Tale of a trip... part siete

Fort Lauderdale- The Everglades


"Look at those snappers, will you Ralphy."

Oh boy, we made it to Fort Lauderdale, checked into our hotel and just lazed around the rest of the day. The next day we wanted to do something fun and thought that going out to the 'Glades and checking out some gatahs would be the trick. The Everglades are not too far west of the city which was nice- didn't have to drive for hours. We hopped one of those airboats with a dozen other nature-hungry tourists, and with our illustrious guide, Captain Chuck, we went on a search for gatahs in the wild. Before taking off, he said to make sure we keep our hands inside the boat- the gatahs are always looking for a handout... get it? A hand out! Come on, stay with me! The good captain pulled over to a swampy spot and started throwing crackers at the birds. As they started chasing the crackers, that got the gatah agitated and chasing the birds. The one we spotted started growling (or whatever they do) for a minute or two. The captain said that was probably the 3rd time in his (15 years?) out on the swamp that he's heard that... I guess we were quite fortunate. Course, he may say that to all his guest- I don't know. On the way back to the dock, we saw an osprey atop a dead tree, eating his/her latest catch. Just in case you are at a party and need a wee bit of trivia, just lay this on them.... the osprey eats its catch head first. Just thought you'd like to know.

At the end of the tour, they had a little "petting" zoo with gatahs, snakes, birds, wolves, pathers, puma... one of the hired hands started petting the puma through the fence. It was just a purring and digging it like a regular house cat. But this one for sure would eat you if it had the chance. I got a shot of the black panthers, but they were hiding in their shelter and the pic didn't come out... it was a nice shot of the fence though. As we left the "petting" zoo, there was a little shop where we could buy some tasty treats. Among other things, there were Gator Bites- I don't know if they were real gatah or not, but I'll bet they taste just like chicken :) There were also frog legs for purchase, hmmmm.... I think we'll wait to get back to the city before we eat- this ain't Deliverance, ya know. Over all, a very fun time with nature and the wildlife. Amazing that the Everglades are fed only by the waterfall that Florida gets from around Orlando south... at least that's what Chuck said... oh sorry, that would be Captain Chuck- Aaaarrrrr!!!