We took one day to make a trip to a place called Jungle Adventure. It was one of the places recommended by the condo association employees. They said they like to check out things first hand before recommending them and they really liked it so off we went. The GPS did not feel like cooperating with us. We were re-routed back into a large circle and eventually decided we weren't listening to her anymore and just winged it instead. I must say we did a much better job of it than the GPS did. Stupid thing.
The Jungle Adventure's main draw apparently is the alligators. Seemed like every other word was all about the alligators and one of the employees actually stepped into the water (bare footed) to feed them raw meat. This was intended to be a daring thing I'm sure and we were supposed to be very impressed but honestly I wasn't all that impressed. I felt that the gators were so well known and fed by hand so many times that there really wasn't much danger of anyone losing a limb to them. Frankly....I was bored by it and waited for it to end so we could go on the boat ride.
First we viewed various animals in caged environments...again, I was not impressed. The animals were lovely and I got to see some that I've never seen before. But I felt the cages were way too small for them and the coyotes in particular seemed very stressed out. One was pacing back and forth the entire time, panting. I was disturbed by it. Most of the others were either sleeping in the oppressive heat or panting heavily and looking miserable. I am not insensitive to any animals body language and these animals were not happy. I began to wonder how anyone could have recommended this place as a good place to visit. I thought it cruel to keep them in such small cages...I felt like I was at a circus where you're supposed to be oh so impressed by the animal and blind, deaf and dumb to their suffering. Have you guessed that I'm against any circus?
We were a rather small group and the last 'show' of the day so we were brought into an open air building and one of the guys brought out various creatures that are unusual and dangerous...in their own environment. Apparently most of these animals are used for demonstrations all the time and accustomed to being handled. (I said most of them) The first was a young alligator (of course!) and everyone was allowed to hold it and have our picture taken. These pictures were then made into refrigerator magnets and sold to us on our way out. My magnet is on my fridge right now...although I did entertain the idea of not buying it for a few minutes. Then I realized it would give me some small bragging rights so I did buy it.
Next was a large boa constrictor...and I held that too...although at that point Carol jumped up; squealed and ran for the farthest corner of the room. I don't have a problem with snakes and the rippling strength in it's body was impressive. I liked it.
When he brought out a tarantula my budding love affair with this show was over immediately! I began to understand why Carol had run screaming to a safe distance. I wanted to do just that...but I held my ground and told myself over and over 'he can't make me touch it, he can't make me touch it'. When he brought it close to me and I refused to have it crawl on my hand he thought he could convince me with 'Ah love, you've trusted me up to now'. to which I promptly replied 'just looking at it makes me want to be sick'. He moved on immediately...guess I wasn't his 'love' anymore.
Next up was a scorpion. That was almost as bad as the damn spider...too many legs for my comfort. However, I did agree to "touch" it...and he held it so I could touch it's cool shell like exterior. Yuck!
The last one was another snake..although this one was much smaller and I think it was a poisonous one. Well this thing got loose from him and kept trying to bite him when he tried to grab it. I watched this with fascination....there was no fear involved but a lot of skill. He knew exactly what he was doing and knew he'd get it back in his hand with little effort. Then he explained to us that this particular little snake was new to the show and was being groomed by being handled a lot. It didn't really feel safe doing it yet. He didn't offer to pass that one around...thankfully.
Finally with that show over, we were shown a replica of an Indian village and that was interesting. They had different weapons and tools that were all made by hand by these Indians. I don't remember their name now, but they were indigenous to the area until the Spanish came to Florida and kill them all off. It was also explained how these Indians would trap and kill an alligator to use it for food. That was very interesting (and brave!) and they didn't waste any part of the animal.
On to the boat ride! We were taken through a winding water way full of duck weed. I've seen plenty of duck weed ponds here in Ct but I've never seen THAT much in my life. And although they say it's a very nutritious food source I've never seen any animal eat it either.
I neglected to mention the adorable birds (parrots?) that were in the main building when we arrived. One named Gordon liked to talk his head off but his vocabulary was limited. I heard him saying 'hello' from several rooms away, in that distinct parrot voice. I spent some time with Gordon because I needed a break from the heat outside and inside was air conditioned. I will admit I had a great time talking to Gordon and I tried to teach him to say 'here kitty kitty' but all he'd do is cock his head and look at me when I said it. But I think if someone were to keep repeating it to him he'd have in a short time. He did whistle when I whistled at him...which was fun. He really had me laughing quite a bit at some of his antics. He'd hang upside down and whistle at me then said 'hello' and bob his head in time to some rhythm only he can hear. Bird disco perhaps?
Another bird next to him would only say 'hello' to Gordon...didn't want to talk to me and refused to engage with me no matter how foolish I became. He was very pretty but not as much fun as good old Gordon.
On our way home we stopped at a place called Florida Seafood. The decor was very impressive...having all sorts of pirate statues and items from the sea on the walls and around every corner. They also had some massive fish tanks but they weren't as impressive as they could have been if they'd actually had more than a few fish in each one. I had the crab cakes, which were good but I thought they should have been better for the price I paid for them. And they had a nice tiki bar setup outside that must be pretty in the evening when they turn the little lights on and get the waterfall going.
We were exhausted when we headed back home. The heat really takes a lot out of you. All I wanted was a shower and a nice cool drink to sip while sitting on the balcony and watching the pelicans dive for their final fish of the day. The sea is so peaceful and the pelicans were fascinating to watch.
