more miami    west one

One thing that we did not anticipate at all when coming here was the language barrier when shopping. All of west Miami and the western and southern suburbs are communities of immigrants. We knew that there are many immigrants from Cuba and had expected to hear Spanish spoken frequently. But we did not anticipate the fact that this is a city of mostly immigrants and that the English language is rarely heard spoken. The area is inhabited by people from just about every South American country one can think of. We have spent a lot of time in Texas and California in locations where Spanish is common, but in this area it is sometimes difficult to find help in stores if you do not understand Spanish! We have had difficulty locating English speaking help in stores like Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Target and Best Buy. The background music is all in Spanish. Even at Christmas, it was very rare to hear music with English words. We have often discussed the fact that we have less difficulty shopping and feel far more welcome in the towns south of the Mexico border, than we do when visiting West Miami and Kendall. We have gotten to where we usually drive 70 miles into Naples to our west where English is spoken, rather than traveling just 25 miles to Kendal or 30 to Miami, because of the difficulty in getting assistance. 

 We find that in these communities we are rarely greeted in English and when we are,  the help still banter in Spanish with us standing at the counter. On several occasions, we have had difficulty in finding help out on the floor of Wal-Mart who could understand us. Most restaurants do have at least some help who speak our language, but even there we often feel out of place. Even the few anglo residents of the western part of the city usually speak in Spanish. It has been an experience we will not soon forget and I doubt that we would ever consider returning.

One of the very best things about our present lifestyle has been the many wonderful friends that we have made along the way. We believe that our present life has enabled us to see things which we once only dreamed of and to have taken part in experiences that in our working days we could not even have imagined. But of all the wonderful things that our travels and work-camping experiences have lead to, the greatest of all have been the people that we can now call friends. In our time here we have been fortunate to meet several new friends from this website, or from other internet contacts. There have also been several of our RVing friends from past locations who have shared some time with us. I'll not list names here, since many readers would not recognize names and from the concern of leaving someone out. But for those who have visited us, consider this to be a very public "thank you" for caring enough to spend some of your time allowing us to meet with you! And for anyone who has not been here, consider this to be your personal invitation to stop by.We are always happy to renew friendships and to make new ones.

I can think of no greater gift that I could receive than the gift of your friendship!

On Wednesday we traveled back to the Flamingo area and got to see a manatee cow and calf up very close.

Manatee pair  face  bagy

The two were hanging out in the area of the boat slips, near the marina. What wonderful, friendly animals. These "cows of the sea" seem to have no fear of people at all. It made for one great day!

For those who enjoy birds, or even for the serious birder, the Shark Valley area is becoming a very special place! While we will always be best known for the alligators and the nearness of them, people who enjoy birds should not miss what is happening here this year.

        anhinga & chick     gallinule    wood storks    snowy egret

In the past week the activities of mating season have taken on a high pitch of activity. One would almost think that somehow even the birds know that Valentine's Day is rapidly approaching!

The birds are, three young anhingas with father on the nest, a purple gallinule collecting flowers for his lady, a pair of wood storks roost near the newly constructed nest, and a snowy egret is performing to attract a mate.

gator down

Very carefully, I suppose? 

In fact this issue is a part of the training which all seasonal rangers get, even those of us who are volunteers. It has proven to have been a good thing since we find that it does happen, and not that rarely. 

On one occasion I was on roving patrol out near one of the walking trails when I heard a very worried voice saying, "Hello! Hello? Is anyone out there?" The reason was that some alligator had chosen to sun himself laying across the trail such that there was no way to get past, and no other route back to the parking area. On another occasion I was on duty in the visitor center when we were informed that an alligator was laying accross the paved walking area such that nobody could pass by in either direction without passing much too close to one end or the other of the alligator. Today, Pam was on roving patrol of the biking/walking trail when she was flagged down to deal with that very same issue.

 We have found that asking gently, "Mr. Gator, would you be so kind as to move your postierior?" does not usually have much results. What do to resolve the problem is to take a pole and approach the rear of the gator to tap him gently on the tail. The tail is reccomended since that end doesn't generally bite! In most cases, banging the pole on the ground near the gator will get him to move, but there are times when you must tap the tail to get the desired reaction. There are also times when the tap only gets a few steps and must be repeated, while still other times the gator is reluctant to move and lets you know that by hissing his displeasure, before he moves away. Thus far we have found that persistance has always worked, even when under protest. But one never knows for sure and this is a place where new experiences happen nearly every day!

                                                           gator moves

   san marcos pelican class c

 Today we made a visit to San Marcos Island to check out the beachs there and to see the haven of the northern snowbird. It is a very wealthy area and one where the average age must be at least 60 since we saw almost no young people on the streets. In fact, we didn't see even one school or school crossing in the entire visit. They must be home to the world's most friendly polican population!

On our way home we stopped at Wal-Mart near Naples and that is where I took the picture of the class C shown here. That shed is mounted on rail extensions from the frame rails of the chassis. That thing must be a real chore to drive with the front so light and the rear so overloaded!

The question frequently arises as to if we have crocodiles or alligators. It is lesson time!

alligator walks  crocodile

 There is actually quite a bit of difference, once you know how to tell. The easiest thing is that alligators live in fresh water and crocodiles in salt. But there are a few places where there are both, so just to make sure that you know which is eating you, I'll try to make this simple. 

The thing to remember is that an alligator is black and the corcodile is gray. Also, since you will be seeing the eating end of the animal best, remember that if the nose tapers down to a narrow front it is a corcodile but it the nose is broad and flat with a rounded front it is an alligator. This way, should you happen to survive the event you will have accurate stories to tell to people you know!

On Jan. 29, at 7:30 am we were down on the waterfront for the trip to Dry Tortugas National Park.

entry sign moat lighthouse

 The park is fairly small but very interesting. The boat trip was fun and really quick as the distance is about 70 miles and we got there in just over two hours. The boat feeds breakfast and lunch and provides drinking water for the trip. They also give a guided tour of the island.

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