So the long road home began.

Our Virgin Atlantic flight wasn't due to leave Miami International Airport until 21:10 tonight so still plenty of time for things to do, places to see!

We departed the Ocean Pointe apartments at 10:30. I had already keyed our next destination in to the satnav; Everglades Safari Park. The Everglades is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We can’t come all this way and pass so close to the natural habitat of crocs and alligators without taking a little detour and perhaps a ride on an airboat. Besides it’s on our way back to the airport!

Before we did anything we needed to fill up with petrol. Gas stations were plentiful on the way down so it was no surprise within 1 mile of leaving Tavernier we were pulling up along side the pumps. Have you ever wondered why Americans call petrol gas? In science I learned that there are 3 states of matter; solid, liquid and gas. Gas is a vapour. Petrol is liquid. However I have since learnt on my travels that gas is short for gasoline, a petroleum derived oil used in combustion engines. Petrol is a shortened version of petroleum from which many hydrocarbon oil based products are derived. In the early days of motoring in the UK name ’petrol’ was created and the name stuck. This is actually a brand name in a similar way to 'Hoover’ that is now commonly used in the UK to refer to any vacuum cleaner!

Whether gas or petrol the only real difference is the price. I have never seen the quantity dial move faster than the cost dial for years! The fuel cut off at just over 14 gallons. I had to look twice thinking the decimal point was in the wrong place. $42 dollars for a full tank. After converting to sterling and changing from gallons to litres (adjusting for US gallon as opposed to the imperial gallon) this equates to 55p per litre!! I’ve been driving since 1987 and I don’t ever recall fuel costing as little as 55p/litre!! You can’t even buy a pint of milk for less than 55p nowadays!!

It took us about 1 hour 40 to drive the 67 miles to the Everglades safari park. Despite being a small tourist attraction offering airboat rides through the reeds and swamps, alligator shows and a jungle trail, they are also dedicated to promoting the preservation of the Florida Everglades. They offer field trips for children and adults to educate the public about the significant impact of the Florida Everglades upon the community and the necessity of protecting this valuable ecosystem.

The airboat was a flat-bottomed vessel with a large aircraft size propeller securely caged at the aft. 6 rows of bench seats gave way to plenty of room as we were told no more than 5 persons per row. There was easily enough room for 7 persons. Roisin and I made ourselves comfortable on the back row, nearest the propeller.

The Captain, a female ranger whose name escapes me, explained the safety procedures when sat in the boat. These ranged from: ‘don’t stick your hand over the side of the boat and trail it in the water as alligators can’t distinguish between indigenous wildlife and tourists from the UK’  to ‘are you sure you want to sit on the back row? These engines can make quite a racket!’ I don’t know what difference it would make by moving a few feet further away from something that makes the equivalent noise as a Formula 1 racing car!!

We were given a set of earplugs, popped them in and away we went. For a few minutes we coasted slowly as we made our way through some undergrowth. Suddenly we were in a clearing. Through my plugged ears, I heard the Ranger who was sitting on a raised platform at the rear of the boat, shout: ‘3…2…1…’ Throttle down and away we sped. Apart from the noise of an F1 car it felt like we were accelerating like one as well. We skimmed across the water forwards and then sideways for a few kilometres before the engines were cut and the Ranger commenced to tell us about the history, vegetation and wildlife of the Everglades.

I could see everyone was only half listening to our narrator as we were all looking around to see who could be the first to spot a gator. Immediately I lifted the camera to my eye, focused and started snapping away. I was soon reeled back in when I heard the Ranger say: ‘…and we’ll just let this log pass on by before we carry on…!!’ Damn it!! These crocs and alligators are smart dudes if they send out a decoy to throw us off the scent!! That must be the most photographed piece of driftwood in the world. I can see the TV advert now: ‘Should have gone to Specsavers!!!’

It wasn’t long before we spotted our first Gator. The boat had come to a standstill and the engine was cut. It was quite an eerie moment. The alligator just seemingly floated stealthily toward the boat and watched us. Only the bare minimum could be seen above the surface of the water; the eyes and the nostrils. Just enough to be able to breathe and see. Gators have 3 eyelids. One to help them survive on land, a soft pair to help them sleep and a pair that acts like goggles for underwater. Their eyes can also fully retract in to its head. Well today this alligators eyes were fully extended and all 3 sets of eyelid completely open. Just staring. Waiting!! Was it expecting to be fed? I looked around the boat. I didn’t see the carcass of a gazelle or a sack of wriggling rodents. I had half a packet of Hob Nobs in by backpack but no time to entice Mr Gator with the delights of McVities. We were off. We saw several more gators during our excursion….or…they could have been crocodiles as the Everglades is the only place in the US that both alligator and crocodile cohabitate. Apart from the most common difference between an alligator and crocodile being that an alligators nose is more square, the other feature to distinguish crocs from gators is to look at their teeth. Crocodiles’ teeth are much sharper than an alligators’ I’ll take the rangers word for it.

‘Aaghh! Bert, this croc’s just taken a chunk out of my leg.

‘Nah! Fred. That’s not a croc. It’s an alligator. See how all the sinew and muscle is ripped and uneven? If it was a croc it would have been a clean cut!!

During our final stop before heading back we learned that all living wildlife in the Park is protected and is paramount to the Eco existence. At the same time I felt something fluttering on the pull cord to my shorts. As I looked down, this super size moth like butterfly thing was invading my personal space so with one swift movement of the finger I flicked the offending bug and it landed with a plop in a pool of water at the bottom of the boat. It obviously wasn’t a swimming moth like butterfly thing. The frantic fluttering only lasted a few moments. I can confirm the accuracy of the Great boxer, Mohammed Ali’s quote and concur that ‘butterflies DO float!!’ I looked up. The Ranger hadn’t noticed but I couldn’t help slightly shuffling to the right to ensure the evidence was kept out of sight until we were clear of the boat!

After the airboat was safely moored back at base, we swiftly exited and took a ramble around the jungle trail. The first thing I noticed about the jungle trail was that it was indeed a trail and, not surprisingly, quite jungley!! We followed the path of one of the rivulets past a compound that contained a variety of crocodilia.

Within a few more yards of this compound, Roisin pointed across to the bank of the rivulet and there lying literally yards from where we stood, no fencing or barrier between, was a 9 foot crocodile lying there in all its green and warty glory. I could tell it was a croc from its sharp razor teeth gleaming from its open jaws. It was if it was trying to communicate, Trying to tell me that it was ready for the hobnob now the ranger wasn’t looking!!

We headed over to the small viewing shed for the show. A ranger came out and proceeded to ‘tease’ the crocodiles and alligators with food. You could see the speed and feel the pressure as the jaws slammed shut. All 100lbs per square inch of pressure!!

The ranger then in turn brought out an albino Burmese python, a dragon beard lizard and a baby alligator. We all took the chance to ‘have a feel’!! The show ended with the opportunity the have a photo taken holding the baby gator. I didn’t want to hold it too long in case its mammy started missing it and came looking!!

After a late lunch at the Park restaurant and a change of clothes in to something more suitable, we headed to the airport. Roisin never managed to buy a new suitcase stateside. Not taking any chances that her case may split altogether after the cracks and rips that had appeared at the beginning of this blog, we wrapped it in what seemed like 3 miles of cellophane.

We checked in and headed through security to the departure lounge. At the top of a concourse as we were about to step on the escalator that would take us down to the gate, we were stopped by a man in a jacket and tie:

"Excuse me, who are you travelling with today?’

‘Virgin, we replied.

‘Premium Economy?’ he enquired

‘Yes’, Roisin said

‘Would you be interested in our first class lounge? Special offer to Virgin Customers today only. $10 per passenger. Free food, drink, bar, wi-fi’

Why did he say: ‘today ONLY?’ Its not as if we’d be back tomorrow or any time after, and if we don‘t take the offer today we’ll miss out!!

This was great. Free trays of sandwiches, tea/coffee, something stronger if needed. It was all help your self. The wi-fi was a godsend. I could catch up on emails and blog entries. There were less than a dozen people in the lounge that must have had seating for at least a plane load!!! I should have seen the signs. I wasn’t paying attention. A few more people entered the lounge shortly after us. Like a leaky faucet, the steady trickle of passengers wouldn’t stop. Before I realised, within the hour there were children running around, Brits raiding the bar. Sandwiches being grabbed by the handful and being devoured with such swiftness and aplomb of an Everglades alligator!!! From the sublime peacefulness of a First Class lounge, the scene now felt like a drop in centre for the hungry in the centre of the Tenderloin district in San Francisco!!

My theory was that the drink and food was left over from the day (as we were on an evening flight) and as everyone had pissed off home, there was no point in leaving the left over food and drink. It would only go to waste!! Charge everyone $10 and hey presto problem solved! But wait, that guy who canvassed our custom has just appeared, and he’s carrying something. It was a fresh plate of sandwiches. Bang goes my theory. By the time I’d left my seat to cross the room to the sandwich tray it was no long a sandwich tray. It was just a tray. Some passengers were hovering just out of my eye line. The second tray of sandwiches was devoured with the same ferocity as piranhas stripping the flesh from a carcass!

So as another blog comes to a close time to reflect on the last 22 days, 18 of which were spent on board the Royal Princess.

I can’t end this blog without mentioning the special moment we tried some Florida Keys street food. China can keep their pigs snout on a stick and Krygistan can have their rat on a stick. We have been introduced to Key Lime Pie on a stick. As the name suggests, this delicacy was created in the Florida Keys. The first bite as the chocolate instantly melts before releasing the tang of lime followed by the creamy texture of crème fraiche. The digestive biscuit adds that extra bit of crunch. The first bite was more than a special moment, it was a key moment!! How’s that for a tag line: ‘Key Lime Pie, for those KEY moments in life!!’

My biggest disappointment, after thinking he knows what he’s doin has to be the camera man from the film crew. They were setting up for the ‘dream sequence’ in Club 6. I asked him to take a photo of our winning trivia team thinking at last, someone who knows what he’s doing. He even told me that he’ll set the camera to manual. Certainly a man who can talk the talk. Can he walk the walk? No, he took one of the s***test photos I’ve seen!!

Finally, the most unusual souvenir without anyone one saying ‘where did you get that from?’ has to be the Italian vehicle license plate. There is a photo of me early on holding my souvenir in our stateroom. If you want to know where it came from, it fell off the back of a lorry….literally!!!

…but the final words have to go to the reason why we took this trip; the inaugural crossing of the Atlantic by the Royal Princess. The ship is beautiful in design with some outstanding features and different from any others in the fleet. In my experience many people have difficulty in accepting change. You may read lots of negative feedback about the ‘Royal’ but these are likely to be narrow-minded individuals. Sure, there are some faults, as there is with anything new and innovative. In my view, the design of a ship is such a small requirement to make my holiday memorable and this was, indeed a memorable trip

-Measure a journey by the friends you discover-