The Everglades look quite a bit like the moors in Northern Germany. For me who grew up near such places the Everglades probably aren't as scenic as for others. One interesting aspect is that the vegetation is quite different from what I've seen in relatively old documentations, as the swamp is slowly drying out.
Of course, the value of such places does not lie in the beauty of the landscape. It's mostly highly specialized plants and insects which makes it mandatory to preserve. Thus, one cannot actually do much while visiting the national park for just one day. The hikes are short (and interesting), you can book a boat tour at Flamingo and Everglades City, or a tour with one of those dreaded air boats. But for the real experience a ranger lead tour would be necessary, for which I didn't have time.
However, it was worth the trip. I saw an adult alligator relaxing in the sun, only three meters from the trail. These animals sure can grow quite large. Or some really large locusts. Even, despite the time of day, many birds.
What I really don't like is the climate. Too hot, too humid for me. I cannot drink water as fast as I sweat it. At least the mosquitos are bearable, though they caught me on my back quite heavily where I wasn't able to apply the repellent.
The gulf coast is more of my liking. Nice, tidy, well-maintained. A small detour through Downtown Naples, which has nice upper-quality shops and restaurants, brought me to the beach. While a thunderstorm was building up over the sea, two dolphins swam by. Unfortunately, there was not enough light anymore to photograph them, but just watching wild dolphins was a nice and totally unexpected experience.
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