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.
THE UNITED STATES OF
AMERICA