June 23, 2007

“Please fasten your seat belts,” announced the stewardess, and soon I was flying in the periwinkle blue sky, high above the puffy white, candy floss like clouds. My destination was Miami, Florida, where I was to spend the next two months. After over 24 hours of travelling, I was met by my father at Miami airport; in the excitement I forgot all my exhaustion.

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As the white clouds moved lazily across the pale blue sky, I thought that this was the perfect day to visit Monkey Jungle. It’s an organisation that rears and protects monkeys of all kinds that were once owned by circus, beaten or just forgotten by their owners. At the Monkey Jungle, we found out that humans will be caged and the monkeys will run wild. First we saw the Red Howlers which made a loud, continuous weird noise, and picked fleas out of each other’s fur; it was truly hilarious!

We also saw the Squirrel Monkeys swinging from one branch to another, some with tiny babies hanging on their back, as if they were glued there. These monkeys were clever. They were moving a pot, waiting for someone to put food in it. When I did, they quickly pulled it up through the chain, gobbled up the food and then asked for more. Everybody just couldn’t help laughing!

Next we met Mei, the Orangutan. She was about twenty five years old and was born in the Monkey Jungle. She touched her eyes, then hugged herself and then pointed towards us. This meant, “I love you.” As a reward, her trainer gave her some bananas and strawberries to eat.

After having some snacks, we headed to meet the King — of the monkeys that is! The gorilla, whose name also happened to be King, was a silver back. It turned out that all the gorillas with silver backs are kings. We saw dozens of other monkeys such as Baboons, Black and White Colobus and many more, including monkeys in a lake. The trainer rang a bell and threw some strawberries, bananas and boiled eggs in a small lake. All the monkeys gathered and dived in, peeling off egg shells and banana skins, then gobbling them up!

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Everyone was interested in going to the Keys for which Florida is famous. Florida Keys or the Key West is a place where thousands of islands are connected through forty two bridges. It is the southern most point of the USA. Many people go scuba diving in the crystal clear water where there are corals, sea plants and animals exclusive to Key West.

After packing our car with junk food for the kids and health food for adults, we set out on our long, six-hour drive. As we reached the Keys, I was flummoxed to see that we were on a bridge that was surrounded on both sides by Atlantic Ocean. On the way we saw countless rivers and lakes with warm and gentle waters; a peaceful and scenic view indeed. When we got there, we had a look through a huge telescope, through which we could see Cuba. We also learnt the history of the Keys.

Centuries ago Key West was invaded by pirates. They would collect all the treasure from ships that crashed on the islands. Eventually the pirates died out, and The Keys came to be known as ‘Los Martires’ — martyrs, because the land was covered with dead bodies. These islands are now called Keys, derived from the Spanish word, ‘Cayo’ meaning a low, flat island.

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We also went to many beaches, my favourite one being at Fort Lauderdale downtown in Las Olas. You can swim in the sea as the waves there are warm and not as high. The white, sandy beach was covered with millions of shells which I loved collecting.

I also visited many libraries. I was delighted by the shelves, loaded with all kinds of books of fact and fiction. I’d often borrow books and spend the morning reading them.

The downtown of Fort Lauderdale was awesome, with sky scrapers and important buildings such as the High Court and the Assembly hall. I absolutely loved the draw bridge. Beneath the bridge was a river and on both sides of the river were houses. The residents there had cruise ships, and boats with huge sails. Every so often, the bridge would draw up, traffic on it would stop, and beneath, a ship would pass by.

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In Florida I came to appreciate beauty and nature. In many places they have sealed off water to create lakes, surrounded by lush green grass and lots of ducks, storks and other birds. No one harms the birds or dirties the water and it remains a source of beauty for all. There are huge green trees of all kinds, and wide open clean roads. I thank God again for blessing me with the most wonderful vacation, and pray that more people begin to respect and appreciate nature and beauty all over the world.