Florida: Airboat ride in the Everglades

Day 198
No Travel

We finally got to see what the campgrounds and clubhouse looked like in daylight today. Before I leave here, I need to try out their pool table. I did not notice it last night as we got the nickel tour of the place, but it was the first thing I noticed this morning. Everglades Isle focuses on the RV business and not so much the boater business, so for boaters it is a well-kept secret.

I love their logo, but
 I can't understand why it doesn't mention anything about boating!

We walked up to the clubhouse for our showers, paid our docking fees for the three days we are here, and then walked up the lighthouse steps for a look around the area.

View from Lighthouse at Everglades Isle

View from Lighthouse at Everglades Isle

After eating a very late breakfast we walked across the street to Jungle Erv's Airboat Rides. They have two locations and the second, further away, location sounded more interesting for the same price, so we signed up for that one. The only drawback was that we had to bike 20 to 30 minutes to get there - partway being on Rte 41. Fortunately we did not have to go too far on the highway, it had a decent berm, and the traffic was relatively light.

Before leaving, however, I decided I was way overdressed and would "fry" in a hurry with the too-heavy clothes I was wearing. After buying our tickets, we went back to the boat briefly so I could change. Then we left town and headed on our way. Out of "N" choices for airboat rides, we chose this company because of a recommendation from the marina personnel.

Clark snapped this picture on his way out of town (not in).

I am not sure how far we biked to get to the airboat place, but it seemed like it took forever to get there. My legs complained along the way that they were tired, and a couple of times I had to stop for a water break as I was parched! We bought tickets for the 2:00 ride and arrived about 1:50, so we did not have a lot of time to spare once we got there.

Jungle Erv's was recommended by Everglades Isle as the best.

Our ticket included the airboat ride as well as entry to their jungle boardwalk and alligator show. To be sure customers actually see an alligator on their visit, Jungle Erv's has a few on hand so no one leaves disappointed.

Well-fed Alligator hangs out by the office for treats.

Many of the airboats in the area are small and hold only 3 or 4 passengers. The one we rode on was built to hold about 10 to 12 guests. My understanding from talking to the staff at the marina is that all the companies charge about the same price.

Our 12-seater airboat.

The Jungle Erv tour we selected goes through private land and is only traveled by Jungle Erv captains. All the other airboat companies, including the Jungle Erv location close to the marina, use common waters for their shows. We liked the private tour. Clark took numerous photos during our ride as well as a number of videos.

Some great videos are included at the end of the blog entry.

Airboat Selfie
(the white bands are my backpack straps that I was holding onto tightly)

We went through tight spots

and wide-open areas

through the mangroves in shallow waters

The captain said he made a wrong turn and got lost.
Then he took pictures of his guests --
8 folks who came together from Minnesota and us.

We found a non-paying guest on the boat.
The woman behind me screamed like she was being murdered when it climbed on her.

Feet up, sit back, enjoy the ride!
We had front-row seats - nice!!

About 2/3 of the way through the one-hour tour
I added noise cancelling headphones to my attire to give my ears a rest.

I looked at my watch several times during the ride - I did not want the ride to end since it was so enjoyable. As we wove back and forth through the mangroves I had two questions in my head - 1) how the heck does he know where he is since it all looks very similar and 2) are we just going in circles over the same territory and I can't tell? I never learned the answer to either question.

All too soon my hour was up and it was time to depart. We rode our bikes to the Jungle Boardwalk to take advantage of the second part of tour two-part tickets. The bike ride back to town seemed just as long and tiring as the trip to the airboat ride - no fair!! I was hoping one way would feel easier than the other. One with the wind, one against - that type of thing!

Boardwalk into Jungle at Jungle Erv's

We walked the boardwalk to the alligator exhibit first.

We were greeted by this 200-pound fella.
(Fortunately he was behind a fence.)

 The alligator handler had a lot to say. In fact he never stopped talking from before we got there as he finished explaining alligators to the prior visitors as we arrived until we could still hear him talking to his next visitors as we walked away. He went non-stop!

The handler said I could hold a small one, so I did!

He had a muzzle on to protect me from his needle-sharp teeth.
His skin felt smooth and soft and not even real to the touch.

After viewing and petting alligators, we continued our way along the boardwalk and came out where airboats passed by us.

By the time we were done with our Jungle Erv adventure, the day was rapidly coming to a close. We got back to the marina entrance at 4:20 or so and decided not to bother going back to the boat yet. We kept going and went in search of an early dinner in town. Bill at the marina recommended that we dine at the cafe with the old yellow bug out front. We found the bug but did not care for the menu.

Landmark for a Local Restaurant

The menu at the "yellow bug" cafe was mostly fried foods, and they had no stone crabs. Disappointed we left to seek our meal elsewhere. As we rode around to the various restaurants in the area, we saw a couple of interesting sights.

Chokoloskee Crossing Road Sign -
A new one on me!

Traps, traps and more traps!
What makes this unusual??
The traps are across the street from the back of the high school
which is located basically on the water!

 We finally decided on the Triad Cafe based on online reviews of the local choices. Having arrived at 5:05, we thought we were early for dinner. We were surprised when the waitress told us the kitchen just closed, but she would take our order anyway (if we hurried). Dumbfounded, we looked at one another and then the menu. She quickly got the hint that we had no idea what to order. She went to get us our water to drink to give us a couple of minutes to review the options.

I decided on a cranberry-walnut salad topped with grilled shrimp. It was delicious. Clark opted for stone crabs. The waitress told him this is the "stone crab capital of the world", so he had better order them over his other possible selections. He could not decide and asked for her advice - and got it!

Yummy salad with shrimp!

Chalk one up to Clark for one of my best birthdays ever - certainly one of the most memorable!

Airboat videos!