Everglades

We had a good journey down from Naples towards the Florida Keys, stopping off to do an airboat tour of the  Everglades on a small noisy hovercraft.  The mangrove swamps go on for miles and it would be easy to be lost for days in the shallow, brown waterways.  We saw several alligators - they are not bothered by the boats and swim fearlessly up to the side; I was on the side of the boat and quite scared, ending up on Emma's lap in case he decided to climb aboard.  

Then we walked along a boardwalk by the lake where they keep other alligators and were told to look for the 'gator boy' for a 'real educational talk'.  This turned out to be someone who 'wrestles' gators for a living - it's a funny, odd, poor area that scratches a living one way or another introducing tourists to gators.

Gator boy prodded and poked the exhibits, dragging them by the tail until they were exhausted or fed up - it was fascinating and repulsive - he was a fifth generation gator boy and would have been astonished that this was not pc.

Anyone who wanted to could hold the smaller gators - Richard and I declined, but J &E went for it; Ems's one struggled in her arms but she held on to it - we all agreed that we would have dropped and done a runner.

 Here is Ems being an alligator.  Much safer.