The Beagle is currently moored in an area of southern Florida called the Redland Agricultural District. There are literally hundreds of thousands of acres of farm land here. The produce includes fruits and vegetables, but there are also vast tracts of palm tree farms and tropical plant nurseries. This area of Florida is extremely flat and is only about 2 metres above sea level. Much of it was once part of the Everglades but has for many years been carved out, drained and converted to farming. It backs onto the Everglades National Park and other protected parts of the Everglades. One regularly sees large open bed trucks loaded with produce such as tomatoes (all of them green) and beans and other market garden produce.
Of course it wouldn’t be Florida without some slightly cheesy tourist destinations. Not far from us one can watch alligator wrestling and take a ride on an airboat in the Everglades – an activity we so far have avoided, despite Chris’ strong recommendation and assertion that it’s a lot of fun (especially the alligator wrestling). More in keeping with its agricultural heritage there is a fruit and vegetable market that is a tourist destination. Robert is Here has been fixture in this part of Florida since the late fifties. One can not only get really good deals on fresh produce and exotic tropical fruits, but also visit the little zoo out back kept by Robert.
The short video below records a visit to Robert is Here by the crew of the Beagle. If you would like to see a longer video, meet Robert, hear his story and get some first hand information about tropical fruits, follow this link:https://youtu.be/b80NCHiJpHM
Love Robert is here and the fabulous fruit milkshakes!
What beautiful produce! What did you buy? I love that Darwin isn’t afraid of animals, Mac ran away from the Emu (and most other animals) he saw at High Park.