Everglades National Park is a huge swamp in Florida, home to a large number of American alligators. This post takes place back in January of this year, before I went on a cruise to the Panama Canal. Although you could consider it a continuation of the story about Key West.
I got to the park from Fort Lauderdale, a major cruise port for Holland America Line. I haven't written anything about the cruise itself yet, but I'll definitely get there.
There are many companies offering airboat safaris in the national park. I wanted to book a private trip on a small boat, but it was too late and there were no seats left. For a trip on a large boat, you don't need to book anything, you can buy tickets on the spot. The boat leaves every 30 minutes.
The journey takes about 40 minutes.
As with any safari, you need to understand that there is a risk of not meeting anyone. And especially on a trip like this, which lasts only 40 minutes. Apparently, tourists usually swear a lot when they don’t find crocodiles. That’s why the captain was incredibly happy when we saw the first crocodile! 🙂
Caught a green monster:
The crocodile was very surprised by the attention, but was not scared and posed for tourists for a long time.
An almost complete road has been laid across the swamp:
Water lilies are blown away by the wind from the engine:
Besides crocodiles, there are other animals in the swamp:
Why are water lilies green?
To make it easier for the crocodile to hide!
This crocodile was already lying practically at the entrance to the park. Probably fed.
The boats have very powerful propellers, you definitely don't need to stick your hands in there:
It would be interesting to steer such a flat-bottomed boat.
And this is a smaller option, just right for private trips:
Achtung! The crocodile is angry. Fingers click-click.
After the boat ride, everyone went to watch the crocodile show.
The impression is twofold. On the one hand, the whole show consisted of a lazy fat crocodile climbing out of the water and walking back and forth. In Thailand, there is more variety.
On the other hand, in Thailand the crocodiles are battered and, in my opinion, drugged, which makes a very depressing impression. Here, the American crocodile is contented and well-fed.
There is also a small zoo on the territory.
The crocodile often lies on land with its mouth open. It does this for thermoregulation and also so that birds can peck out the remains of food from its mouth.
The crocodile mimics a log:
The toothy one is sleeping...
And this is clearly a crocodile family:
We rented the most popular car in Miami. We could return it not far from the cruise ship terminal, which is what we took advantage of.
Source: travel.ru
