Everglades Adventure - Day 6 Alligator Alley

Day 6 - Alligator Alley

I had planned, after yesterdays conversation with the family from St Louis, a trip on the glass bottom boat. The boat ran out of John Pennenkamp National Park and that was located on Key Largo…  one of the islands connected by a single road to the mainland. I booked online and set off early to be there for the first trip out. 

The route to Key Largo ran first through a bit of Homestead, a smallish town South of Miami, the one with all the flower growers and then stretched South to the keys. 

It was a fairly pleasant journey and the aircon in the car made the burning sunshine bearable.

I reached the park, parked up and hopped out to survey the beach. Whitish sand lined the shore on which were placed 4 cannons, found by fishermen and traced back to HMS Winchester. It was a beautiful day, if slightly breezy. The breeze meant that the mosquitos couldn't fly so I was having a brief respite from being bitten, which meant it was already a good day. 

I showed my ticket but they had no record of my booking. Turned out that because I have lost track of the day and date, I booked it for the next day!! 

Oops. They did say however that it wasn't running today due to the wind and that ot may be the same tomorrow but they would phone me if they needed to cancel. 

Slightly disappointed I had to rearrange my plans. I decided to move my plans for tomorrow to today in the hope that a boat trip would be possible tomorrow. 

So I got in the car once again and drove back up the road of the Keys. Key Largo was a bit of a strange place...a long thin strip of buildable land, filled with dive shops and kayak hire and places to eat. 

I didnt really see anything to stop for particularly so kept going out of the keys and back onto the mainland where I headed up to the north part of the Everglades where I planned to do one of the boardwalk trails and a longer hike. I gained entrance to the park but to my immense fruatration couldnt find anywhere at all to park. It was as bad as trying to park at  the Royal Berkshire Hospital after 0800. I went round and round for about 30 minutes before giving up and heading further up the road to Big Cypress Preserve. 

On the way, I noticed a sign for airboat rides through the Everglades and basically thought why not. I turned into the parking lot and bought a ticket for the next boat out! 

It was a bit of a tourist trap to be sure but I boarded the boat, the engines went on and we headed out, immediately to the left of a big black alligator! 

He sat there without blinking at the disturbance, despite the roar of the engine, which shattered his morning peace. 

We picked out speed as we cruised. over the top of the grasses. It was nice enough, a boat ride in the sunshine. Soon enough our guide slowed and started pointing out the alligators as they appeared. One looked none too happy with us staring at him but the rest didn't seem bothered at all. I guess they had already had several boatloads past. 

Once again I found myself debating the need for such a scar on the silence of this beautiful landscape whilst at the same time delighting in the sightings of these magnificent creatures. 

I skipped the 'have a photo taken with the man holding the alligator'... If they weren't going to let me hold it then I wasn't interested 😂

Back on the road again and I headed up to the Big Cypress Preserve. 

I rolled into the visitor centre, parked up and noticed some. chaps looking into the river next to the road. I wandered over to see an alligator lounging on the bank. I stood there and photographed him. for a few minutes then wandered over the other side of the road where the heron was also contemplating a scaly friend. It was one of those pictures where you wonder what the subject was thinking. 

The boardwalk in front of the visitor centre also provided a good alligator spotting point for those that were in the the water. 

It seemed that I had spent too much time driving today and I was eager to actually do some walking. Just in front of the visotor centre was the start of the Florida Scenic Trail which stretches a long way through Florida. I, of course was not going to do a substantial portion of the trail in the time I had left today, bit I figured I could at least walk for an hour or so. 

The trail bordered a small airport and then headed out into the sunken forests of the preserve. Once again the trail turned into a river pretty quickly and once again I found myself with the familiar feeling of water seeping over the tops of my walking boots. Soon I was wading nearly thigh deep in cool water…. again. 

Up ahead when I was halfway through the first sunken stretch I was surprised to see a couple of people also wading through the water…  I didnt think anyone else would be quite so…  well…  unworried about wading through swamp water. 

I caught up with them quickly and we chatted away as we waded through ever deeper sections of water. 

It turned out they were staying in Flamingo campsite tonight and before I forged a bit further ahead, we agreed to meet up later. I waded further on, boots now full of water but after rounding several bends and finding the trail still underwater, decided to turn round. I caught up with the two of them again and we waded through the water back towards the visitor centre, swapping trail stories and tips on where to go next. 

We parted ways at the visitor centre and I jumped back in the car and headed back to Bobcat boardwalk and the Tram trail, where I finally managed to find a parking space. 

The tram trail is 15 miles around and as it was getting a bit late in the day I wouldn't be able to do it all. The evening sunshine was warm and it was perfect to just stroll along, watching the various birds that flew across the path. It didnt take long before a dark shape loomed up in the grass on the bank, right next to the path. An Alligator catching the last of the sun's warmth was right there, as close to me as I could have hoped for. A selfie with a gator is never a bad thing and I took several. He wasn't huge, 5 to 6ft maybe. He lay there, unmoved by me and not caring how much I was excited by his presence. 

The evening air was fresh and the walk was peaceful despite there being a fair few people about. Occasionally a barking sound could be heard and eventually I chanced upon the author of the sound…  an Anhinga bird, wings stretched out to catch the warmth from the dying rays of the day. They were quite majestic creatures and he clearly knew it…  preening to the tourists and preparing for his photo! 

It was soon time to turn round and I headed back to the car, past the gator still basking. 

The sunset on the drive back was spectacular…  but I was unable to capture it in all its glory. I was actually a little chilly when I arrived back in the campsite so I huddled down in my sleeping bag. Not much later I heard my name being whispered outside my tent…. 

the couple I had met earlier had come to find me. I shoved my shoes on and we wandered over to their eco tent. I spent a couple of hours with them chatting about travels and politics and the differences between our countries.  Trump and the Queen, guns and Brexit. All the topics that inevitably come up when a brit and an american have a chat. It was fun! On the way back to my tent I sweeed the road with my headtorch in my ever ongoing search for a snake in the wild. 

It had been a busy day and it was now well past midnight. I snuggled up in my sleeping bag and fell asleep to the sound of the cicadas.