day107

Day 107 (December 5, 2006) - Jacksonville, FL

The northern, central part of Florida is famous for its natural springs which pour billions of gallons of crystal-clear water in the rivers around. You can swim, kayak, canoe and tube on them, provided you are not afraid of gators. The Ichetucknee State Park is not far from us and we get there in no time, to find out however that the river is pretty low at this time of year, you can only use canoes, and the tube rental is closed for the season. The water temperature is at a constant 70 degrees; the river is surrounded by a dense forest of palmettos and live oak trees with Spanish moss dangling from every branch, it truly looks like the Amazon forest.

We continue driving east, and get to Jacksonville in the afternoon. We find a great campground, managed by the city of Jacksonville, right on Atlantic Beach. We are in the forest, with a lake to our left and the ocean and white sandy beach to the right. And route A1A along the coast to St. Augustine looks like a perfect bike path for tomorrow...

Jacksonville from the highway.

The harbor.

Townhouses with their own docks.

A fellow camper took her little parakeet into the showers with her.

The sunset on the beach.

The beach at sunset.