Florida is crazy!

Due to some peculiar circumstances Mrs F and I found ourselves holidaying in Southern Florida for five days recently, and I have to say that generally it was an amazing experience and I managed to do another bucket list tick, more on that later.

Firstly I need to address the issue of the Floridian Lizard People who are born on the Sun! In a place where the temperature is around 30c (86f for the Lizard People) and rarely drops below 20c (68f) it is not necessary to carry a sweater around as “it might get a bit cooler later”. Nor is it necessary for Walmart to sell slippers and fleecy pyjamas! You are crazy people! Rant over!

On our first full day we went for an airboat ride out in the Everglades. We had a guy called Gus as our skipper who was awesome. We didn’t see too much wildlife as it is just coming to the end of the rainy season and everything is still spread out across the glades. What we did see was brilliant though, including a close up encounter with an alligator. Side bar – Floridians will pull to the side of the highway and start fishing in a canal that has alligators in it! Seriously?? I thought I had a disregard for my own safety!

As keen birdwatchers and wildlife enthusiasts what Mrs F and I really loved about this trip was that no matter where we went we discovered something new, be it a bird, plant or creature. Point to note there are an incredible amount of invasive species in Florida now but some of them are stunning. We were also incredibly fortunate enough to be able to stand on a pontoon and be within 3’ – 4’ of some manatees on one of the days we were out exploring. Definitely one of my favourite animals.

On our final full day we took a drive down to Key Largo which we weren’t overly impressed with to start with. We thought the day was going to be a bit of a let-down but then we went and checked in for our snorkelling trip. Oh my god, what an incredible experience. It was like we were in our own nature documentary. From the large male green iguanas at the dock to the stunning array of fish creating a kaleidoscope of colour it was one of the best experiences of my life.

The guys and girls at Sundiver Snorkel Tours were brilliant. They got us out on a reef and the moment we went over the side of the boat we were viewing fish and corals. It was like we were swimming in a giant aquarium with everything from barracuda, stingray, blue tang, angel fish and so much else as well. This was my bucket list tick. I love snorkelling but there is a hell of a difference between The Solent in July and the Florida Keys in October! (That difference being about 10c).

All too soon our trip was over and it was time to come home, but with memories that will last a lifetime!