Miami - See and be Seen

Our flight to Miami leaves at 11:55 am. Promptly at 11:14, we are at the check-in counter of American Airlines, which closes 40 minutes before departure. The lady at the counter is pounding the keyboard like crazy. 'Come on...' Phew, our tickets are still printing. 'You had seconds, not minutes, do you understand?' We understand, it all worked out! :) The fee for the backpacks is also forgotten in the rush, yeah!

Our hostel/hotel is right on Miami Beach and we jump into the pool in glorious sunshine. In our room, we meet Tim from Buenos Aires, who proudly presents his start-up company's tourism VR app. In the evening, we meet him and his sister Catalina at the bar for a few beers. At first glance, there's not much evidence of the aftermath of the hurricanes.

The next day, we don't feel like sightseeing and we spend most of our time with our new friends at the 'dirty beach'. Somehow, Stephan had imagined it without all the algae stuff. In the evening, we go to the 'Broken Shaker' with Catalina and have drinks and food. Our waiter seems to be on drugs and fills us up without restraint, while dancing.

On Monday, we book a Miami tour and are picked up from the hostel with a slight hangover. First, we go on an airboat ride through the Everglades. The area around the dock is pretty flooded and a lot of things are makeshift. On the water, we see four alligators in their natural habitat. Afterwards, we watch the Gator Boys show. The crocodile doesn't fool around and the show goes on without bloodshed. Back in Miami, we head to the Bayside for a cruise. The tour takes us past the villas of the beautiful and rich. The largest villa by far is owned not by RiRi or Puffy, but by the inventor of Viagra. On the tour, we see several boats (presumably) submerged after the hurricane. The gangster house from Bad Boys 2 is currently up for sale; for a mere $40 million. Anyone interested? In the evening, we meet again at the Broken Shaker and our group expands to include Benjamin from Santiago de Chile and Alicia from England.

On the day of departure, we head back to South Beach and Ocean Drive. Some palm trees are bent and the construction work is in full swing. Nevertheless, we can say that the news coverage made it worse than it actually was. At least for us as tourists. This time, we take the Airport-Express a bit earlier towards the airport. By the way, you can eat at the gates at normal prices. Our plane is still being checked by mechanics, so we take off slightly delayed towards San Jose.