“This is something that I rarely do but I am requesting it now, I need your help.  Saturday, February 25^th at 10 am, I am gathering everyone we can muster at the dock that services Deerfield Island Park in Deerfield Beach.  I am responding to a plea from my longtime friend Pat Howell on a project that is dear to both of our hearts.  The gopher tortoise habitat on the island is facing a de-listing as a critical wildlife habitat by the Fish & Wildlife Commission because invasive exotic plants are choking out the area.  I am trying to mobilize an army to eliminate the invasives and prevent the critical wildlife de-listing.  Because it is a large task and we only have one day, I need as many volunteers as humanly possible.

 Deerfield Island Park is a Broward County Park.  Because of budget issues and the park’s isolated location, Broward County has not had the funds or staff to tackle this problem.  My friend Pat at Broward County Parks is in charge of protecting all of Broward’s flora and fauna in the parks.  She is one of the finest and most dedicated human beings I have ever known.  I need to help her.  Fish & Wildlife is coming in early March to pull the plug. This is our chance to avert it.

 Deerfield Island Park is only accessible by boat.  Pat has arranged for a boat to transfer us and equipment to do the job on the island.  This is one of the last eastern habitats for the endangered gopher tortoises near the Intracoastal.  The entire Dragonfly Expeditions staff and family members have committed to the effort.  Now, we are calling on our guides, clients, friends and supporters to join in.  Come as long as you are able and wear clothes and shoes that can get dirty and work gloves if you have them.  I will be grateful for any help that you can give.  Please RSVP so that I can have the necessary resources on hand.

Postscript: Twenty years ago, I started my environmental restoration work  as a volunteer at Deerfield Island Park.  Pat was the Park Manager at the time.  She and I did a lot of work, much of it has been very successful but the areas we did not get to have now become a critical problem. Please help if you can.”

The results were astounding: 648 volunteer hours, 100 bags of asparagus fern, oyster plant, wandering jew, inch plant and piles and piles of Brazilian pepper, Surinam cherry, carrotwood, Australian pine and schefflera.

But the greatest result of all was a notice on March 16^th, 2012 by Ricardo Zambrano of the Fish and Wildlife Commission that Deerfield Island Park would remain a critical wildlife area, adding “I was glad to see all the work that has taken place removing exotics and planting natives.”

We did it folks!!

The Sun Sentinel featured an article on this event on March 9^th, 2012 and can be found here.

A walk through the Montgomery Botanical Center led by its Executive Director,  Dr. Patrick Griffith, offered an exclusive exploration of one of the world’s foremost horticultural institutions.

Armed with walking sticks and a new found courage, two waves of participants waded through the Big Cypress on swamp-walks learning about the flora and fauna of this primeval preserve.  Their experience came full circle when they were introduced to the stunning photography of Clyde Butcher in his Big Cypress Gallery.

Cultural discoveries through South Beach on a program designed after Charles J. Kropke’s book, South Beach: Stories of a Renaissance, led to witnessing an impromptu private performance at The Miami City Ballet.

These are the kind of uncommon adventures that only Dragonfly Expeditions can create. In the months to come and through the end of the year lucky participants will immerse themselves in Road Scholar travel learning adventures led by our unique and experienced guides.  Road Scholar, the world’s leader in educational and lifelong travel has entrusted Dragonfly Expeditions with showing their savvy travelers the greatness that is South Florida.

If you are interested in participating in any of Road Scholar programs please call 1-800-454-5768 or visit www.roadscholar.org.

At no other time of the year do we reflect as much on our shared condition, how much we miss each other, how much we care for each other; even how much we care for total strangers (i.e. the whole world). Then we lament that, if only this feeling could be made to last.  Here is a little clue. It can.

All around us are small and large opportunities for kindness.  We only need to condition ourselves to be open to these opportunities when they arise.  For me personally, this is a reminder to only pursue win/win situations in my business endeavors. I give my solemn promise to do so in this year to come.

For all who are experiencing a great holiday season, we rejoice with you.  We are happy that things are well.  For anyone who is hurting or facing more challenging circumstances, we want you to know that there are many of us out here who care.  Hang in there.

Finally, our most urgent message as 2011 comes to a close is…gratitude.  So many people have been so good to us over the last year that we don’t even know where to start.  To our inspiring guides, our loyal customers, our trustworthy vendors and our supportive friends, we wish you the most blessed and prosperous holiday and New Year to come.  You, are the “love” that this season is all about.

~ The Team at Dragonfly Expeditions

For the first time in seven years, Uwe was able to escape the desk setting that condemned him to sit across from me with all my interruptions and restlessness.  To escape the office’s raucous noise, Megan even got a separate office with a door and all.  Now, poor Bernardo is in the center of all of the activity of the main office floor while Trish has staked out a great location by the residential-facing window.

The greatest change, however, is that we finally have a much needed conference room. This room is alternately known as the aquarium for its blue walls, nautical paintings and large glass window facing the main office floor, or the Captain’s Quarters. The Captain’s Quarters moniker is related to a long-held dream of mine.  That dream started when Uwe informed me of an auction of the assets of Windjammer Barefoot Cruises in September of 2008.  As a huge fan of that legendary company and its idyllic way of travel, one of my prized purchases was the large, round wooden nautical table from Captain Mike Burke’s office (the founder of Windjammer).  I was told that it used to be the family dinner table in the early years of the company.  Because of space considerations, we were unable to put the table in our previous office.  So, it went into a three year hibernation at our company storage facility.

The table is gigantic and it weighs a ton, so we were worried that it would not fit through the doors and alternatively that we would kill ourselves getting it into the office.  Miracle of all miracles, it transported perfectly and is now “at home” in our office.  Meanwhile, our launching of Windjammer Sailing Adventures is underway with new partners in route to Miami (shout out to Cindy and Sly).  But that’s another story for another time.

We have now officially doubled our space for the second time in our seven years at the Biltmore Hotel.  New associates are coming into the office and I am spying the adjacent vacant space whereby we will break down a wall and keep expanding.  Mark this letter as an open invitation to all of our friends and associates to come by and see the new headquarters.  We always enjoy catching up with you.

The five tours that were offered throughout the weekend featured Miami’s Cuban Heritage, the historic Miami City Cemetery, Kayaking on Biscayne Bay, and two Miccosukee Indian Heritage airboat tours.

The goal of the partnership between the University of Miami and Dragonfly Expeditions is to showcase Miami as a metropolis with historical, ecological and cultural treasures beyond its usual party reputation. Here are some quotes from participants:

“Very interesting information. Loved it!” – Xavier, Cuban Heritage Tour

“Very informative and a beautiful way to see the bay” – Ann, Great Discoveries on the Bay – A Kayak Tour

“Fabulous trip, tour guide was superb. Airboat was so relaxing. Great way to see nature at it’s best!” – Sheila, Miccosukee Indian Heritage Tour

Dragonfly Expeditions would like to send a special thank you to the University of Miami Family Weekend staff (Brian Orefice, Danielle Howard, and Carrie Whiteside) for their amazing work and dedication in ensuring that our partnership was again a success. We are looking forward to Family Weekend 2012.

Common Green Darner – Anax Junius

This species of dragonfly is found in and around various water bodies throughout the tropics.  It has been lauded for its incredible gift of flight and brilliant blue and green colors.  Green Darners are also one of the few travelers found in their species. Darners have been known to travel thousands of miles with the seasons.  They can be seen sailing mostly in the early morning or late afternoon while enjoying a meal of whatever insect flies their way.  Whether sailing on an ocean breeze or perched on a rock below some island waterfall, the Common Green Darner lives up to its name Anax Junius or ‘lord and master of June.’

Wouldn’t you agree that this describes us well?

My dreams for the library almost border on megalomania. I ask everyone I know if they have Florida books with which they wish to part.  I particularly savor old and out-of-print issues.  I want to have the largest collection in the state on Florida and Caribbean subjects.

Now, I’d like to be clear that the library is not just a collector’s obsession; I try to read as many of the books as I can.  It’s just that I collect faster than I read.  We use the books for research, scripts, guide education, stories, accuracy checks and iconography (pictures, lithographs and drawings).  My attention to the subject of libraries and book collections was further fed by Nicholas A. Basbanes’ masterwork on the subject; A Splendor of Letters: The Permanence of Books in an Impermanent World.

Even as our collection continues to grow, I realize that my pursuit may already be an antiquarian counter-insurgency.  With bookstores disappearing and the landscape littered with cold, impersonal E-readers and Kindles, I may be heading entirely in the wrong direction.  I just don’t believe that one more electronic device can replace the texture, binding, colors, fonts, beauty and diversity of printed books.

In my mind’s eye, I see some future time when the wise legislators of the day will declare collectors of books printed on paper as tree-killing, old-school, anti-ecological terrorists.  When this moment arrives, I will build a huge underground bunker for my beloved library and retreat downward to hide out.  If the authorities of that future era are stealthy and lucky, they will ferret me out of my subterranean lair, bearded, guilty and still clutching an illegal (gasp!!) paper-based text.  But until then, I shall go on collecting.

By the way, do any of you have any relevant books that you would like to part with?

The company has been on the forefront of sustainable tourism in South Florida since 1992. Our day journeys are designed to create a sense-of-place for our guests while focusing attention on many of Florida’s most unique and endangered places.

If you are interested in applying, or if you know anybody that would fit this description, please use the contact information below.

Location of job: Positions in Miami Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Naples, Fort Myers, Florida Keys, Tampa and Orlando

Qualifications: Strong background in Florida ecology and/or history, minimum of 21 years old, positive, outgoing personality, mature attitude, desire to work with groups, exceptional people and leadership skills, as well as absolute professionalism.

Recommended, but not required: Master Naturalist Program graduate; Lifeguard training and first aid; wilderness medicine qualifications (WFA, WFR)

Available: Year round, but all tours are by appointment only, so applicants need to have a flexible schedule

Submit cover letter and resume to: Megan Fries – Director of Operations

Email: mfries@dragonflyexpeditions.com

On March 1^st 2011 Dragonfly Expeditions organized a teambuilding event for a group of 180 high profile guests from a multinational company that is operating in 21 different countries.  The goal was to remove invasive exotic plants and to restore the original flora in a critical section of Markham Park , a popular county park on the edge of the Everglades close to Fort Lauderdale.

When the buses with the guests arrived at the work site and the participants got out – several of them dressed up quite classy – some of us had doubts about the group’s productivity. But after a brief motivational speech and the introduction to the scope and importance of this project they began to organize themselves in teams, picked up gloves, shovels and rakes, and started working with great enthusiasm.

The participants were split into groups of six, with two of them as the group leaders for a certain time period. The concept was to train people on leadership, which is why the team leaders were exchanged after forty minutes. An evaluation of the organization and its efficiency was done by the supervisor of the team at the end of each time period.  People were working diligently and even the CEO of this billion dollar company who normally reigns over more than 24,000 employees all over the world was setting a good example by digging, planting, removing vines from trees and spreading mulch in the Butterfly Garden area of the park with an incredible enthusiasm.

In the other areas, the guests were removing Brazilian pepper, Australian pines, Oyster plants, Guinea grass, and many other invasive exotic species.  Seeds of these plants have continued to spill over into and infest the pristine Everglades.  With the completion of this project, over time the area will return to a natural state the way it was before the region was developed.

At the end of the day, we led the entire group to the top of the levee separating Markham Park from the Everglades to watch the sunset as a dramatic climax of a successful afternoon.  The participants were realizing that all their efforts were not just self-serving, but actually an important part of protecting one of the most fragile and irreplaceable ecosystems in the world: the Florida Everglades.

When Dictator Fidel Castro came to power, he eventually got around to seizing all private property which included Ramon’s beloved and hard-earned store.  Leaving Cuba, Ramon had to also leave behind his trusty and prized scissors.  As luck and motherly love would have it, Ramon’s mother managed to find a way to smuggle his scissors back to him in Miami exile.  He parlayed his talents to become the undisputed “Rey de las Guayaberas” (King of Guayaberas).  For decades, he crafted shirts for celebrities (Celia Cruz, Gloria Estefan, Andy Garcia, Ricky Martin) and businessmen from around the hemisphere and for political leaders of every stripe, most memorably President Ronald Reagan, champion of the Cuban exile community.  A Ramon Puig custom Guayabera was a work of art.

By the time we met him, he was already into his fifth decade of making guayaberas.  He never lost his enthusiasm for his craft, extolling all the virtues of this simple, traditional garment.  His shop “La Casa de las Guayaberas” was and is a veritable Miami institution.  Over the years, we have brought thousands of guests there.  Upon entering his shop, we would grab a traditional straw hat off of the display and commence handing out raffle tickets.  In the background, the store’s seamstresses worked away behind a glass partition. Two lucky guests would end up with a Ramon Puig Guayabera with each visit.  The winners could choose from a variety of Guayaberas which included men’s, young men’s (slimmer cuts and darker colors), women’s, children’s and even babies.  Of course, we always made the winners model their prize if the shirt was for their personal use.  The whole atmosphere seemed so traditional…and it was fun.

Now, if Ramon happened to be there when we showed up, the shop would experience minor pandemonium.  Ramon’s infectious laughter and comments (which I faithfully translated into English even though I could have recited his charming dialogue by heart) inevitably praised all the beautiful ladies in his presence and welcomed all the gentlemen, asking everyone where they were from.

The twinkle in Ramon’s eye and his easy-going manner reminded everyone of a kindly grandfather.  He was always the superstar of our tour.

As the years wore on, we saw him less frequently.  We worried abut his health.  I guess we always knew that one day he would die.  But there is always the illusion that a legend never dies.

Alas, Ramon Puig is gone.  El Rey de las Guayaberas will not be there to greet us anymore.  But we knew him… and it was a tremendous honor to know him. And we loved him, and he seemed to love us back.  From now onward, that will have to be enough.