EVERGLADES PAST AND PRESENT

As anticipated, I could fill this post with yet more bird and gator photos but will spare you the detail – suffice to say “there are lots of birds and animals” here.  

 And some would say a dead Gator is the best sort – so here are 2 types – a skull held by a Ranger and a plate of yummy fried fishy things – including gator.
Brilliant casual fish cafes by the water - fish goes straight from boat to kitchen to plate.  Order at the counter, collect and eat by the waterside on basic wooden benches - Michelin stars be damned.


EVERGLADES PAST

The history of the area around Everglades City is one of long lost Indians, the Caluso, wiped out by Spanish attackers or their diseases, or the American pioneers (fugitives and adventurers) who tamed the swamps and islands for themselves.  Building roads and bridges across the South Florida strip in heat, humidity, swamps, dangerous animals and horrendous mosquito swarms.  They say that one lot of workers would be arriving, one lot working and one lot leaving because they couldn’t stand it!  But it was well paid.

This is the type of country they were dealing with.









One of the best ways we followed the stories was in this amazing store, that is stuffed full of 1920’s to 70’s paraphernalia of living and working as a trader with the Indians and pioneers. 

“Ted Smallwood's Store was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. It remained open and active until 1982. When the doors were shut, 90% of the original goods remained in the store. In 1989 Ted's granddaughter reopened the store as a museum, and today it serves as a time capsule of Florida pioneer history. The centre section of the building remains as Ted would have known it.”





These shelves are just crammed with ancient boxes and containers for everything an isolated community would have needed – anywhere else they would have been specially bought for a museum, but these were just left in the store!







This is one portion of the long building that housed the family, Post Office, general store, kerosene for the generators (no electric here!) and Indian traded goods – the Indians insisting on using silver for their exchanges.



EVERGLADES PRESENT

So nowadays, the few towns such as Everglades City on this West side of Florida, cater to the fishing and hunting enthusiasts – and the wildlife watchers.

Plus a load of tourists from nearby Naples and more civilised condo land, who come to ride in noisy airboats and take pictures of gators – full stop!









These are some of the areas we have taken smaller boats into and walked (heaven forbid!) along boardwalks to catch a glimpse of what the area is like.  To take wilder and longer hikes requires fully waterproof boots, trousers and tracking by the Ranger Stations.  Bit too adventurous for us – this time.






Thought you might like this “Tourist Tree” – because it looks like Brits peeling in the sun!!  A bit harsh I feel! 

And much more like an Aussie comment (sorry Niki!) than an American.