Brochure images of tanning flesh and
Mickey Mouse give an inaccurate and
incomplete picture of
FLORIDA. Although the aptly nicknamed
"Sunshine State" is indeed
devoted to the tourist trade, it's
also among the least-understood
parts of the US. Away from its
overexposed resorts lie forests and
rivers, deserted strands filled with
wildlife, vibrant cities and
primeval swamps.
In many respects Florida is still
evolving. Seven hundred people a day
move to the state, now the fourth
most populous in the nation.
Changing demographics are eroding
the traditional Deep South
conservatism: the new Floridians
tend to be a younger, more energetic
breed, while Spanish-speaking
enclaves provide close ties to Latin
America and the Caribbean - links as
influential in creating wealth as
the recent arrival of the movie
industry in central Florida, fresh
from Hollywood.
The essential stop is
cosmopolitan, half-Latin Miami
, from where a simple journey south
brings you to the Florida Keys
, a hundred-mile string of islands
known for sports fishing, coral-reef
diving, and the sultry town of Key
West , legendary for its sunsets
and anything-goes attitude. North
from Miami, much of the east
coast is disappointingly
urbanized, albeit with miles of
unbroken beaches flowing alongside.
The residential stranglehold is
lessened further north, where
communities such as Daytona Beach
have become subservient to the local
sands. Farther along, historical St
Augustine stands as the longest
continuous settlement in the US.
In central Florida the
terrain turns green, though it's no
rural idyll: this is where you'll
find Orlando and Walt
Disney World , one of the
world's leading tourist
destinations. From here it's just a
skip north to the forests of the Panhandle
, Florida's link with the Deep
South, or to the towns and beaches
of the west coast . To the
south, and also easily accessible
from Miami, stretches the Everglades
, a swampy sawgrass plain filled
with camera-friendly (but otherwise
unfriendly) alligators.
In at least one way it makes
little difference when you visit
: warm sunshine and blue skies are
almost always a fact of life.
Florida does, however, split into
two climatic zones :
subtropical in the south and warm
temperate in the north. Orlando and
points south have very mild winters
(October to April), with warm
temperatures and low humidity. This
is the peak tourist season, when
prices are at their highest. The
southern summer (May to September),
on the other hand, brings high
humidity and afternoon storms - the
rewards for braving the mugginess
are lower prices and fewer tourists.
Winter is the off-peak period north
of Orlando; while snow has been
known to fall in the Panhandle,
daytime temperatures are generally
comfortably warm. During the
northern Florida summer, the crowds
arrive, and the days - and the
nights - get hot and sticky. Also,
there is a potentially ominous time
of the year - the " hurricane
season " - June to
November.
Finally, although Florida has
struggled with its reputation for crimes
against (and even murders of)
tourists, the state's been very
successful in reducing such attacks.
It's definitely no longer the den of
"Miami Vice" it once was,
but, as when visiting all big
cities, it pays to be wary.
