We arrived in Fort Lauderdale a week ago on a flight from Boston, stopping briefly in Baltimore to change planes. The weather here is very different from the north of the USA, and we have enjoyed the warm balmy air and great beach near the apartment we booked for a week for a song on the internet just before leaving Boston.
We planned to hire a car and visit the Everglades National Park, and Key Largo on the Florida Keys, both just south of Miami and not far south from here. But after a couple of days in the warm Florida air we realized how weary we had become from all the rushing around over the past four months, so we spent the whole week lounging about and walking on the beach. But we did go on a boat tour on the extensive Fort Lauderdale canal system, seeing many of the waterside mansions and boats that line the canals. We passed by Port Everglades, Fort Lauderdale's port from which many cruise ships ply the waters of the Caribbean and South America, and we saw a few monster cruise ships in dock.
We also saw a kitschy alligator show from which we learned a few interesting facts about Florida alligators. The host claimed their brains are the size of a walnut, but we found that hard to believe considering the size of all the beast's other organs! He also claimed their eyes did not rotate in their sockets and the animal therefore could only see sideways, relying on touch for forward-sensing. To demonstrate this he carefully put his arm between the beast's open jaws, and there was no response; the gator stayed motionless. But then he deliberately brushed softly against its snout and the jaws instantly snapped shut with a percussive bang that made the audience jump. The host claimed that Florida alligators' teeth and jaws are unsuited to chewing, and its prey is therefore restricted to small animals that it can swallow whole. An adult human might suffer bad bites from the critter but will not be eaten. We found that reassuring information should we ever make it to the Everglades National Park where alligators abound.
This morning we packed our bags and checked out of the hotel. We had mixed feelings because in leaving Fort Lauderdale, our USA adventure was nearing an end. We had travelled more than 12,000 km by car, a similar distance by air, and yet we had barely scratched the surface of all the great places and sights throughout this vast country. Hopefully we'll be back before too long.
