Day 4

Day 4

Today is the day, the reason we drove all the way to Fort Lauderdale: the Everglades. We wake up early, get to our meeting point on time, and start our day long safari. Marc is our tour guide; he seems nice, very knowledgeable and ready to share his knowledge. The day is warm, slightly overcast and we are in good spirits. It takes us almost two hours to get to our first stop, but Marc fills up the time with history, biology, botanics, and engineering information about the Everglades. This is not, as it was believed (and as I believed before today), a swamp. See, there is a river, Kisseemmee River, flowing from one lake into another, until it reaches Okeechobee Lake, and then slowly continues towards the Ocean. However, after leaving the lake, it flows so slowly and is spread so widely that it was mistaken for a long time for a swamp. Also it is not very deep, knee high in most places, which allows vegetation to flourish all over and essentially cover it. From the highway, it looks like a see of grass and weeds, and you can't tell there's water underneath; only once in a while you can see a water path cut into the vegetation by the airboats.

Speaking of which, our first stop is an airboat ride in the Everglades. Mikey is excited and at the same time worried about the alligators. Marc and another tour guide talk to him and reassure him that gators are scared of people and will not attack unless provoked. He gets himself together and we board the airboat. The weather is perfect, we are in a small group, plenty of time for questions and jokes, and plenty of things to see. The boat captain slows down or completely stops so we can see and snap pictures of alligators, turtles, herons, turkey vultures, cranes, storks, and other birds that I don't even remember.

Mikey is cautiously looking for the gators, and smiles excitedly once he spots them. All in all we saw at least a dozen. Most of them sunning on the banks or in the shallow waters, too lazy (or too full) to move, barely glimpsing in our direction; completely inoffensive as long as we keep our distance. At times we speed up, and I love the smooth flight over the sea of grass, the blue sky, the breeze and the feeling of Mother Nature.

After the ride we climb back up in the air conditioned van and continue through the Big Cypress National Preserve. Now, this is a swamp. Mark keeps talking and talking, and I am already in information overload, but he is also very good about slowing down or stopping on the side of the road so we can spot wildlife. Mostly alligators. They are doing exactly the same thing: sunning, not moving, barely breathing, giving us conceited looks. Mikey keeps counting them, all in all over 20.

And more birds. In the middle of the Preserve we stop and go on a nature walk. It's spring here, the end of the dry season, so the swamp is dried out. We don't see any animals, just plenty of plants, and we (I - since Mikey does not care much about plants) learn a lot about epiphytes (plants that grow on other plants, such as Spanish moss), cypress trees, and the strangler fig.

The walk takes about an hour, and when we're done all you can hear around are stomachs growling. So we head out to Everglades City for lunch. Mikey puts a good dent in his French fries adult portion and has half a bottle of ketchup with them, but does not touch anything else. I eat his alligator bites as well (taste like chicken, not the chewy, slightly fishy taste that I remember), and down my iced coffee in a few gulps. Marc is keeping us on track, everything is timed and we can't take our time like we'd like to.

Final stop: Chokoloskee Island where we start on our second boat ride of the day. As soon we leave, we spot beautiful little islands, made up entirely of red mangroves. Their roots, half way out of the water, form intricate lattices and have a surreal feeling.

I wonder what would it be like to set food on an island like this. The boat captain says probably not a good idea, not a lot of solid ground above the water, just dead leaves and branches caught between the roots, you can't walk on air.  Mikey and I try to count the islands but soon enough realize why they are called The Thousand Island and give up. Instead we take them in. We spot more egrets, lots of ospreys, a huge eagle nest, and finally dolphins. The first one hangs around us for a while, I guess he knows Mikey is on board and wants to show off for a bit, and nothing can wipe the smile off Mikey's face. I tell him I will not take pictures, I want to enjoy the dolphin's brief appearances with him. The dolphin jumps out of the water and splashes around us for a good 5 minutes, then waves good bye and he's on his way. And we on ours. Later we spot another one, but this is a very brief encounter. We get out for a bit into the Gulf of Mexico, just enough for us to see the immensity of the water meeting the sky in front of us. Then we turn around, through the mangrove islands, back to shore.

We visit the Smallwood Museum (used to be a store, and is full of antiques now, which I love). This was the last stop of our tour, and we are both tired. The purr of the engine and Marc's voice put us both to sleep.

What I loved most about today? Being away from people, buildings, traffic and crowded places. The immensity of the Everglades, the green, yellow and tan of the vegetation and the waters ranging from indigo to green, the animals and the plants, the fresh air, the sense of the immensity of Mother Nature. I also loved Mikey's smile when he saw the dolphins and the gators, him asking questions, conquering his anxiety about the alligators, and the experience that we shared today. After all, this was his idea. I just made it happen!