E
IS FOR EVERGLADES
NATIONAL PARK
There’s a delicate
balance that exists
within the Everglades, the 1.5
million-acre national park that
provides refuge to some of
the world’s most endangered
species, including the Florida
panther. It’s the kind of place
where quiet hobbies like
ornithology sit harmoniously
side-by-side with riskier
pastimes such as python
hunting. Yes, python hunting.
In early 2013 the Florida
Fish and Wildlife Commission
sparked a media frenzy when
it announced its 2013 Python
Challenge. Part publicity stunt
and part actual competition,
the Commission challenged
the public to help reduce the
number of Burmese pythons
that have been laying siege to
the swamps since the 1990s,
when a number of pet snakes
were released into the wild,
where they have grown as
long as six metres. While it’s
estimated that there’s as many
as 150,000 of them in the
Everglades, three weeks into
the challenge only 41 had been
caught. Which was sort of the
point – to educate the public
on just how wily these slithery
guys can be. While there are
plenty of ways to explore the
Glades, Christina Soverns
Schwartzman of Sawgrass
Recreation Park, one of the
region’s handful of adventure-
focused tour operators,
believes “airboats are by far
the best way to explore by
gliding over the sawgrass and
cattails.”
nps.gov/ever
myfwc.com
evergladestours.com
D
IS FOR DAVID’S CAFE
From mojitos to
medianoches
(
Cuban sandwiches),
Miami is defined by the smells, sounds and flavours
of Cuba. Since 1977, both cocktails and Havana-style
sandwiches have been served up at David’s Café, a pale blue
South Beach institution on the corner of Collins Avenue between
10
th and 11th Street. David’s does brisk business 24 hours a
day at its takeout window, where customers – from models to
construction workers – line up for a morning
café con leche
or
some post-club sustenance. Or you can take a seat inside at the
long counter, where orders come with a side of chatty service –
much of it, of course, en Español.
davidscafe.com
C
IS FOR CABLE-STAYED BRIDGES
In some places, a bridge is just a bridge
–
but Florida’s growing collection of
cable-stayed bridges have become
tourist attractions unto themselves. The crown
jewel of them all is the Bob Graham Sunshine
Skyway Bridge, connecting St Petersburg and
Manatee County, known for its 42 striking yellow
cables. At 6.5km long, it’s the world’s longest cable-
stayed concrete bridge (The Travel Channel ranked
it number three of the world’s top 10 bridges).
While the trek across can be frightening for some,
as you speed along 193 feet above Tampa Bay, the
structure’s 36 strategically-placed ‘dolphins’ (aka
bumpers) make the bridge able to withstand more
force than three fully-loaded Boeing 727s could
generate at takeoff. In other words, it’s sturdy and
then some.
dot.state.fl.us
Bob Graham Sunshine Skyway Bridge
