Florida and Caribbean

We’ve arrived

A long day’s journey today for our flight to Florida. Our flight to London was earlier than we had originally intended so we were up at 4.30 and at Edinburgh airport to check in by 6.30. The flight to Heathrow was on time and we should have had 4 hours to wait for the flight to Miami. As the time approached for the flight we saw a half hour delay which gradually increased to 2 hours, so it was 9pm (2am the next morning in the UK) before we arrived. The usual long delay at immigration. We then had a 35 mile taxi drive with a driver who didn’t know the way to our hotel in Fort Lauderdale. We finally got to bed at midnight (5am UK time). A long day, but nice to be somewhere warm and sunny.

Fort Lauderdale

Woke up to blue skies. The TV weatherman said that the temperature was 11 degrees colder than the day before, but for us it was a heatwave at 8am when we went for breakfast. We spent the morning walking along the beach until an early lunch of a stack of battered onion rings and veggie burger and chips, or the alternative of crab cakes followed by lobster ravioli in a lobster sauce. The afternoon was just a relaxing afternoon by the hotel pool . An evening walk along the seafront and more relaxing to make up for the long day yesterday.

A cooler and cloudier start to the day, but still warm. After breakfast we were picked up from our hotel by Alistair and Geoff, who we know from the UK. They had been staying in Florida since before Christmas and drove us around, giving us a guided tour of Fort Lauderdale and showing us a few places to go when we are back here later in the trip. We saw the waterways and the expensive houses with their luxury cruisers and speedboats and saw the cruise port where (hopefully) we will be sailing from on Monday. We had lunch with them at a local bakery and then spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing by the pool back at the hotel. A walk back along the shore for a meal and rather large cocktails, then back to the hotel to meet up with more people who will be on the cruise.

A quiet day today as we had to make a trip out to tick off some of the last remaining covid things to do to be allowed to go on the cruise. The weather is still warm, but by tea time it was getting very windy as you can see from the palm trees in the photo. A warm night with a clear, star lit sky.

Less windy, but a wet start to the day, but it was warm rain. The weatherman said today was the coldest day of this year in Fort Lauderdale, but it was still hot as far as we were concerned (25 degrees, so a hot summer’s day in Falkirk). A very lazy day getting ready for the cruise. In the evening we saw a parade of cruise ships leaving while we were having tea. We will be heading to the port to join the ship at 12.30 tomorrow and due to sail late afternoon. Will save up the photos and the news when we are back on dry land in 8 days time.

Heading to Cruise Port

Woke up to heavy rain, which had cleared by breakfast time to become a hot sunny morning. Relaxed around the pool until the taxi came to take us on the 10 minute drive to the cruise port. A few queues for security and health checks and we were onboard in time for lunch. Ship sailed at about 5pm and we stood on deck and watched the coastline pass by as we started to sail towards Cuba. After cocktails and dinner it was back on deck for the evening’s entertainment – a very fine singer. The show was cut a bit short due to rain and distant thunderstorms, so we went for a liqueur coffee and a slice of chocolate fudge cake. Two days at sea now to cover a distance of over 1000 nautical miles as we sail towards the coast of South America and the Equator.

Woke up, the rain had passed, some cloud in the sky, but very warm for 6am. In the far horizon we could see the coastline of Cuba, which we followed for most of the day down to Guantanamo Bay where the ships course turned towards the island of Haiti. A leisurely morning on deck enjoying the sunshine and watching the ocean – very deep blue, so unlike the North Sea. After lunch we acquainted ourselves with a comedy routine game of Bingo (but with decent cash prizes……which we didn’t win). After dinner, watched a couple of shows and the late night dancing on deck. By bedtime the temperature was still 26 degrees, fortunately the ship is well air conditioned. Last job was to adjust our watches one hour forward ready for arrival at Aruba the day after tomorrow.

Another day at sea. Hot and sunny, so nice to cool off in the pool. Saw a couple of shows and had a few treats – ice cream and cocktails. Had an earlier night so as to be ready for arrival in Aruba tomorrow.

Arrival in Aruba

Woke up to watch the sunrise. In the distance we could see the lighthouse flashing on Aruba. We reached the cruise port just after breakfast. A lovely sunny day which would become very hot later in the afternoon. We left the ship at 10am for our first excursion of the day. A group of us were taken on a small boat for a ride out about 15 minutes to the submarine which was to take us down to over 100 ft to see the sea life on the reef. We saw various types of coral, lots of fish and a couple of shipwrecks. The first was originally used for transporting concrete, but had then been used for drug running, until the authorities caught up with them. The second was a boat used for tour parties. Eventually we touch the sea bed at a depth of about 134 ft. Returned to the ship for a quick lunch, then we were off again. A short coach drive took us to the pick up point for our next excursion. The coach driver called our tour the “shake and bake” and it was certainly both. The excursion was a 4 hour off road adventure in a jeep and was great fun. Aruba (and Curacao) are Dutch islands. Aruba is formed of volcanic rock, with little soil and no fresh water. The water for the island comes from a desalination plant. The North of the island which we were visiting has been left underdeveloped as a nature reserve, largely desert with lots of tall cacti. Our first stop was a group of huge exposed rocks with stairways cut into the rock to reach viewing platforms at the top. The one we climbed had two routes up, the easy way or the hard way… we chose the harder way, squeezing between rocks to get to the top. Had a fine view of some of the island from the top. The next stop was to see the remains of the natural bridge (presumably formed by sea erosion), which collapsed about 20 years ago. At sometime a local boy found a nugget of gold on the island which led to a joint gold mining enterprise by the Dutch and British which ran up until the 1st world war when the dynamite was needed for munitions. We saw the remains of the buildings but found no gold. From here it was another bumpy ride in the baking sun to see the light house and then our final stop at a beach for a swim in the clear warm water (which the locals regard as cold because they haven’t swum off the Scottish coast. Back to the ship for a short overnight sail to Curaçao.

Arrival in Curaçao

Woke up early to see the stars and the lights along the still distant coastline of Curaçao. Saw a beautiful sunrise and reached the cruise port as we finished breakfast. Only a short stay on this island as we were due to sail again at 4pm, we would have liked to have had a longer visit. Started a 4 hour excursion at 9am. This was a coach tour taking in about two thirds of the island. Curaçao is larger than Aruba, about 37 miles long and 3 miles wide at the narrowest point which meant that along the journey we could see the ocean on both sides of the coach. The island is more hilly than Aruba so has more rainfall and is much greener. The tour started with a drive out of Willemstad, giving us a view of the brightly coloured Dutch style buildings and the floating bridge. In the early 1800 the governor of the island suffered from migraine and decided the reflection of white painted buildings was bad for the eyes. So a law was passed that all the houses should be painted in colour (the governor owned the paint store). Our first stop on the north coast was in the national park where we were told of the geology and biology of the island. What appeared to be volcanic rock was actually fossilised coral from the time the island was formed under the sea. The island is mainly coral and limestone. We scrambled into a small sea cave and watched the waves. Then a drive round to the coast to a small beach, just time for a paddle and we bought fresh coconuts to enjoy a refreshing drink. We had heard a little of the history of the island as a slave island and seen some of the plantation houses and slave huts as we drove round the island. Our final stop was at one of the plantation houses, which until her death was the home of an artist ( and former beauty queen – Miss Curaçao 1966). We saw some of her paintings in the house and had a view of the salt flats which were used for salt production, and the flamingoes which are attracted to it. Then back to the boat to sail away at 16:30. Curaçao is 12 degrees north of the equator and we had sailed 1163 nautical miles to get there.

Two Sea Days

Two sea days taking us back to Fort Lauderdale, following the same route as before but in reverse. Enjoying life on board. The final full day of sailing started with blue skies and was very hot, but by the evening there were strong winds and choppy seas which continued into the night.

Arrival in Miami

Up at 5:30 for a quick breakfast before leaving the ship. Left the ship earlier than we were meant to and quickly got a taxi back to Miami airport where we were due to pick up our car rental at 12:00. As it was only 9.30 we had to wait so we had to go into the main part of the airport to find somewhere we could sit and have a coffee. Eventually we picked up the car and had a nice ride to our hotel for the night in the outskirts of Naples. We were heading towards the Everglades along Interstate 75, also known as alligator alley. Went into Naples for a look around, from the name of the place we should have realised it would be full of Italian restaurants (it was also full of retirement complexes, hearing aid suppliers and some very beautiful expensive houses).

Exploring the Everglades

An early breakfast so we could get out on the road and explore the Everglades. The weatherman was complaining about the cold weather, but as far as we were concerned it was hot all day (although the nights are quite cool after the sun goes down. The first part of our trip took us along the Tamiami Trail. The first stop was at the outskirts of Everglades City so we could take an airboat ride lasting about an hour taking us through the mangrove swamps. The airboat is a flat bottomed boat (very shallow water- about 14 inches with deep mud underneath) and is powered by a huge fan at the back. It was a fun and interesting ride but we didn’t see any alligators as it was still too cold in the day for them to be about. After the boat ride we continued our drive. About 7 miles along the road we made a stop for a short walk along a wooden boardwalk and we saw two resting alligators. We continued driving along the trail passing an Indian village and stopping at one of the Everglades National Parks centre where we intended to take a 2 hour tram ride. Unfortunately the car park was full and having queued for sometime we abandoned this idea, but not before photographing an alligator basking by the side of the car. We made a stop to refuel our gas guzzling car and get sandwiches before continuing the drive into the Southern section of the Everglades. We stopped at the Royal Pines Visitor Centre to do a longer boardwalk tour on the Anhinga Trail, hoping to see lots of wildlife. Didn’t see any more alligators, but plenty of birds and we did watch a turtle in the water eating the flower of a lotus. Apparently you can do a night time walk along this trail with a flashlight and see the eyes of the alligators glow in the light (no thank you). Further along the road we saw a sign showing we had climbed to the dizzying height of 3 feet above sea level. Did I say that Florida is very flat. Our next stop was at a vantage point (about 30 feet up) for a view over the wet grasslands. We continued to drive in the direction of the setting sun and turned around when we reached the Gulf of Mexico. An hours drive back in the dark to get to our hotel for the next two nights

Miami Art Deco Area

Another warm sunny day as you will see from the photographs. A later start this morning as we had to find somewhere for breakfast and top up the car again. Then it was a short drive of about an hour to Miami. We were on the way to South beach and on the way passed the Miami cruise port. Ocean drive was our target, this was closed to traffic so made for a good walk along the street to see all the Art Deco hotels along the street and the Art Deco lifeguard stations on the beach. We had a rather expensive lunch on the front, about £70 for 2 sandwiches, chips, a beer and a coke. After walking further we had an ice cream. The return journey was badly timed as we hit the rush hour exodus from the city.

Driving to Key West

An early start to be off on the road. Today we were travelling down to Key West and the most Southern part of the USA. The journey took about 4 hours, but we made a few stops along the way. a single road all the way which passes over a series of bridges which connect the islands which make up the Florida Keys. The highlight is the 7 mile long bridge. For the most part the bridges, like most of the road, are practically at sea level, but the 7 mile bridge rises up and forms an impressive sight. Key West is full of lovely old buildings with pretty gardens.

Catamaran Boat Ride

A leisurely breakfast this morning round the hotel pool. A short walk took us to the harbour full of expensive looking boats. We had booked a sail in a catamaran, but the captain had delayed the departure so we had a little more time to look around. One of the things we noticed last night was the chickens freely roaming around the streets. Once on the boat we had a 5 hour sail which was great fun on a hot sunny day. While on the boat we were hoping to go snorkelling on the reef, but although we tried it wasn’t ideal waters for us (warm, but waves made swimming difficult. We did, however, paddle a kayak out from the boat and round a small island full of mangrove trees, great fun.

Tour of Key West

Another early breakfast at the pool, then a short walk to take a hop on/hop off trolley bus tour of Key West. The total journey was about an hour and a half and told us a lot about the history of the island, from the income in the early days from recovery of goods from the many shipwrecks on the reef along the coast, to the cigar making industry. In a succession of events these “industries” disappeared due to fires and storms. Relief came when a pioneer developed the railway to enable trains to go from New York to Key West hoping to capitalise on the opening of the Panama Canal. The rail line connecting the Keys lasted until a storm destroyed a 20 mile portion of it. This was devastating for the local economy until the president had the rail link converted to the road which we travelled along to get here (we did see a length of the remaining part of the old railway. We also heard the origin of the chickens in the town, they started as birds bred for cock fighting by Cuban immigrants, the locals objected to the Cubans sport and banned it, this upset the Cubans who said fine, the town can look after the birds then. So now they are protected in law and it’s illegal to molest them. We stopped on the way to see a lighthouse and the light keeper’s quarters. There was an 80 step spiral staircase to the top from where we had a good view right round the island. The other stop was to visit the house where the author George Hemingway lived and worked for 9 years in Key West. He amassed a collection of cats and their dependents (over 50 of them) roam freely around the house and grounds, they also have the distinction of having 6 toes. Sunday was a quiet day as we had plans for Monday. We had our usual early breakfast at the pool, although the day started cloudy and windy. We had a short walk into town and then spent the rest of the day at the pool for a party as the sun came out and we were back to blue sunny skies.

WOW

Monday morning started with lower temperatures (about 18 degrees but sunny blue skies with a few clouds. We drove about 12 miles along the highway out of Key West to a small airstrip where we boarded a small Cessna plane for a short but very scenic flight. We had good clear views of many of the small islands making up the Keys, the reefs, the highway leading back to Miami and the seven mile bridge. We got to a height of over 10,000 feet and then….. (OMG) we jumped out. After about 40 seconds of free fall the parachutes opened and we gently headed back to land enjoying the view all the way. A soft landing and we were back on firm ground. A really fun experience for both of us. Needless to say we had been safely strapped to two professional parachutists the whole time. It took a bit of time for the adrenaline to wear off. This had been the ideal day and location to do a jump. Tomorrow we will be retracing our steps with the 5 hour drive back to Fort Lauderdale.

A wee glitch

Another early breakfast so we could be off and get back to Fort Lauderdale by early afternoon. We set out at 10am and drove about 23 miles along the road and realised we had a puncture. Called the car rental assistance to get it fixed and waited a little over an hour for help to arrive. Temporary fix was made replacing the split tyre with a ‘donut’ (smaller spare tyre restricted to 50 mph for a short distance) and told to head to the nearest rental outlet to change the car. So we returned to Key West and picked up an older car which will do the job for the rest of the trip. We left Key West for the second time today at 2pm, hoping to arrive in Fort Lauderdale by 6.30pm, the first part of the journey retracing our steps over the more than 40 bridges linking the keys was very pleasant, with good views on a sunny day. However the delay meant we would hit rush hour in Miami, so it was 8pm when we finally arrived. One consolation was finding the cafe/bakery which we had been taken to at the beginning of the trip is open until midnight, so we treated ourselves.

That’s all folks…until the next trip.

Images

Videos

Skydive John

Map

This squiggly line was our cruise ship route.