a couple that had hats with an NFL team on them. I recognized the logo but couldn’t name the team so I asked and it was Buffalo Bills. They were in Miami for the game on Sunday vs the Miami Dolphins. We ended up talking for a couple of hours about the NFL, MLB, gun control, tipping, travel dreams, weather, and much more. Really nice people and I don’t write that just because Matt and Autumn (hope I got your names right) might read this, I really enjoyed our talk. Good luck on Sunday!
Went back to the room and took a shower. Applied some aloe vera on my back and shoulders, they are a bit red 😀 I tried to book a table at Texas de Brazil, but there were no tables available for one person, but I could book for two. So I took an Über there and hope they took walk-ins, and luckily they did. Here you get an all-you-can-eat buffet where the staff brings different meats to your table regularly and also an extensive salad buffet. This with a magnificent view of the Miami harbor, where I watched the sunset while eating delicious food. Couldn’t finish the dessert cause I was too full.
Took a walk along the southern tip of Miami beach and back to the hotel. Passed a park on the way where lots of people had a picnic, romantic moments, or some yoga session. I didn’t think about it being Friday today, but it’s been a lot more people during the whole day and crowded at the different bars and restaurants along Ocean Drive.
Now when I’m finished writing this post it’s time to pack. Picking up a car tomorrow at nine and starting the trip to Tampa.
