March 7, 2011
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High on our agenda for this trip was an all-day boat ride down the Intracoastal Waterway from Fort Lauderdale to South Beach. East of Miami, South Beach is the southernmost part of the main barrier island offshore. As far as we could tell, it is synonymous with Miami Beach. Due to speed limits in the channel, the boat ride is slow, taking almost 3 hours each way. However, by happenstance, the day we chose for the venture was easily the most beautiful of our stay.
Below at dockside, we await the 10 am departure of our craft under the 17th Street causeway:
Departing on time, our boat quickly passed through Port Everglades, one of the world’s busiest cruise ship departure ports. We had a close look at the “Navigator of the Seas” as it was prepared for its next load of passengers:
Further on, there were many reminders that Port Everglades is also a top US container port:
Our cruise made only one stop along the way to pick up passengers. That stop was poolside at the Crowne Plaza in Hollywood Beach:
What’s it like to cruise down the Intracoastal Waterway on a fine day? These photos try to answer that question. This section of the Waterway is lined predominantly with condos and expensive homes. Passing only a few ships, we were surprised that they were recreational rather than commercial.
It is worth noting that we traveled only a bit of the Waterway's 3000 mile length. It extends from Brownsville TX all the way east and north to New Jersey!
Eventually, the Miami skyline came into view across the wide expanse of Biscayne Bay:
We puttered right along the city’s waterfront ...
and out beyond its port facilities on Dodge Island.
Shortly before docking in South Beach, we had a starboard view of Fisher Island:
Created in 1905 by dredging and land reclamation, this small island is now occupied by a tiny population of exceptionally wealthy people. Virtually inaccessible to the public and uninvited guests, it is reachable only by private boat.
That’s probably why we docked here at South Beach instead. :)
Happy to be on land once more, we carefully noted our boat’s location for later reference:
We had been warned the boat would depart promptly at 4:30 pm, with or without its full complement of passengers. The reason for not waiting, we were told, was due to scheduled causeway openings that the ship simply HAD to make.
With 3 1/2 hours to spend, we set off on foot to explore as much of Miami Beach as we could. Checking out the shoreline was an easy detour. We found it clean and not too crowded on this pleasantly warm day.
After a tasty lunch in a nook hidden from passersby, we continued our walk as far north as Espanola Way. This is a smaller pedestrian-only shopping district with colorfully painted Mediterranean-style buildings:
Exploring South Beach on foot, we barely scraped the surface. Our description here is not intended as a documentary on the city. It skips entirely, for example, the many art deco buildings for which Miami Beach is famed. Nevertheless, with time running out and with our feet complaining, “Enough!”, we returned to the boat harbor and enjoyed its ambience before reboarding.
On our return, dusk settled in, twinkling lights came out and, before reaching Fort Lauderdale, daylight had slipped away.
It had been an enjoyable day in wonderful weather, a nice mix of convenient transportation and freedom to wander on our own, something we dearly love to do. In future years, when remembering our Fort Lauderdale visit, this will always be one of the highlights.