Flamingo Campground – Bug Country!
Today we headed deeper into the Everglades to the home of the crocodiles and mosquitoes! The drive was only 38 miles but it took us over 4 hours, as we stopped to hear the whispers of the park at almost every trail along the way.
Flamingo was quite different from Long Pine. Much more commercialized and a heavy focus on water-based activities such as fishing, kayaking & boating in general. The campground too was a total contrast with simply open fields and pull-thru sites and not a pine tree to be found!
We arrived at check-in only to be advised our site wasn’t quite ready due to an incident requiring the removal of our neighbour by helicopter. So, off to the Marina we went which was located next to the temporary visitor center. This area was hit really hard by Hurricane Irma in 2017 and it’s just now beginning to recover. Many trails were not yet open or passable, especially on bike.
The days here were spent once again with a lot of biking and a little walking, with the Snake Bight trail as our bike highlight. Although Momma Jo wouldn’t use the word “highlight” (see the video here). Here we saw more birds but also the endangered manatees and of course the dreaded crocodile. On the first sighting of the crocs, all hopes were gone for the kayak/canoe rental that Steve was pushing for.
The nights were a different story, as the Gnats or “no-see-ums” were definitely seen by us, as we had an invasion into Winniefred on that first night. We’re still not quite sure how these little flying pests got into the RV but for a while there it seemed like a scene from “Invasion of the Ants!”. A couple across from us from Windsor had mentioned the bugs came out pretty bad at dusk and only afterwards did we put 2 and 2 together with the fact that our new friends closed things up pretty tight just before dusk. In hindsight it must have been hilarious watching us chase and swat this horde of pests that never seemed to end! Lesson learned : Close the sunlight… Not the easiest sleep as we dreamt of bugs, not sheep or lollipops.