Woke up this morning and went out onto our balcony, to find that we were docked in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The air was already pleasantly warm and we could expect a temperature of 25°C today, although there may be the odd shower in the afternoon.
Fort Lauderdale is obviously a very popular cruise port, because there were several other ships docked alongside. They were mostly HUGE, and the Borealis looked like a little pup next to them. We could see an MSC ship, an NCL ship and, next to us, the Celebrity Beyond. We looked at the Beyond with interest; we will be cruising on her sister, Celebrity Edge in March, so it was good to see what she was like.
I took my antihistamine tablet and rubbed the cream into my insect bites; I was pleased to see that there didn’t appear to be any new bites today. The only problem was that the cream meant I could not expose the affected skin to sunlight, so I’d have to wear long trousers, long sleeves and a sunhat. ☹
I felt better than I had last night, so we went up to The View for breakfast before returning to 7063 to retrieve our passports, tour tickets, American dollars and anything else we’d need for our excursion.
We had to meet in the Neptune Lounge at 9.15am to be called for tour B7, which was the Everglades Adventure. When we had pre-booked our tours before setting off on this cruise, there was a waiting list for this particular cruise and we’d been unable to book, but they must have organised several more of this tour, as we had managed to get a place.
Soon our tour was called, and we disembarked the Borealis and made our way to the waiting tour bus. With all the big cruise ships in port, it was very busy on the quayside.
We boarded the coach and were told by our guide that it would take an hour to get to the starting point of the boat ride, but to sit back and enjoy the journey and looking at the lush Florida landscape on our way.
The Everglades is a natural region of flooded grasslands in the southern portion of Florida, comprising the southern half of a large drainage basin within the Neotropical realm. The system begins near Orlando with the Kissimmee River, which discharges into the vast but shallow Lake Okeechobee. Water leaving the lake in the wet season forms a slow-moving river 60 miles wide and over 100 miles long, flowing southward across a limestone shelf to Florida Bay at the southern end of the state. The Everglades experiences a wide range of weather patterns, from frequent flooding in the wet season to drought in the dry season. Throughout the 20th century, the Everglades suffered significant loss of habitat and environmental degradation.
The Everglades National Park protects the southern twenty percent of the original Everglades in Florida. The park is the largest tropical wilderness in the United States and the largest wilderness of any kind east of the Mississippi River. An average of one million people visit the park each year. Everglades is the third-largest national park in the contiguous United States after Death Valley and Yellowstone.
Today, we would be enjoying an hour-long ride on an air boat on this famous swampland, looking at the wildlife and hopefully spotting the Everglades’ most famous resident, the alligator. 😊
Presently the coach pulled up to the area where we would be boarding the airboats. There were several other coaches there, and we could see long queues for the boats. We watched with interest as some of the boats set off with their loads of camera-wielding passengers; they certainly sounded very noisy, and we hoped they wouldn’t scare away any wildlife.
An airboat is a flat-bottomed watercraft propelled by an aircraft-type propeller and powered by either an aircraft or automotive engine. They are commonly used for fishing, bowfishing, hunting, and ecotourism.
Airboats are a common means of transportation in marshy and/or shallow areas where a standard inboard or outboard engine with a submerged propeller would be impractical, as would be the case here, due to all the water lilies and other aquatic plants we could see around us.
As we waited for our party to be called to join the queue, we had a look around the souvenir shop and bought an ice-lolly each. Then our guide asked us to proceed to the landing stage, where the skipper held a clicker which counted off the numbers as we walked through the gate. One by one we boarded the vessel, which I noticed had long benches the width of the boat; I hoped I would get a seat on the end to allow an unimpeded view for photographs. Happily, I was the first to board in our row, so I had a seat right at the starboard side. 😊
We set off with a roar of the propellors, disturbing the clusters of water lilies which immediately sprang back once we’d passed. Our skipper pointed out a couple of iguanas in some nearby trees; they were very well camouflaged and hard to pick out, and I was unable to get a photo of them. The landscape was exactly what I’d imagined; lots of tall reeds and grasses, lily pads, trees and the slow-flowing water. Our skipper repeatedly asked everyone not to put their hands in the water for fear of what might be beneath! 😊
The ride was lovely, and there was something interesting to see no matter where you looked. Even the water lilies had interesting yellow flowers, and the skipper told us that the leaves and stalks of the water lilies were edible and could be cooked and served like a green vegetable.
We soon saw some black vultures in the treetops, as well as a beautiful blue-grey heron, which Google Lens informed me was a Great Blue Heron. Our driver was very good because, if ever there was something interesting to see, he would turn the boat around slowly so that people on each side of the vessel managed to get a good view.
We also saw lots of black and light brown birds which flitted among the water lilies. I don’t know what sort of birds they were.
Soon our skipper told us that he could see an alligator up ahead, watching us. He advised she was a female and, as the boat slowly glided past, she turned and watched and changed direction so she could still watch us! As the boat slowly turned around, so the alligator turned around too, never taking her eyes off us. She was close to the surface and we could see the full length of her scaly body. Wow! 😊
We also saw another alligator, and passed another airboat which allowed me to get a photo of it, as I was unable to get a photo of the one we were in!
The hour-long ride seemed to be over in no time, and soon we were making our way back to the landing stage. Being in America, where tipping is part of the culture, our driver advised that he “worked for tips” and suggested 20% as a suitable gratuity. As we disembarked, he prominently held out a bag into which everyone deposited several dollar bills.
It was then time for us to return to the coach for the return journey to the Borealis. What an interesting trip we had had; some fantastic wildlife too! 😊
We were back on board in time for lunch, and we went up to The View as usual. I enjoyed a plate of cold meats and fresh, crisp salad vegetables, washed down with a cold glass of Heineken Zero; I thought I would try to cut back on the booze today. It wasn’t such a hardship, as there were great selection of non-alcohol drinks and some very nice mocktails. 😊
After lunch, we returned to 7063 and sat out on our balcony for a while, before I took another paracetmol and had an hour’s power nap; I still had the feeling of starting a cold and I didn’t want to have my cruise spoilt by being ill.
We didn’t do much for the rest of the afternoon; just spent time pottering around the ship, reading, watching TV and (in my case) trying to keep up with this blog!
Soon it was time to get ready for dinner again, and this time we had some appropriate clothes to wear! I put on a pair of white trousers, with a royal blue bell-sleeved top decorated with little pearls on the sleeves. I wore a pair of strappy sandals with rhinestones.
As ever, it was an enjoyable dinner in friendly company, and everyone had something to say about their day. The waiters had to give us not-so-subtle hints that we needed to be out so that they could get the table ready for the next sitting! 😊
Tonight the entertainment came in the form of comedy magician Mark Shortland. We had seen him several times before; on the Boudicca in 2008, on the Balmoral in 2012 and 2017, and on the P&O ship Adonia in 2016. He really is an excellent magician though, and we looked forward to his show once again – he didn’t disappoint. 😊
Then it was time to do the quiz in the Morning Light pub once again. This time all four of us were there, but despite Alan’s great contribution, we still didn’t win.
As ever, Trevor and I then went up to the Observatory for a drink. We thought about taking a nightcap back to enjoy on our balcony, but then we remembered we still had our complimentary bottle of cava in our fridge, so we cracked it open and enjoyed a glass while sitting in the warm darkness on our sunloungers, the soothing sound of the wake rushing below us. It was so pleasant just sitting out there, but it was after 1.00am by now, so we reluctantly went back inside and settled down to sleep in our comfortable bed with its plump pillow and crisp, rustly sheets. We had Key West to look forward to tomorrow, and we slept very well.