Nanda & Nathan The Travellers: Biscayne and Everglades National Parks

December 18, 2015 ---- After our fun trip down to the Florida Keys and Key West, we drove back to up to Florida City and stayed at a Super 8 motel for two nights. I picked to stay in Florida City because it is the gate to Everglades National Park, and we didn't have to deal with the traffic in Miami.

I always wanted to go the the Everglades because I saw it on TV once and thought it would be fun to take a boat trip or kayak through the mangroves. Then I did more research on "national parks in FL" and found that Biscayne National Park is also located within half an hour drive from Florida City. As a result, we visited two national parks in a day!

Biscayne National Park

Nathan and I planned to spend time at Biscayne National Park in the morning and at Everglades in the afternoon. Biscayne NP is covered mostly by water and there are some islands, so exploring them in a boat is more ideal than by land. We didn't have a boat, but we still had fun by going to Dante Fascell Visitor Center to see a mini exhibit about the wildlife and a short film presentation on the park. We also walked on the boardwalk trail by the water all the way to the tip end and found it relaxing and peaceful. There were people fishing, picnicking, and strolling along the water. If you are lucky, you might see some manatee there as well.

As I mentioned before, there is not a lot to do if you don't have a boat. Our visit lasted about an hour or so, but it was still enjoyable. We left the park around 11 a.m. to have lunch in Florida City before heading to the Everglades, which is located on the other side of the city. If you want to know more about Biscayne NP, you can check its official website:
http://www.nps.gov/bisc/index.htm

A short walk along the water

Sea Grape or Coccoloba uvifera

Dante Fascell Visitor Center

Everglades National Park

After lunch and a little shopping in Florida City, Nathan and I drove straight to Everglades National Park. It looked like it would rain at any moment then. We stopped at Ernest Cove Visitor Center first to talk to the park ranger about the park's program for the day. Apparently there was a ranger talk about the Everglades' crocodiles and alligators at Royal Palm Visitor Center in the afternoon that day, so we just drove straight there.

At Royal Palm Visitor Center, there are also two famous trails you can walk on, Gumbo Limbo Trail and Anhinga Trail. Before the ranger talk, Nathan and I still had some time, so we went walking on Gumbo Limbo Trail. It was a nice, wide trail with a boardwalk leading into to the grassy glades. There we saw an alligator lying motionlessly in a small pond not too far from the visitor center. By then I was able to identify alligators from crocodiles just because I have seen them a lot in South Carolina.

The ranger talk was fun. It was short, but we learned some interesting facts about Everglades crocodiles and alligators like how fast they run, etc. After that we went on walking on Anhinga Trail. It was a short loop trail through a wooden park of the park. Luckily we bought a bottle of mosquito repellent from the Royal Palm Visitor Center; otherwise, we would have lots of mosquito bites by the time we finished our walk.

Pa-hay-okee Trail is also a nice one to stroll on. The boardwalk led us up to the overlook so that we could see the glades further away. It was beautiful and interesting to learn that the glades are actually a "river," not a swamp like I always thought.

Our last stop was at the Flamingo Visitor Center. The exhibit there was quite small, so we didn't spend a lot of time there. I was interested in the ranger's canoe tour, but the park's website didn't update its activity calendar, so I didn't know that there was one available the next day when I had already planned to leave early for Miami. :-(

Well, on the next visit I will call the park instead of checking its website online for on-going activities.

The rain started when we were at Flamingo Visitor Center, so Nathan and I just skipped other part of the park and drove straight back to our hotel. At dinner we went to Salvadoran Cuisine in Homestead. Everything was really DELICIOUS and cheap. It was our first time having Salvadorian food, and I would say that this place is definitely a gem. Check out its good reviews here!
http://www.yelp.ca/biz/salvadoran-cuisine-homestead