On our quest to see areas new to us in Florida we decided to travel to Everglades City. This is an area that is surrounded by millions of acres of mangrove made islands, alligators, snakes, cougars, multiple types of birds, mosquitoes, various flora and fauna varieties and tremendously beautiful natural views. Back on September 10, 2017 hurricane Irma caused massive destruction of this area with over 10’ of storm surge and 155 mph winds. Irma pretty well leveled the area and now almost 4 years later they are still rebuilding their little town. The official population is only about 200 people here with another 340 people in nearby Chokoloskee, a small community a mile or so further into the Everglades that is also still rebuilding from hurricane Irma.
Once we got to Everglades City we saw several signs advertising air boat adventures from different vendors. Since mornings are cooler, with less bugs and better chances of seeing wildlife we opted for a 9:00 morning tour with the Everglades City Airboat Tours. Captain Blake was our boat driver and tour guide. We wore headsets with boom microphones to make it easy to chat with the captain and each other as well as to muffle out some of the airboats engine noise. On our ride we saw manatee, aquatic birds and alligators but the best part of the ride for Becky was when Captain Blake would go full throttle and speed across the swampy water making tight turns as we zipped through the mangrove “forests”. In many places the clear openings in the mangroves were just big enough for the boat to get through and Becky giggled with joy as we flew by the heavy jungle type growth of the beautiful mangrove swamps. Truth be known I was doing a bit of giggling myself as it was great fun.
Since we had enjoyed the airboat tour so much we then drove down to the Everglades National Park Welcome Center and booked a ride on a pontoon boat for a water tour over to some of the parks famous 10,000 islands. Our tour guide, Captain Bobby, did an excellent job of pointing out multiple bird species, manatee and dolphins. It was almost like a naturalist lecture with Bobby explaining the history and habitats of the plants and creatures we observed while boating along the various cays and open water areas we passed through.
While in Everglades City we are staying at the Ivey House Inn. The Ivey House Inn is an older hotel structure with rooms and suites. Our room is just steps away from a lovely lanai covered swimming pool with tropical plants around it. We really enjoyed having the pool area so close to our room and are pleasantly surprised how quiet and peaceful the whole Inn is.
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