Caribbean Days 11 to 13: Back to Florida

After Costa Rica, it was time to head home. We sailed for two nights back to Fort Lauderdale. Since my flight back to Seattle departed late in the day, I had the opportunity to go out on a sight-seeing tour in the Everglades “on the way” to the airport.

Our first night out of Limón got a bit choppy. Which made the swimming pool a bit … interesting. Thankfully nobody tried to actually swim in this.

I had asked friends for book recommendations before I departed. I saved this one for this long at-sea stretch. 30 pages in and I am booked … I mean hooked. (Autocorrect attempting to make puns for me?)

Very much enjoying this new (to me) author. She had my attention from page 1. (2023 Update: I’ve now read everything Tana French has written. Can’t wait for more!)

Props to Jim Thomsen or one of his colleagues at Eagle Harbor Books; this was on their staff recommendations shelf and definitely belonged there. 👍

Caribbean Ocean, off coast of Honduras

So, the idea of this sight-seeing tour was to get in one of those air boats and find us some alligators. Turns out it can get cold in Florida in January. Today, it was something like 7°C / 45°F.

Everglades Wildlife Management Area, north of Weston, Florida

Remember and Let Go · Everglades Wildlife Management Area, north of Weston, Florida

The Hurting Time · Everglades Wildlife Management Area, north of Weston, Florida

So, as I said, we went out looking for alligators. When we got back to port from the tour, one of the shore staff asked if we’d seen any.

I said, “No, but we got close.” And I showed her this picture:

Everglades Wildlife Management Area, north of Weston, Florida

Ah well, we had a good laugh. Turns out alligators can rest underwater for several hours at a time when it’s cold like this. And, we suppose, that’s what was happening.

Sawgrass Recreation Park, Weston, Florida

The only alligator I saw was this one which, sadly, was in captivity:

Sawgrass Recreation Park, Weston, Florida

This has been a good trip and well-timed break, but I’m glad to be home now.