Florida 2013

We flew into Orlando and left without visiting a single theme park and drove through the darkness to Cocoa Beach (think of “I Dream of Jeannie”). The following morning, we drove our rented Chrysler 200 to Wal-mart and purchased an Igloo brand “Island Breeze-3, Family Cooler” with a capacity of 48 quarts or 76 beer cans. A visit to the local thrift store followed by grocery shopping at “Publix” and we were ready for our journey.

We spent a few days on the Space Coast, still within easy reach of the Disney influence. We learned quickly that Florida attractions begin with parking fees (even if you are in the middle-of-nowhere), end with gift shops and if there is a guide involved, then a tip is surely involved. The Florida tourist machine is exceedingly good at emptying wallets with a smile. At the Kennedy Space Center, we were blown away by the size of the Saturn V rocket and the surprisingly large Atlantis space shuttle, but our main take-away was that we learned that astronauts like to drive sports cars, especially convertibles. After that, we spotted so many astronauts on the Florida roads.

The Kennedy Space Center rocket launch pads likely saved the surrounding buffer area from development. The area has been preserved as a (Canaveral) National Seashore and (Merritt Island) Wildlife Reserve; the bird life sure impressed us.

A couple of hours south of the Space Coast, we grabbed an early morning canoe rental and paddled the Loxihatchee River. By the way, plenty of Florida place names are of Native American origin, but native people are hard to come by in the state (annihilated by disease and guns). The Loxihatchee is a designated national scenic river and aside from the namesake turtles, we saw feeding ospreys and lazing gators but it was our first manatee encounter that left a lasting impression. Not knowing better, we were almost spooked by their playfulness; they are true gentle giants.

We skirted the Miami-Fort Lauderdale area on freeways and turnpikes. Courtesy doesn't make frequent appearances on the Florida roads. Florida cars don't seem to come equipped signal indicators so when fast drivers wave in and out of traffic, without indicating and cutting you off, it leaves you with an inescapable conclusion, they are ASStronauts.

Out on the Keys, we first stayed at Bahia Honda State Park, where we were warned by park rangers that the raccoons were so bold, that they had lost their masks. We saw no raccoons, only a mask-less feral cat. At our next campsite on Long Island, we were again promised adventurous raccoons, and once again nothing but another feral cat. The tropical warmth and the character city of Key West were pleasant surprises. It was mostly windy while we were in the Keys, so it kept the sand flies at bay and when the wind dropped, we did a couple of dives (uneventful compared to some of our Indo-Pacific experiences).

The Everglades beckoned, so we rented a canoe and strapped it onto the Chrysler 200 and paddled a number of well-marked canoe trails through the swamps of south-east Everglades (Noble Hammock, Mud Lake, Nine Mile Pond). Raccoons used to run the Flamingo campground but they have disappeared with the invasive Burmese python. When we were at the visitor center, the Flamingo mosquito meter registered “unpleasant” which meant that it was largely OK by day, but the mozzies ruled the night, so most campers hit the sack early each evening.

A rich assortment of biting insects in the Keys, Everglades and Big Cypress made the Gulf Coast look welcoming. We dropped in on the highbrow Naples with its mock Italian architecture, low key Venice with a couple of large canals and some vaguely Italian looking buildings and enjoyed the Ringling Art Museum in Sarasota. John Ringling (the circus guy) sure was infatuated with Italy. Just to the east of Sarasota, is a world class wildlife park, the Myakka River State Park. There were plenty of birds, however the windy weather kept the gators in the water, rather than along the river and lake banks.

We fast-forwarded north to reach the South. Somewhere north of Orlando, the lovely twang of the Southern accent becomes commonplace. We weathered first a storm and then a cold front and we got the heating going in the car. We woke up one morning to -2C and 20 knot winds, wishing that we had brought thermal underwear to Florida. One cold morning, we sat in a diner eating grits, watching TV footage of winter storms in the US north-east. The Panhandle is sometimes called the Redneck Riviera because it draws a big crowd from nearby Alabama and Georgia. The squeaky white sand beaches stretch far enough to satisfy discriminating beach walkers such as ourselves. Over at Apalachicola, an old Gulf Coast port that is well past its heyday, there was still a small shrimp boat fleet in the harbour (think “Forrest Gump”). As part of the town's Christmas build-up, we and a couple of hundred people welcomed Santa Claus' arrival on a shrimp boat.

An hour south of the state capital, Talahassee, we visited Wakulla Springs State Park (one of the largest and deepest freshwater springs in the world) and took the park-operated boat cruise past the atmospheric film locations for a couple of early Tarzan movies and the 1954 3-D classic “Creature from the Black Lagoon”. There were about 20 manatees hanging out over where the springs come up (69F), so we slipped into our wetsuits. We stayed within the human swimming boundary and managed to watch the manatees underwater.

We spent a couple of days around a few warm springs (often 72F) in north-central Florida. We spent a restless night at Manatee Springs State Park because we had armadillos scurrying about around our tent all night. With some trepidation, we signed up for a snorkel with manatees boat trip at Homosassa Springs. Wild manatees leave the cooler waters of the Gulf and spend their winters at warm springs slightly inland. We were on the only tour boat at the springs with six of us paying customers aboard, and we slipped into the water with about 40 manatees. Most of the manatees were resting, sometimes rising from the shallow bottom for air. However, some of the juveniles were quite social, wishing to interact with us, mostly to have us scratch their backs and bellies. It was extraordinary.

On our last full day, we paddled the Ocklawaha River, which had a “Deliverance” feel to it, with just a few alligators. We didn't sight any of the estimated 300 feral monkeys that roam the region. The return to the urban sprawl and highways of Orlando, was a bit of a let-down and we somehow managed to squeeze most of our kit (over 100lbs of camping and snorkeling gear) back into our luggage for the flight home. Another excellent mini-trip (one month) was over.

FOR THE RECORD

* Florida banana index: 5 per 1 USD.

* Canoe Days: 6

* Miles driven: about 2,000

* Florida tent nights: 29