GATORADE

It just wouldn’t be a trip to Florida without a trip to the Everglades. So of course, we obliged. They are far closer to Miami than you would imagine, with the park itself stretching as far north as Orlando almost. It’s a pity that this ecosystem looks likely to sustain some long-term damage from the oil spill and the inadequacy of BP, but enough about that.

We went to the Everglades Alligator Park (http://www.everglades.com/) which offered an opportunity to (as the name suggests) get up and close with Alligators. Very close in fact. The fences are by no means thick. It’s just your standard fencing (the stuff you see at music festivals). That’s it. If you stick your fingers through the holes, bad luck. You will lose your finger. Or get the shit scared out of you as you walk past a docile looking alligator that starts hissing at you and then lunges at the fence when you are half a foot away from it. Yes, that is what happened to me.

We stayed and watched all the shows that the park offered (alligator feeding, alligator wrestling and a snake show). It was the same host for all three, and he was by far the most entertaining host ever. The jokes didn’t stop, and he had an especially good time when he picked out a Belgian girl to be his volunteer for the snake show.

However, we did really go for the true boat ride through the Everglades which we got to achieve, and get wet in doing so. And get very very very very close to the wildlife. So close in that if you put your hand over the side of the boat, you could pat one of the alligators that decided to come and hang out right next to our boat. Apart from that, it’s driving over half water, half vegetation for a solid half hour, and as plain as that sounds, you do get to take in the scenery, which is much more intriguing than it sounds. Oh by the way, it’s not as if they talk you through the Everglades on these boats for the whole thing. The boat is loud. Very loud. And people get wet. The drivers make sure of this.

Good fun had. Back to Miami now.

PS. Because this also doubled as an alligator farm, you can guess what we ate for lunch.