1-19-16

 24 hours in Miami (part 2).

Yesterday afternoon we took a bus out of the city to the Everglades...

There we traded in our bus for an airboat & off we went into the swampy canals.

We were in search of Alligators! Bob & I had never seen one in the wild & we were excited. Fingers crossed we'd see one today.

Because of the temps (it was VERY cold) the guides were not optimistic about spotting an alligator. In these conditions alligators usually lay under the water to keep warm. On warm days they're soaking in the sun on the grassy banks.

The Everglades were massive! One canal was 8 miles long. Originally the canals were trenched in an attempt to drain the water & develop the land. FAIL…now it's a popular alligator tourist area.

"There's one!!!!" I'm nervous. Can you see him?

Here's an up close & personal view. "Yikes!"

He is BIG…look at his head from his tail!

We found another one!! Now this alligator gave me a scare. He had his eye on me & was waiting until the boat pulled a little further forward...then he jumped. I screamed!!! :-/ Wouldn't you?! 

We cruised the Everglades more…looking and looking. Happy we found 2 gators in the wild. Now look closely at the photo above. In the trees on the right side…a giant Iguana! Wow!

Then to a show by the Gator Boys. Here are the actors!

And this guy was the star! :-)

Um…no thanks!

As tame as you may think this alligator was…he wasn't. This was no joke & you should never try this at home! One trainer lost his thumb recently. :-(

Not sure I'd turn my back on this alligator after embarrassing him in front of an audience. Crazy! We were able to talk with the trainer after the show. Florida gets at least one call a day from someone needing an alligator removed from their yard or premises. I guess AZ folks live with rattlers and FL folks live with gators.

Now we're off to Punta Cana, DR this morning (1/19). No, we didn't take a cruise ship…but did pass by the long line of ships on our way to the Miami airport. It was a fun 24 hours!