Actually, one of the most awesome sights we saw on the Cruise, was right in our own backyard. We had about half a day to kill at the end before we could catch our flight back home, so we opted for a tour of the Everglades. Who knows when we would be in that area again and we wanted to see the Everglades while they are still here. No surprise that they are disappearing at an alarming rate. Our guide showed us a point in the city and said he wanted us to remember it. I think it was 114th street or something like that. That is where the original everglades had been at like 20 years ago. From that point, we drove for about 45 minutes through nothing but strip malls and run down houses before we got to the present-day everglades. What an object lesson in what a poor job we are doing in preserving the environment!
We got to ride in one of those airboats, which is apparently about the only way to get through the everglades. It's very loud, but pretty exciting, especially when it skids around corners and you feel like you might tip over. The water was full of saw grass, lotus stems, and lots of this dense underbrush, all of it chock full of poisonous snakes, snapping turtles, alligators, crocodiles, and iguanas. Definitely not a place where you want to get out and explore on your own! But as long as you stay in the airboat, you can see some pretty amazing stuff. There were beautiful birds every where - wood storks, whooping cranes, roseate spoonbills, and pretty little multicolored birds.
There are also alligators and things that you can see right from the boat. They would stop the boat every so often and point out a little bump here and there that was a large crocodile or alligator (I couldn't tell the difference!) sunning itself in the mud.
They had a show where this crazy guy went and got in the pen barefoot with 6 or 8 full grown alligators all around him. He seemed pretty casual about it, but said that the previous week one of them had whipped a big tail into his chest and cracked two ribs - wow! He went around and petted each one of them and told us it's name and then fed each of them some chicken, by hand. A couple of them snapped at him, but I guess he's pretty used to that. Not a job I would want by any means.
Tony even got to hold a baby alligator. His name was "Snappy". I was glad he was doing it and not me. Besides the fact that they bite, you can get diseases from those buggers! I made him wash his hands really well after this. It looks like he's just standing out there holding this alligator, but the crazy, barefoot guy is just right outside camera range in case Snappy decides to take a little Snap of his own!
Actually, one of the most awesome sights we saw on the Cruise, was right in our own backyard. We had about half a day to kill at the end before we could catch our flight back home, so we opted for a tour of the Everglades. Who knows when we would be in that area again and we wanted to see the Everglades while they are still here. No surprise that they are disappearing at an alarming rate. Our guide showed us a point in the city and said he wanted us to remember it. I think it was 114th street or something like that. That is where the original everglades had been at like 20 years ago. From that point, we drove for about 45 minutes through nothing but strip malls and run down houses before we got to the present-day everglades. What an object lesson in what a poor job we are doing in preserving the environment!
We got to ride in one of those airboats, which is apparently about the only way to get through the everglades. It's very loud, but pretty exciting, especially when it skids around corners and you feel like you might tip over. The water was full of saw grass, lotus stems, and lots of this dense underbrush, all of it chock full of poisonous snakes, snapping turtles, alligators, crocodiles, and iguanas. Definitely not a place where you want to get out and explore on your own! But as long as you stay in the airboat, you can see some pretty amazing stuff. There were beautiful birds every where - wood storks, whooping cranes, roseate spoonbills, and pretty little multicolored birds.
There are also alligators and things that you can see right from the boat. They would stop the boat every so often and point out a little bump here and there that was a large crocodile or alligator (I couldn't tell the difference!) sunning itself in the mud. 
They had a show where this crazy guy went and got in the pen barefoot with 6 or 8 full grown alligators all around him. He seemed pretty casual about it, but said that the previous week one of them had whipped a big tail into his chest and cracked two ribs - wow! He went around and petted each one of them and told us it's name and then fed each of them some chicken, by hand. A couple of them snapped at him, but I guess he's pretty used to that. Not a job I would want by any means. 
Tony even got to hold a baby alligator. His name was "Snappy". I was glad he was doing it and not me. Besides the fact that they bite, you can get diseases from those buggers! I made him wash his hands really well after this. It looks like he's just standing out there holding this alligator, but the crazy, barefoot guy is just right outside camera range in case Snappy decides to take a little Snap of his own! 
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