Florida Day 5 - 24th May 2012

Shark Valley 

Shark Valley - a 15 mile loop through the Everglades to a lookout tower best taken on a bike.

The route out mainly runs alongside a slough (pronounced 'slew') which is a slow moving channel of water.

Large relaxed alligator at the start of the loop...

Green Heron stalking fish (in a pool containing a large alligator)...

Just a few feet away a 'gator eyes us...

Everglades Butterfly (that's its actual name)...

Red-winged Blackbird...

An Anhinga preening itself...

Baby alligator practicing its mean and knowing looks...

Bigger relative nearby - its white teeth can still be seen in the water...

Looking directly at another large alligator, despite the clear water, you have to look closely to make out its feet and back...

Florida Softshell Turtle with its snorkel like nose about to cross the track...

Panorama from the top of the lookout tower - it looks like dry grassland, but was actually in water - giving it its romanticised 'River of Grass' alternative name...

Miche practicing her Tour de France finishing line pose (work in progress)...

The sit up and beg bike, cloud cover and breeze made us forget it was about a 100 degrees and my hands were so sunburnt they resembled bright red boxing gloves.

The loop on the way back was dryer, but we still saw alligators, fish & turtles...

We also passed a large dead alligator that had died in a fight the evening before, nearby Black Vultures were gathering - though understandably none had the plums to approach it at that time...

Trying to replicate Mark Cavendish's winning celebration on Stage 3 of the 2009 Tour de France in La Grande Motte - it would help if I used the correct hand...

Larger alligator swimming past in a larger channel that also contained plenty of Florida Gar and Turtles...