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Published: February 13th 2007
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Gator Petting
Here is me petting a Gator. They really are lovable and peaceful animals! I enjoyed Key West, but was ready to move on. I am not the type to lay on the beach as I need something to do.
In general it seems like the drive away from a place that I have been to for several days is always a little sad, but arriving at the new place is always exciting.
Arrived at the Florida City Hostel around 4:30. There were a few folks with dreadlocks and no shirts drinking beer. I was not sure what to think of that. Additionally, there were Bob Marley pictures along with psychedelic drawings around the Hostel. I read where they were having a communal dinner that night and the cost was only $3.00. Decided to sign up for that. Also saw where they were giving a tour of the Everglades for $60 the next day, which I decided to sign up for. The supper was very good. I sat around and talked to a German guy Uli and two Dutch women Jackie and Miekelotte. I had a blast listening to them talk about their day. It was great listening to Jackie talk about her experience with the Manatees. She was so happy. They were
Strike a Pose
I asked this egret for a photo and to strike a pose. This is what he did. I like it. doing Soduko puzzles and Uli kept refusing to do them. It was a great dynamic.
1/24/06
That night I slept very little as the guy below me was snoring. We left for the Everglades tour around 9:30. We went to Anhinga Park first and saw lots of gators and birds. One bird had speared a small catfish and another bird was trying to steal his lunch. It was interesting. We then went to hike through the Everglades on foot. We were about shin deep in the water. It was rather intense as the guide said he had seen small gators in the one area where we would hike through. He was very deliberate walking through the swamp and made sure to bump each log before crossing it to make sure there were no snakes. There are 4 poisonous snakes in the Everglades. We made it out of their alive and headed to the very end of the Everglades road, where we saw some crocodiles. The guide said crocodiles are more dangerous and the Everglades are one of the few places, if not the only place in the world, where the 2 cohabitate. They are normally enemies of each other.
Nice !
What can I say? We also saw some Osprey. They are almost as big as Eagles.
We then left to go canoeing. We saw several alligators in the water. This too was a little unnerving. We paddled for about 1.5 hours. It was the dry season so the water level was pretty shallow. It was very cool paddling through the mangroves. When we were virtually back from the paddle I began paddling hard for awhile and was a little noisy. About 30 yards from our position a big alligator went flying off the bank into the water. It startled me a little, but he didn’t come after us.
At the Hostel they had decided to have another communal dinner. Again it was very good and the price at $3.00 is hard to beat. Again I sat around with the Dutch girls and Uli. I again enjoyed Jackie describing her Manatee experiences to anybody who would listen. I conned Jackie into watching a Bruce DVD. I had gone several days with no Boss and that had been tough on me.
1/25/06
Got up the next day and decided to start heading towards Cape Canaveral. Both Jackie and Uli offered me places to
Catfish for Breakfast
This bird stabbed this catfish with it's bill and then couldn't get it off the bill. Several other birds were harrassing it trying to get the catfish away from it. Entertaining! stay in Amsterdam and Germany respectively, when I go over there. I hated to leave them as I really enjoyed their company, but thought I should keep moving. I cleaned out my truck trying to get a little organized and then it started raining. Uli offered to help me pack and I took him up on that offer when it started raining. We hap-hazardly through things in the truck in the rain and I was on my way. Uli had rented a Harley to drive around during his stay, which he also owns in Germany. Uli would hvae to wait the rain out before he left for the day.
The owner of the Hostel asked me how I slept the second night and I told her well as the guy didn’t show up at all. She said she knew that, as she had made him sleep outside. I felt bad for the man. She said she knows he can’t help snoring, and went on to say but he is interrupting the privacy of the other people. She said that’s why she has the tents outside.
My Florida City Hostel stay turned out to be great!
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Millikin Mark
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Noisy nights
Dave, you stayed with us a couple nights at BFC in Pass Christian, MS. We had a similar problem with noisy nights, given there were about 20 guys sleeping in the bunk house. Get yourself a good set of disposable ear plugs and you will be set for the trip! Looking forward to seeing your pictures and following your journey. We'll be praying for you too!