Wandering Wild in Corkscrew Swamp

The weather wasn't really on my side as I headed south for a few days around Sarasota and Naples. Crossing the spectacular Sunshine Skyway Bridge across Tampa Bay, which looked to be a unique experience, was, instead, a foggy, drizzly, traffic-bound crawl....this holiday really was turning out to be the opposite of everything I had planned and anticipated. The hotel in Sarasota wasn't much better - one of those with nothing to offer but a very predictable breakfast served on paper plates with plastic cutlery - lining the main busy highway, gloomy and miserable. Naples was the opposite. I seemed to be in the poshest hotel in town, with gold-plated lift doors, chandeliers and all things over the top. Not for me.  Luckily, I finally had one sunny day to see the glories of the area - long, shell-white beaches, gentle seas, great shopping and quite a cool feel to the place - even a couple of dolphins cruising near the beach in Naples. One day of this is enough for me, however. The binoculars were jiggling about in the case and my bird book kept finding its way to my bedside table, pleading to be needed. Enough of damp Sarasota and horribly pretentious, flashy Naples. I had to see some wildlife.

Like logs as far as the eye could see

 My first great adventure was at Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary. Serendipity strikes when you least expect it. Just as I arrived, at an odd hour, I spied a huge tractor-like jeep - which I learned was a swamp buggy, with just a couple of people perched high on top. The driver looked forlorn. She cheered up a lot when I showed interest and offered me a three-hour ride in the buggy 'to places the public don't see'. How could I resist? We eventually found another couple of very enthusiastic bird watchers and set off. This jeep is such fun. We crashed through metre-deep swamp, gurgled our way through swathes of mud, and eased our path through several different swamp habitats, most of the varieties to be found in Florida, in our quest  to see wildlife. We were rewarded with more than I could ever have imagined!

Wood Stork

Alligators lurked and eyed us from the murk, some draped fashionably with swamp weeds. Turtles lazed like yellow and green plates on the ponds, whilst I saw birds that at last required checking in the bird book. Wood storks with strange gnarled heads, owls who were happy to stare us out, graceful spoonbills, my sister birds with their flashes of neon pink, hawks, birds with funny names like grackles and shrikes...it was just amazing and I learnt loads. This is when I am in an almost Zen-like state of excitement, just like when I am painting. I live in the moment, lose track of time and reach a sublime level of happiness. It's what I live for and love.

Travel journaling is hard work. No time for any fancy arty stuff (though I always have a caseful of materials!) - just got to get it all down. Luckily the US is the best place possible for information. Visitors centres, to be found anywhere of interest, are packed with information, guides and all sorts of goodies. Local tourist centres are also excellent. My trusty Pogo mini printer works almost constantly after dinner, getting red hot. Many a night I am struggling to finish and fighting sleep - but I never, ever regret the extra effort. It's always worth it - I can relive my experiences over and over again, especially on gloomy rainy days like today in Lousada.