Mel & Trinity

I have fallen in love with the people in Miami. Everyone has been so amazing! Similarly to London, most people I’ve met are visitors or immigrants, so I feel right at home!

I booked myself into the Hyatt Place Miami Airport Hotel for two nights, which extended into three, because I needed some time to rest before hitting the road. Being tired on the bike is a very bad move and I have definitely been feeling tired!

I arrived at the hotel around 8pm on Monday night after being diverted to the Bahamas because of a storm in Miami which closed the airport. In front of me at check-in were Bev and Noel from Port Elizabeth, South Africa. South Africans are everywhere!

I was knackered but wanted to stay awake to get used to the time change, so I popped down to the restaurant for a bite to eat. It was empty but there were two couples at the bar having a laugh so I joined them. What a great decision. They were such great company!

I was particularly drawn to Sylvia who has the most infectious, cheeky laugh. It spoke to my soul! Her and her partner own a BnB near Belfast in Ireland, which I have always wanted to visit, given my Irish heritage which stem from Belfast. I gave them my contact details so I hope they get in touch.

Tuesday was all about Trinity. I had to clear her through customs and then collect her from Alliance Ground handling who are the operators for Virgin Atlantic Cargo. I also had to pop into BMW to see if they could give her a quick once over before I hit the road. The only BMW Motorrad stores on the east coast are in Miami, New York and Toronto. Thus, hopefully nothing goes wrong.

Outside of the lady at customs, who was a little scary, everyone was fantastic.

The team at Alliance Ground handling were incredibly patient while I uncrated Trinity in the middle of their warehouse. I should have warned them it would take a while as I needed to replace my mirrors, windshield, a bag with my camping gear and panniers which were bubble wrapped in the crate with Trinity.

At this point I need to do a huge shout out to Moto Freight who have been absolutely fantastic throughout the process of shipping Trinity to Miami. Kathy, Tim and Roddy – thank you so much for all your help so far!

Once I picked Trinity up things went from strength to strength.

Daniel at BMW Motorcycles Miami managed to squeeze Trinity in for a travel inspection, so I dropped her off there last night for the service today.

Trinity and I then met Jorge and Deibinson from Venezuela at the hotel. Deibinson was so taken by Trinity and what we’re doing that he wanted a photo with us. With a huge grin he said, “You’re going to be famous. I want your number”. 🤣 It was hilarious. I couldn’t but smile. Meet the boys.

Here is a taster of the airboat ride.

The airboat ride through the Everglades was fantastic! The wind generated from the fans is unbelievable. They are also pretty noisy so you get a pair of earbuds when you board the boat. Our Captain, Alfred, was really funny but I couldn’t always hear what he was saying without removing the earbuds. When I did, it was well worth it!

The Everglades covers 20,200 square kilometres and the water is home to an estimated 1.5 million alligators. Not exactly a place you want to get stuck!

We managed to see a number of alligators, a few turtles, a Great Blue Heron and a number of other birds a don’t know. The best part was holding a baby alligator. He was so cute and so soft! Below is a photo of me and then little snapper.

I went back to meet Claudia and then we hit the road. About 20 minutes into the drive I realised I didn’t have my phone. OMG! Claudia phones the park and luckily someone had handed it in. We therefore had to go back to the park to pick it up. The only problem was that it was now peak hour traffic heading back to the park, so it turned out to be an hour round trip. Luckily I had Claudia to save the day!

If you ever need a tour guide in Miami get in touch with Claudia. Here she is.

I slept much better last night and only woke up at 5.30pm. Improvement!

Claudia picked me up at 9am and drove me into central Miami to catch the Big Bus Tour. I must be the only person in history that pays for a bus tour and walks (sometimes runs) the route. I just don’t like hanging around – I’d rather keep moving. I took the bus and boat option which allowed me to see Miami from the land and the water. It was pretty cool! Below are some photos from the tour.

And some more…

And some more…

Following the tour I headed to BMW to collect Trinity. It was a fabulous day!