Luckily we've got 7 people signed up for todays tour so we're going out. It costs $35 including a T shirt (which I wear with pride as I write this). Having signed our lives away we headed off to the park.
The first stop was a walking trail, a rather leisurely stroll with nature. We got to see lots of wildlife, flowers, trees, wading birds, fish, turtles, snakes and a 10 foot Alligator up close in the wild. The trail kind of reminds me of the trail around Fleet pond, but with alligators and turtles and no drunken teenagers.
It may seem funny to say that I felt perfectly safe being only 10 foot away from a 10 foot alligator with no bars to protect. You see I've been to Detroit. The are very docile creatures, they hardly move unless they have to and they don't normally go for a human unless antagonised. You see we're too big for them to swallow. They only grow to about 16 foot. When asked what 'gators eat, the guide said "Anything that swims past their snout". Very reassuring considering I'm about to go canoeing out there. Alligators can go 6 months without eating and this one looked pretty well fed.
Once finished with the walking trail we loaded up in the van and headed further into the Everglades to do a canoe trail. When we stopped it was hard to see the opening in the mangroves that we were supposed to get our 17.5 foot 2 man canoes through. We all got aboard our canoes and started our 2 mile trail through the tunnels formed in the mangrove bushes. The water was very clear, but red in colour. Not from blood, but from the dye in the trees. As we moved bubbles came up to the surfaces that released the recognisable smell of rotten eggs as we disturbed the decomposing leaves on the river bed. Ahh the smell of nature.
It was full of wildlife, although we didn't get to see any gators, turtles or snakes on this portion of the tour. They are out there. It was heaven for mozzies and hell for humans. I covered myself in insect repellant and wore a long sleeved top and trousers and the critters still got through, mainly on my ankles.
Halfway round the trail we tied up the canoes and sat round and had lunch. It was so cool. Sat in a canoe in the middle of the Everglades, with the sun beating down, feet in the water, having some lunch. It was so peaceful. It was one of those moments when you turn to guide and ask him why he works here. Ahh if only Americans understood sarcasm. I can see perfectly well why he's here and very appealing it is too.
The only bad thing was my canoeing partner, who was at the back of the canoe and therefore in charge of steering. He said he'd steered one before, but it didn't appear that way. He was very slow to react in the tight mangrove tunnels, but I was the only one who returned with leaves and cobwebs in my teeth.
A lot of people think the Everglades is a swamp. Infact it's more like a very wide, shallow river. It's not how I expected it to be. It has a solid limestone base with about 2 foot of water flowing over the top. All you can see is green sawgrass growing out of the limestone and through the water, so flat bottomed boats are the order of the day. Everywhere looks the same so it is very easy to get lost. The park only allows hand propelled boats, as airboats and boats with engines are distructive and disrupt the wildlife.
I had an amazing time. As with my safari earlier in the year it's great to see wildlife upclose and in the wild. It's so much nicer.
Back at the hostel I find it strange that people only seem to stay here for 1 or 2 nights when there is so much to do. There are 3 blokes who have been here for 3 years. I can see why. It is very appealing and I'll be back.
One of my new roommates is a french guy who seemed to feel that being French wasn't enough reason for me to hate him. He was surprised when I said that I was only 28. He told me he thought I was 35. At least Kev only thought I was 23. I asked the French guy his name, but I can't even pronouce it, let alone spell it.
