*NOTICE: This is part one of my trip to Florida; you can read the second part here. I will also be including a link to it at the end of this post.*
The Everglades are one of the most iconic national parks in America. From kayaking to taking pictures of wildlife, it’s a great park to interact with the environment in! My parents and I headed there in December, as Florida is brutally hot in the summer. However, during the winter months, the weather is quite pleasant and sunny, and the temperature is- well, still not cool- but cool enough so that you can do outdoor activities without shriveling up.
During the first day of our trip, we stayed overnight at a Hilton hotel in Savannah, Georgia. True to the company’s claim, we were each given a bag of two freshly baked, warm chocolate chip cookies at the front desk for free upon our arrival. I was not aware that Hilton provided such a service, but upon some more research I learned that their cookies are actually so popular that they you can order them online! I’m not too surprised, though: those cookies were sweet, just the right amount of crumbly near the edges, and so warm that the chocolate chips were still melting when they were given to us- delicious! Slow clap for Hilton, everyone: there’s nothing like being surprised with a sweet treat when you’re exhausted and cranky from a day of travel to make a good impression!
Anyway, cookies aside, the town of Savannah Georgia itself was a beautiful place to stop. The architecture of the buildings were an interesting combination of style. Some were sleek and modern, and featured glass and simple design, but others were more elaborate, and were made of stone that was decorated with carvings. Although some might dislike the way that the designs of the different structures clashed, I thought the combination produced an interesting effect and gave the town a very unique feel. There wasn’t much greenery around the buildings themselves, but there were squares specifically reserved for plants and grass. Since it was nearly Christmas during our trip, there were garlands and red bows hung along the main street!
Upon reaching the Everglades National Park Ernest F. Coe Visitor Center, we were already moving into close range with the wildlife the park is so famous for! Unlike many other visitor centers, which are in the middle of seemingly nowhere on the side of the highway, this one was right smack dab in the marshy fields of the Everglades. There was a deck that stretched out from the back of the center over a large pond that was surrounded by grasses that stretched out in a field in all directions around it. The water was shallow and clear, and it was here that I saw the first Florida alligator on our trip, but it wouldn’t be the last!
We proceeded from the main visitor center to Royal Palm, the region where the Anhinga and Gumbo Limbo Trails of the park were located. The trees in the parking lot were positively swarming with massive black vultures. It was quite something to see so many of these huge birds in one place at once, and so close up!
A park ranger first took us on a guided tour of the Anhinga Trail (named for the Anhinga birds that frequent the area that the path goes through), which was surrounded by marshland filled with sawgrasses and stretches of water. The ranger told us that the sawgrass actually filters most of the drinking water in Florida, as most of it is from the Everglades! On this path alone we spotted anhingas, double crested cormorants, and crocodiles, among other animals! Right in the middle of the tour, though, it started raining abruptly, then stopped again. That’s a tip for Florida tourists- BRING AN UMBRELLA! Florida is very humid, as it’s right on the southeastern end of the continent.
After the tour, we decided to walk the Gumbo Limbo Trail (named for the reddish gumbo limbo trees on the path), which led through a small section of trees on the right of the start of the Anhinga Trail. Various signs stood on the sides of the trail to describe different plants on the path. We even saw a tiny white frog on the bark of a tree!
We left Royal Palm and drove further into the park, then stopped to walk a trail that led into a part of the park that was filled with palm plants and towering trees with few leaves. It was unlike any forest I’d ever been to before; it felt like we were discovering some unexplored jungle on a different continent!
We continued to another large wooden deck built overlooking the wetlands. It was fascinating to observe how different the natural land in another region of America was!
We followed the bridge that led from the deck through another area of thick green foliage. Walking on the bridge amidst all of the trees and plants truly felt like I was exploring an exotic jungle; it was such an exciting experience!
The bridge eventually led to West Lake Trail, where the flat, marshy grasslands gave way to mangrove trees, which have roots that reach out of the water the tree grows in. In places where many trees grow together, the surface of the water is pretty much hidden by a huge tangle of roots. It was a bizarre but interesting sight to see! The trail ended when the bridge that was spanning the lake appeared to have sunken into the water, so we turned around and headed over to the Flamingo Visitor Center, which stood along the edge of Coot Bay.
Flamingo Visitor Center stood at the mouth of the Flamingo canal, which flowed in from Coot Bay. My father and I kayaked down the canal, and it was just gorgeous. The glassy surface of the calm water reflected the lush vegetation that lined each side of the canal, and the sun was so bright that it made everything seem that much more vibrant: I can safely say that the Flamingo Canal was the most gorgeous place I’d ever had the privilege to kayak in.
For dinner, we headed to a restaurant near our hotel called Casavana, which specializes in Cuban cuisine. The garlic bread we received as an appetizer was quite delicious; it was soft in the middle but crispy on the outside and filled with buttery garlic flavor. We ordered Churrasco Steak Fajitas with fries and plantains, Carmarones al Ajillo o Enchilados (shrimp in tomato-based sauce) with white rice and black beans, and a chicken cuban wrap with plantain chips. The food was absolutely delectable! The fajitas were juicy and were complemented well by the sweet onions, crispy fries, and soft plantains. The shrimp was fresh and cooked until tender in the sweet sauce, and the rice and black beans were savory and well done. The chicken cuban wrap combined the textures and taste of fresh ingredients like crispy lettuce, sweet plantains, and creamy black bean puree with soft chicken. For dessert, we decided to order flan, which I had never tried before. It was very sweet, and had the texture of soft tofu. It was so creamy and rich; it reminded me of crème brûlée!
To hear about the second part of our trip, please read part two!
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