the Everglades

this was the one thing i really wanted to do while in Florida, take an airboat around the Everglades. it was going to be fun. it turned out it was also going to be cold: there was ice on the car when we woke up! so we wrapped ourselves up and drove down south. in the end, it was just the three of us, as one of L.'s dogs had got sick, which put a major spanner in the works: she and her mother drove up to Sarasota while D. then had to look after his father, who can't exactly be left alone at the moment.

when we got off the highway, we drove through a gorgeous swamp area where i personally saw a couple of alligators. when we got to Everglades City (a misnomer as there are less than 500 inhabitants!), we stopped at the first airboat place and off we went. the cold intensified as we moved fast over the body of water, and then again when we came out of the mangrove into the grasslands, where the boat sped up a notch (and this is where i have a thought for those people who showed up... in shorts!). we stopped when we got to Lefty's resting place - Lefty is an alligator, so called because he is missing one of his left paws. apparently, he's content to spend all his days in the very same spot. there, we got lots of information on alligators and crocodiles - who do live side by side in the glades. fun fact: gators are loners, crocs hang out in packs, so it's better to be attacked by a gator, as you might have a small chance of getting out alive - there's not a lot you can do against 10 crocs...