Tampa, Florida, really worthwhile to visit

Vacation in Florida often mean Miami and / or Orlando, but Tampa also deserves a visit. Stroll through the trendy Ybor City district, where the Cuban cigar industry flourished, search for wild animals in a canoe in swamps or down the river on a sub board.

Over there, at three o’clock! Do you see that branch floating? There are three young ones. In addition, there are two on top of each other. "The animals with the beautiful yellow bands around their bodies look almost cute, were it not for American alligators. The youngsters are too small to harm - about 40 to 50 centimeters long, I estimate. But where does the mother, who is all over the place, hang out? Is the beast with a length of three meters lurking somewhere ready to defend her offspring?

"It only becomes dangerous when the little ones sound the alarm with a chirp-like sound."

"No worries. It only becomes link when the little ones sound the alarm with a chirp-like sound. Not just their mother ”, says Canoe Escape Mike Cole behind me in the canoe. However, the 28-year-old guide never encountered a fierce gator mom. The little ones keep themselves quiet thank good.

Quiet on the water

We sail with Canoe Experience through the sultry Hillsborough River State Park, just outside of Tampa, halfway up the west coast of Florida. The wooded swamp area is full of alligators, birds, turtles and butterflies. If your guide has hawk eyes, you can also see brown water snakes. Although visitors are warned on a sign for alligators, a sympathetic guide is not mandatory. But with guidance you spot the greedy reptiles guaranteed and you learn something about the flora and fauna.

Furthermore, it is pure enjoyment of the peace on the water, with only a symphony of singing birds and the rhythmic stroke of paddles. "There! At eleven o'clock. See those two bumps sticking out of the water? Those are the eyes of a gator. ”The beast swims calmly past and then dives into the depth. "They are more afraid of us than the other way around, you know. You shouldn't confuse them with the larger and more aggressive crocodiles in South Florida. ”

Warm Florida has been a favorite place to live and hibernate among the elderly from the northern American states for decades. But Tampa is not Benidorm. On the contrary: more and more young people are moving to the bustling city. You notice it on the Riverwalk, a path along and over the Hillsborough River that runs from downtown to Waterworks Park in the north.

This Riverwalk is popular with cyclists, runners, hip electric unicycles and walkers. I pass the Tampa Museum of Art (modern and classical art), where children in the adjacent Waterfront Park playfully run through the ground fountains and find the necessary cooling.

A little further along the water is the Straz Center, flanked by palm trees and fountains, with halls for all performing arts. You can also take a break for a drink on the partly covered terrace and watch the traffic on the river pass by: from water taxis, pleasure boats and pedal boats to supping people. "Sup" stands for stand up paddle-boarding, where you stand up on a surfboard with a long paddle.

Leave this activity on the program now! At the end of the River Walk I get two hours of super lessons at Urban Kai SUP. A bit tense because it is the first time, but the enthusiasm of owners Michael and Aimee Conlee is contagious. "We love Amsterdam. We went suppend through all canals last year."

Finding balance

I don't like that busy Amsterdam water ... Fortunately there is more than enough space on the Hillsborough River. We go on the water in shorts and T-shirts and with a white face full of sunscreen, where Aimee explains clearly. First a while on the knees to get used to, find the balance and practice the strokes. After about twenty minutes I feel comfortable and I can stand upright on the shelf.

"Look at the horizon when you get up," Aimee tips. That also works without splash. Changing the paddle side - because that's how you steer - where you shift your hands and immediately put the right side of the paddle into the water, is difficult. But I remain standing and make good progress. We relax in a relaxed way down the river, although we have to pay attention when a motorboat passes too fast. "On your knees!" Shouts Aimee, because there are big waves. Satisfied when I am back on the quay: not once fell into the water! Even soaked after this spicy workout

Henry Plant

On the way to the hotel for a change of clothes I spot signs on the Riverwalk with portraits of people who played an important role in the history of Tampa. Such as businessman Henry Plant (1819-1899), who had rail connections built, so that this entire area flourished economically. Plant was also the man behind the Tampa Bay Hotel. Celebrities such as Winston Churchill stayed in the breathtaking Moorish-style building. Nowadays the University of Tampa is based there, with a museum dedicated to the businessman.

Vicente Martinez-Ybor (1818-1896) is also honored. This industrialist started a Cuban cigar factory just outside of Tampa in 1885. That became such a success that it grew into a real city, Ybor City, with factories, workers' houses (casitas) and beautiful social clubs where Cuban, Spanish, German and Italian labor migrants came for support from fellow countrymen, medical care, but also entertainment.

Chicken

After 1930 it went downhill with the cigar business, partly due to the crisis and the arrival of cigarettes.

Ybor City fell into disrepair, but twenty years ago the district was restored to its former glory. With Max Herman from Ybor Walking Tours I make a tour through the atmospheric Latin Quarter, full of charming red brick buildings, cobbled streets and rows of tall palm trees. You regularly hear the honking of the historic street car, the free tram that connects Ybor City with downtown. It is teeming with restaurants, bars and traditional cigar shops and there are actually wild chickens roaming around; descendants of the poultry that was once kept in the gardens of cigar workers. The chickens are a kind of heritage, catching a chicken is a fine of 500 dollars!

The Ybor factory is still there, although it has a different purpose. A block further we enter the Cuban social club. In front of the door is a bust of José Martí. This Cuban independence fighter often came to Tampa to raise funds with the Cubans for his fight against the Spaniards. The story wants the official signal for the war of independence to reach Cuba on a note curled up in a cigar.

The social club still exudes grandeur: marble staircases, beautiful stained glass windows, a ballroom and theater with original carvings. I can see how Martí held his rousing speeches here.

I take the tram to the Florida Aquarium, a fun, educational outing along the aquatic life around Tampa. That means not only "aquarium staring," but also interaction. You can touch starfish, non-toxic jellyfish and stingrays. The highlight is the tank with tropical fish, turtles, sharks and ... visitors. Daredevils can book a guided dive.

Safaripark

More animals can be found half an hour away in Busch Gardens, a safari park with fast roller coasters. Bear in mind that roller coaster is halted in the event of a thunderstorm, as I discovered. Not a disaster, because with the exotic animals - elephants, kangaroos and giraffes and, there they are again, alligators - you can easily spend a day sweet. A cheaper and quiet alternative to the Orlando parks.

Tampa, only 45 minutes drive from vacation villa, House of Orange at Watersong Resort.