The Sunshine State?

Departing Long Island and arriving in Miami was a bit of a culture shock - after spending 5 solitary days on a fairly deserted island and then suddenly arriving in a massive city with sixteen-lane freeways, it takes us about half an hour to find our way out of the airport. It is also hammering down with rain. Not what anything you read about Florida leads you to believe. Turns out it is not always the Sunshine state. Pretty hurricany, to be honest. We managed to glimpse Miami beach before the heavens open - it looks like it could be an awesome place to hang out on a sunny day - there are colourful life guard towers, cool beach bars and cabanas. I manage to get one picture before it starts bucketing it down. There is only one thing for it, to seek refuge in Bloomingdales and indulge in some commercialism.

 We are staying in the Art Deco district on Ocean Drive and the buildings are spectacular, the art deco architecture is beautifully preserved, they are all painted in strong marine and yellow shades or pastel pinks and fronted by palm trees. It is like being on a film set just strolling along Ocean Drive. Women are of course, roller blading in bikinis and everyone is driving convertible Mustangs. It is out and out glamour, a sightseeing experience in itself and so we stop for a ridiculously pink and overpriced Miami Heat cocktail on Ocean Drive  and people-watch. 

Now we are back in the USA we are determined to have an amazing American steak. It takes some researching but we eventually settle on Prime 112, a famous steakhouse on Ocean Drive. Apparently you usually have to book about 3 weeks in advance, unless you are Beyonce and Jay-Z. Thankfully, perhaps because it is a Wednesday and the weather is shocking, they can indeed squeeze us in. It is full of guys who probably drive Mustangs and models who probably roller-blade by day. Seems to be steak on the menu for the guys and liquid refreshment in the form of martinis for the models. 

We order a 30oz rib-eye steak to share. It arrives on an enormous platter and I start to get the meat sweats just looking at it but my God, it is the best steak that I have ever eaten. Melt in the mouth and perfectly cooked. It is also exciting because Stef is convinced James Cameron is seated at a table next to us. Until 'James' starts speaking French like a true Frenchman. So we are forced to accept perhaps it isn't he of Titanic fame. Merde.

Next day, we are determined to drive to the Florida Keys, and even perhaps make it as far as Key West for a slice of Key Lime pie. 

The Florida Keys actually start a good hour or so out of Miami, and they are a strange wonder indeed - a very long chain of small islands that are now connected by one long road and a series of bridges, including the famous Seven Mile bridge, which, as the name implies, is 7 miles long. I would imagine that it is a beautiful drive down to Key West, with the ocean of Florida Bay on one side and the Gulf of Mexico on the other, lapping the edges of the road. But when the rain is lashing down so much that the car is aqua-planing and you can't see more than about 3 metres in front of the windscreen, you could be anywhere. 

The rain is so bad that all the Key Lime pie bakeries and shops, all of which, of course, claim to serve the best pie on the Keys, are shut. We debate whether it is worth spending 3 hours driving in a thunderstorm to Key West. Then decide that we have nothing better to do and no where to stay that night so we may as well press on and continue the quest for the pie. 

By some miracle, as we drive off Seven Mile bridge, the rain stops and the clouds part. The sun sparkles off the sea on either side of us, we can see loads of tiny islands stretching ahead into the distance. The Keys are a truly amazing sight. We make it to Key West just before sunset, it is a very chic town, the main streets are lined with high-end boutiques and swish hotels. One of which is serving Key Lime pie. Which we washed down with a couple of glasses of wine and watching the sun set, exactly are you are meant to do in the Keys. Then we have to drive back as far away from Key West as we can until we can find a motel we can afford to stay in. 

Next day we get in the car at dawn and are very excited because the sun is shining and we have planned to spend the whole day exploring the Everglades. I am desperate to go on one of those big boats with the huge propellers on the back that glide across the Everglades, as seen in Flipper and Gentle Ben. It turns out they are called airboats so we manage to book on an trip that afternoon.

In the morning, we have planned to go on a 15 mile bike ride through Shark Valley, along on a special trail through the Everglades National Park because we have heard it's a great way to spot wild alligators. We're hoping we might see one or two.  

As we start riding, the sheer size of the Everglades hits me, it is apparently 1.5 million acres and is often described as a 'river of grass'. It's not hard to see why, the sky reflects of marshy water that is covered by dense grasses, as far as the eye can see. It doesn't take long for us to spot some gators. We see a few eyes emerging from the water at the side of the bike trail after we've been riding a few minutes. We stop to take photos, apparently, you only need to panic if gators lunge at you. Then I'm not sure what else you could do but panic, so the advice is that it's just best to hope that doesn't happen. Fair play. As we ride deeper into the park, we start seeing alligators everywhere. It's amazing, and slightly disconcerting having to cycle around 2m-long beasts that are lying on the trail, basking in the sun. We see big ones, baby ones, swimming ones, some that are walking along the trail. It is one of the most fascinating experiences - there are no other Everglades in the world, it has such a unique eco-system where alligators are king and in such plentiful populations, they are everywhere. We can't resist taking photos of each other cycling past alligators. Some people choose to walk the trail but I was glad we were on bikes, just in case we needed to make a quick getaway. We also see lots of herons and Anhingas, birds who warm their wings in the sun. There are also lots of fish and turtles in the shallow water, gator-bait indeed.

That afternoon we arrive at the airboat mooring. Our captain explains that airboats can go up to 60 mph and they are literally air-propelled over the grass and water of the Everglades by the giant propeller at the back. I practically shriek with excitement as we get on board the boat, it is just like the one in Gentle Ben. And do they go quickly, it feels as if we are flying over the wilderness, big alligators cruise in the waters as we scoot along. A points it just looks like the boat is cruising over grass. It's a breathtaking sight - herons and other birds soar around us in the sky and there is nothing but water, sky and grass for miles. 

It is obvious why the Everglades got their name, they do indeed seem to go on forever and it was amazing to see such a bizarre environment and eco-system up close and teeming with life. A great way to end our adventure in Florida. I think we finally saw the sunshine state at its sunny best.

Until the next time, from Bequia in the Grenadines...

Love Beth xxx