Three Go To Orlando. Day 11 Miami & the Everglades 11th October 2012

[nickymouse66]

It was a really early start today, we had to be at the Rosen Inn for 6.20am to be picked up for Miami and the Everglades, we got there slightly early, so popped in and got a coffee while we were waiting. When we got on, we were given our breakfast bags and, after a couple more stops, we were on our way.
After a couple of hours, we stopped at Fort Pierce services for a comfort break (there was a Wendys, Earl of Sandwich, Dunkin Donuts plus other food options) and we had 20 minutes there before we had to be back on the bus.

The journey took around 4 hours, but to be honest it went quite quickly & we were soon in Miami, where the people not going to the Everglades were dropped off & given instructions where to meet us later, we then continued our journey – the tour guide pointed out various points of interest and told us lots of things about the area, like the none native trees that were planted, struck by lightning & subsequently burned and burned until the landscape looked like this



We eventually reached our destination



which was quite a quirky place & these guys greeted us

[IMG][/IMG]



According to our coach tour guide, we were exceptionally lucky to get the airboat pilot that we did



he is a third generation swamp man, complete with scars where the 'gators have nibbled him & the most incredible voice I have ever heard! He actually called to the 'gators and they came, as did the wild birds, who he fed while talking to us



He was so knowledgeable about the area, the birds, animals, reptiles and plants, we really enjoyed it



it was amazing to see & hear and he apparently took us to areas that none of the other guides are allowed to go – I'm ashamed that I can't remember his name but I can honestly say I'll never forget that voice!

When we got back to dry land after around 40 minutes, we went to an animal handling show. Tom was the animal handler & he was the equivalent of the UK 'animal man' who takes a selection of small animals & reptiles to schools etc – he had a scorpion, a toad & various sized aligators among other creatures, happily, he didn't wrestle the huge aligator in the pen with him, but did demonstrate how he had taught her to 'smile' and how she snapped her jaws.



It was really entertaining and lasted around 20 mins. Cody had her picture taken with a small gator and a rooster that was just wondering around outside,



we had a quick look around the shop, then we were back on the coach to get to the Bayside Marketplace for lunch. We passed the building which was once where the Cuban immigrants where processed and sometimes detained when they reached the US and was used in the opening scenes of Scarface



and another used in the opening titles of CSI Miami



Lunch cost us $102 at Latin America, of course I had to try the pineapple Mojito (had 2 just to make sure that it was as good as I thought! They came in souvenir plastic glasses),



Mike had a Bud Light with his Mahi Mahi, rice & black beans, Cody had the strawberry lemonade & we both had steak with fries & salad, it was a nice meal which we enjoyed sitting on the harbour almost.


There was live music playing (people were dancing in the square to keep fit, it was unusual to say the least) the sun was blazing & it all felt very up beat.
After lunch, we browsed in some of the shops before boarding the boat for the 90 minute Star Island Cruise

which went round the harbour with stunning views of the Miami skyline


& then out past the beautiful homes of the rich and famous. If I'm honest, we hadn't heard of some of the home owners as we are not really into US sports, but we did see the home of Gloria & Emilio Estefan – it was very relaxed and there were some lovely photo ops.



Next we were back on the bus with South Beach as our destination, in my opinion the beach at Clearwater had much nicer sand,

but we really enjoyed eating ice cream watching the kite surfers and paddling in the warm sea until the sun went down.


We got back on to the bus ready to head back to Orlando & passed a branch of Walgreens which apparently had once been a gym where Cassius Clay trained as a young man, sadly we didn't get a picture through the bus window as it was getting dark.



We had another comfort stop at Fort Pierce on the way back, and got back to I Drive around midnight, it had been a long day, but had been quite relaxed, so we enjoyed the walk back to our hotel and it was quite a nice feeling knowing we had a much easier day tomorrow.

[Cinderella]

Another interesting day

[MOUSEMARSH]

Gotta love Miami

[nickymouse66]

It was definitely another hi-light, a long day but so worth it

[orlandosgr8]

Another really great day, I love reading about all these different tours and places you have visited

[nickymouse66]

Glad you are enjoying them

[elliemay]

Goregeous trip report., bought back memories as we had the same guy on our airboat ride., really lovely to listen to

[nickymouse66]

Originally Posted by elliemay

Goregeous trip report., bought back memories as we had the same guy on our airboat ride., really lovely to listen to

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Wasn't his voice amazing! I've never heard anyone like him

[disneydaft70]

What a fantastic day! You've encouraged me to look more into this. Can I ask who you booked the trip with and how much it was per person? It sounds tiring but if I book it with a quiet day the following day I'm sure we'll survive

JA x

[nickymouse66]

I booked through Undercover Tourist, it cost £70 each, its £60 for children & included was the Star Island Cruise, the airboat ride, the animal show and all transport. You can book direct with Grey Line/Gator Tours & the main UK ticket agents book it too. It is a long day, but we found that we weren't as worn out as some of the other days as it was quite relaxing HTH