Bicycling Shark Valley Loop

Mary and I woke around 5:30, so we did our German lessons, read the news feed and responded to a few emails. I made oatmeal for breakfast again with raisins and walnuts along with hot tea. We left the house around 8 am to drive to the Shark Valley area of Everglades National Park. We rented bicycles as soon as we arrived to ride out to the observation tower. The fee was $22 per bicycle, and the rental lasted until 6 pm. The bikes were not the extreme fat tire types that are becoming more common at beaches but were like the bicycles of a generation ago. They did not have hand brakes but rather the old coaster brakes. They were perfect for the flat 15 mile round trip ride to the observation tower and back.

We had walked out the trail at Shark Valley many times but never more than about five miles. Usually we walked only two or three miles along the Everglades stream. On this trip we planned to cycle all the way out to the observation tower then back on a trail through grassy marshland to the visitor center. While at the visitor center, Mary got her National Park Passport stamped.

Once on the bikes we rode south slowly, stopping for alligators, birds, turtles, fish and any other wildlife. As usual, we saw a number of alligators but didn’t see the variety’s of birds that we recalled seeing in years past. It could have been the weather or any number of reasons, but we saw several heron and egret species as well as gallinules, hawks and crows. When we made it to the end of the trail we climbed the observation tower for photos and a water break. After spending about 20 minutes at the tower, we continued our ride back to the visitor center. This part goes through a grassy wetland where we saw far less wildlife than on the trail to the tower. However, we saw several alligators including at least a couple of females on nests with baby alligators. The sun was very bright and the temperature was about 80, so we were getting very tired and got off to walk the bicycles in order to stretch.

We got back to the visitor center around 2:30, returned the bicycles and found a picnic table for lunch of our usual Ritz crackers with peanut butter and apples. After eating, Mary bought some postcards from the visitor center gift shop. We got back in the rental car to drive back toward our rental house in Naples. We stopped at the Oasis Visitor Center since we like the boardwalk overlooking the stream there that is usually teeming with alligators, fish and turtles. We found a helpful ranger who answered our questions and pointed out some of the larger alligators in that stream. Mary got the National Park passport stamps for Big Cypress National Preserve and the Florida Nature Trail there.

We drove west, stopping briefly at the H. P. Williams Roadside Park, where there were a few alligators and birds but nothing notable. We were tired and ready for dinner so we returned to our rental house.

We found the Peruvian restaurant, Lima, not far away and decided to give it a try. We arrived to a much more elegant restaurant than we expected, but they were happy to receive us. We chose a table outside since the evening was so nice. We all started with a drink. Mary had a ginger lemonade, Mark had a Peruvian beer, Cindy had a cocktail made with Picso, a Peruvian brandy. I had a shot of the Pisco which was very floral and nice to sip. We all had popular Peruvian entrees for dinner. Mary and Cindy had shrimp tacu tacu with aji amarillo sauce which is a mild yellow pepper sauce. The shrimp were served with tacu tacu, a beans and rice side. Mark had the Seco de Cordero, lamb shank with rice and vegetables, and I had pan seared grouper with roasted potatoes and a spring mix salad. Everyone enjoyed the meal and was pleased with the experience at a Peruvian restaurant. Our waitress was very pleasant, helpful and attentive, so we came away with a very positive attitude about the restaurant.

We were very tired from the day, so we didn’t do much back at the house. Mark and I read while Mary and Cindy dealt with technology issues on Cindy’s Surface tablet. We got our kitchen cabinets ordered from RTAcabinets that should be delivered in late February or early March.

We all went to bed early since we planned to kayak on Thursday, which would make another long day.