Florida Dream Tour Day 7

For today's outing, we chose the Babcock Ranch, a massive ranch located north of Cape Coral. There is a city that was specifically planned to withstand environmental influences, meaning all power lines are underground, there are flood catchment basins, and the houses are said to be built to withstand hurricanes. Surrounding it is a vast expanse of land, including the Babcock Preserve, which we visited to embark on the ECO Tour. A natural area full of the wildlife of this habitat—herons, alligators, snakes, birds, as well as pigs and cattle, among others. We drove slowly and carefully through the area in an old converted school bus, able to admire everything calmly and safely through the nonexistent windows, and the slow pace seemed to not disturb the wildlife either. It was also adventurous, as the path went through swampy areas and a large portion over flooded roads. It was tremendously fun.

At many spots, our “guide” stopped to tell us everything about the ranch and the animals, as well as the flora, and to point out the small alligators that we could really only spot if we looked closely. The free-roaming cattle were also great, as they had become so accustomed to the buses that they accompanied us for part of the way. He had a small alligator🐊 in a water basin with him, which we were allowed to observe up close. For all animal lovers: the little creature was returned to its natural habitat the same day, and Jim explained to us that baby alligators are already independent and not bound to their mother, so there was no harm done to the animal through human intervention. It was also very important for us to know this, and so we could observe the animal with a clear conscience.

At the end of the tour, we learned more about the snakes🐍 we had seen the day before and various other things about the wildlife in Florida. I can highly recommend this tour to anyone who finds themselves in this area; the visit to the ranch is well worth the money.

On the way back, we made a stop at Farmer Joe's—this is my store. Look at the pictures above… the shiny polished apples, the massive amounts of peppers, onions, potatoes, all stacked into beautiful pyramids… my goodness, what a job it is to arrange these goods daily. And that cake display— a dream😋😍

After this eventful day, the pool beckoned—we enjoyed the warmth, the sun, and the water, and in the evening, we treated ourselves to a visit to the diner and dined outdoors in style. Another great day!

Insight of the Day: with consideration and respect, one can also enjoy wild nature.