We were all up very late this morning after having a good meal last night. We felt at home with roti canai and chicken curry for breakfast. Even the coffee was Malaysian kopi “o”. By 12 noon we were ready to leave for the Everglades National Park.

It was a fairly long drive in excess of 40 miles from Miami and the first stop was at the Ernest F Coe visitors centre. The stop there was essential as the centre provided all the necessary information we needed and where one could pick up a free brochure about the Everglades and other Florida National Parks. Apparently the Everglades was in danger of loosing its natural habitats due to irrigation and management of water as a result of developments. Now that the danger had been recognised and remedial efforts to restore it had been fairly successful, nothing is yet saved for good and it remains the mandate of mankind.

Water from Kissimmee River once flowed freely to Lake Okeechobee which when full overflowed its Southern banks into the low-lying areas into the Biscayne Bay, the Ten Thousand Islands and Florida bay. For thousands of years this intricate system evolved into a finely balanced ecosystem until the settlers dream of draining the swamplands took hold in the first half of 1800s. You can read more about the Everglades here.

We drove on 4 miles to the Royal Palm for a visit to the Ahinga Trail where it could be guaranteed that one would be able to spot the alligators in the marshlands. It was fairly difficult to spot them as they lay submerged in the water but spot them we did. Although we could see mostly the heads above the water I learnt that by measuring the distance between the eyes and and the tip of the mouth in inches gives the equivalent in feet the length of the alligator. The biggest one we saw was about 10 feet long.

On the way out we saw a turtle, one of the endangered species amongst many others including the manatee. We then drove on another 10 miles further on to Pa-hay-okee Overlook where we could see for miles into the distance at the wetlands. On the way waling back to the car, as Alison was taking photos of some wild flowers I suddenly realised that there were hundreds of mosquitoes on my legs. I quickly alerted the others and we ran for our lives, literally as the mosquitoes were clinging to every bit of flesh or clothing. Well, we survived!! but I cant imagine how the earlier explorers did.

Then it was time to quench our thirst at the fruit stall we saw on the way in, “Robert Is Here”. I had the old simple sugar cane juice while the others had more exotic concoctions. The stall had been operating since 1960 and had all the fruits under the sun with the exception of Durians, and all grown in the farms locally.

We got back to Susie's at about 5.30pm and after a couple of hours rest it was time for dinner. We went to a Cuban restaurant where they specialise in seafood and I had my fill of oysters. We were supposed to share a main course but after the entrée of mixed seafood and my shrimp bisque I couldn't eat any more. Be forewarned that the expected tip in the evenings in Miami is 20% otherwise don't go back to the restaurant!!