Today I spent the day in Fort Lauderdale! I had a 1 hour layover. I can say, this is one of the dirtiest and in general unappealing airports (and I have travelled a fair bit). But it is very conveniently located. They have great public transportation to get you into town or you can get a Uber for a small fare as well. On Saturday and Sunday from 9am – 5pm you can get a free shuttle to and from the river walk area for FREE!!! That is my kind of price!!! It was super easy to get it to go into town. I will admit- I got lost and couldn’t figure out where to pick it up. So- I paid for an UBER and that cost me $4.43. Not bad at all. Plus it saved me the added stress of panicking about missing my flight. But it was delayed. SO I actually ended up having a couple of extra hours at the airport.

I had no idea what I was going to do- but breakfast seemed of the utmost importance. So I saw some local ladies on their morning walk/chat. They seemed like a good choice to ask for recommendations. Sadly, I remembered how to get to the area of the restaurant but not the name. So- I don’t think I went to the right restaurant. I went to Indigo Restaurant . The food was pretty good. but it was a little overpriced and the service was very slow. But I had 12 hours to kill- so it didn’t affect me too much. It was a nice break from the heat. HOLY CRAP!!! It is So hot in Fort Lauderdale! It said it was 80 degrees in the morning. Well…With the humidity I was dying! I started panicking about Peru. I am going to have to raft in this sweltering heat all day for 3 days- plus the day of building the raft! Who’s bright idea was this.

I then began wondering down the shopping area. And I saw a sign for a water taxi. I thought. That sounds like a fun little thing to do. I did have to wait about 20 minutes to go. But I see a Iguana. That was cool. You scientist out there- please feel to correct me of what species of reptile it is. 🙂

I didn’t have anywhere to go. So just went for the ride. They have a all day pass- it is not cheap $28.00. But I had already committed- I was on the boat and we were on the water. But in the end it was well worth it- even though I was only going to be able to use it for part of the day. I was on the water taxi for about 3 hours or so. I went inside out of the heat for part of it and rested. I ended up just riding it from one end to the other. They give you a tour as you go. They tell you about all the millionaire houses and yachts. I have never seen this kind of wealth. I am fascinated by all the yachts. I have never seen any the size of them and there were tons and tons of them. It was crazy!

It was fun to tour around and see Billionaire Row. Even the area where the “Normal” live was still 6-7 million dollar homes. . I think this trip is going to be the complete and utter extremes- The Billionaires of Fort Lauderdale and some impoverished people in Peru.

I winded down my time in Fort Lauderdale with a walk along the river. They had an outdoor exercise place- like something I have never seen before. The pictures do not do it justice.

I returned to the airport drenched in sweat. I had to go buy a cheap t- shirt because somehow my spare outfit was not in my carryon. Let’s hope that is the only thing I forgot to pack! Back at the airport I ate a wonderful dinner at a Cuban restaurant. Surprisingly it wasn’t too expensive. All and all it was a very enjoyable day in Florida. There are lots of fun things in this area that I would like to explore. I guess that will be another trip!