Thursday May 4 (Loxahatchee & Boynton Beach)

It was another glorious day today, blue skies with a few clouds and warm!

Jackie had booked us for an airboat ride at Loxahatchee so we set off after breakfast on the 45 minute drive as we needed to be there by 10.15. We arrived nicely on time and checked in. Jackie uses a walker and it was recommended that she did not go as it was a bit steep down to the boat and then a decent step onto the boat. That was very sad but she was fine about me going.

There were six of us on the boat although it was a larger boat than the one I had previously been on, this one took.up to 12. 

The first thing I noticed was the totally different habitat on the Everglades river compared to Lake Kissimmee. There were very few birds and all the alligators we saw were in the water, there were no mud flats for them to lounge on. 

There were lots of reeds and cats tails as well as many medicinal plants. Arrowroot also grows abundantly and there is a plant called Mallow, the pink flowers are called Marsh Mallows, lol, and when they appear, the hot weather is not far behind. 

Our driver is very passionate about the area, having lived there all his life, and he shared much of its history and many stories about the area. 

The river 280 miles long provides all the water for Florida at the present time it is the worst drinking water in the US due mainly to overpopulation and agriculture, it is also the largest cattle state. 

As well as the large cattle ranches there are acres of land under Sugar Cane and Tomatoes and while many pesticides have been banned others are still used.

After WWII, the army core of engineers were tasked with building canals from Lake Kissimmee 80 miles south, land was drained and levees were built. There was a six mile zone set up each side of the remaining marsh to ensure that it was protected. 

At that time a project was designed to manage the water and plan for a future of 2 million people living in the Central/Southern Florida, currently there are six million living in the area and it is struggling.

In the past there was an abundance of bird life, trees etc. Then as the population increased more construction took place and the six mile rule was thrown aside. Most of the area where people are living is built on reclaimed swamp. 

The marsh used to catch fire and it was left to burn as it led to regrowth, the charcoal let after the fires helped to leach the water of any toxins. Now the fires have to be extinguished as the smoke is not good for people plus, of course, the flames could leap across the levees threaten houses.

There was an increase in the water level within a greatly reduced area, the Everglades is approximately half the size it used to be. This led to tree roots rotting and the only trees left are the willows that grow along the top of old coral reefs. At the same time there has been a huge increase in the run off of chemicals, pesticides and manure that has made the water toxic.

There has been an alarming decrease in the number of insects over the last year, the butterflies and dragonflies have almost disappeared and no-one knows why! Also, the alligators in the Everglades are smaller than elsewhere in the state. We tended to see younger alligators but at one of the stops we saw a larger alligator, a mother!

There have also been developments with python with breeding between different species. Some up to 30 feet in length have been seen and they are getting rid of many animals in the area, one was found with three white tailed deer inside it! Many of these snakes are in southern Florida as a result of being brought over as pets when it was fashionable and a sign of wealth to own exotic pets.

It would appear that action needs to be taken and very soon as the ecosystem and climate of the area has change dramatically. Hence the disappearance of almost 95% of bird life and the short but heavy mid afternoon showers that replenished fresh water do not occur, instead the moisture builds up more slowly and the clouds move offshore and the rain tends to fall over the ocean.

As well as all these effects from human activities there are so many people who cause issues by feeding the alligators. This has led to many people being bitten and alligators being killed as a result. A few years ago, one idiot with plenty of beer and two girls to impress said he had spent his whole life swimming with the alligators, so he dived in. One attacked him but the girls managed to save him, he left an arm and shoulder behind. he sued and a judge awarded him $10M, I know the US is a "sue them" society but that really takes the biscuit! 

There have also a couple of instances of robbers being chased and diving into a lake only to disappear, the bodies being found later tucked away under ledges put there by an alligator for future meals. Alligators only eat every few days as they have very slow metabolic systems, this also allows them to stay underwater for long periods of time, they can even sleep on the bottom of the waterway.

We eventually arrived back at our starting place, having been out for well over an hour. I wandered back to find Jackie waiting for me in the car and we headed back home. After lunch Jackie dropped me off at the Oceanside Beach and I spent a pleasant ninety minutes there, it was very warm, lol and there were quite a few people there.

Back home and sat outside for a wee while, taking some more photos of Abby, I am not sure if she was scowling at me or the camera, lol!! I then had a lovely shower, before we went out to tea at the Two Georges, another waterside restaurant. This time we managed to get an outside table right by the water. I tried a new drink called, Dirty Banana. It was frozen but I really enjoyed it especially as it contained some coffee liqueur, lol!! 

As we were eating we could see black clouds approaching and we managed to finish before the rain arrived. The servers were moving people inside and tying the sun umbrellas down. We did hear a few rumblings of thunder.and there were some flashes of lightening as we were waiting for the car. The heavens opened just s the car arrived but we did not get too wet. when we arrived back home and exited the car we got a warm welcome from many mosquitos, yuk!

I then wrote my blog to end a wonderful day out!