First time in Miami
As our Uber wound through the streets of San José toward the airport, a quiet realisation settled in; these were our final moments in Latin America. After months of vibrant culture, warm people, and unpredictable adventures, we were leaving behind the Spanish speaking world that had shaped so much of our journey. The car ride became a reflective pause before the next chapter began.
As our wheels touched down in Miami, Florida, it felt like stepping into a different world with a completely different rhythm. Our accommodation was tucked on 6th street near Ocean Drive, in Miami South Beach. A place that was pumping with neon lights, vintage cars and the Art Deco architecture. On our first night, we grabbed pizza from a questionable stall that had slices that where larger than our heads. It was cool to eat it, but I can also confidently say that we did not feel the best after eating out. Luckily, we also stocked up on groceries, including fresh milk, which felt like a luxury after months without it.
The next day, we ventured out into the heat and walked through Lincoln Road Mall. It was sticky and relentless, but the promise of air conditioning and ice cream kept us going. We treated ourselves to Ben & Jerry’s and hopped on the free bus back home. There is something different about concrete city heat that makes you feel so much hotter than in Costa Rica with its many trees and rainforests.
Later that week, we stood on South Miami Beach at 5 am, to watch a Space X Falcon 9 rocket launch 28 Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit. Even from 300 kilometres away, the view was incredible. To put this in some context for my Australian readers, we were watching a rocket launch from a similar distance that Wollongong is from Perisher Valley in a straight line. We were pleasantly surprised to see as much as we did. A glowing trail moved through the clear night sky, and I was in awe of witnessing something so powerful. After the launch, we crawled back into bed, still buzzing from the experience.
That afternoon, we visited Miami Mall, hoping for a glimpse into the heart of American consumer culture. But it didn’t quite deliver. Compared to Australia’s malls, which balance groceries, clothes, and practical tools at varied price points, this one felt more like a showroom of expensive things you want but don’t need.
On one of our other days, we were looking for something fun and spontaneous, my mum, my brother and I jumped on the free Miami bus loop. It was a chance to explore the city from a new angle. We stopped in the city and grabbed some churros.
My brother tried an American fast-food place and decided to try a slushy. Surprisingly, it was a lot sweeter than the Aussie ones and he didn’t end up finishing it as it was just simply too sweet.
Three days into our American stay, everything slowed down. Both David and I got sick—really sick. For over 24 hours, we couldn’t leave our beds. I had a fever so intense I ended up lying on the cold floor tiles, desperate to cool off. It was a rough pause in our travels.
On our fifth night in the USA when we were starting to recover, we watched another rocket launch from our building complex at 11:30 pm It is just an extraordinary experience watching such a big man-made structure fly into outer space.
Once we’d fully recovered, it was time to stretch our legs and breathe in the city again. My mum and I woke up early one morning and watched the sunrise together. The sky over Miami was soft and golden. That evening, I found myself on the water’s edge again, this time for the sunset. The sky turned shades of orange and lavender as I sat surrounded by a group of circus performers practising their routines. They were juggling, stretching and doing handstands as the sun dipped below the Miami skyline. It was quite impressive those people had some serious skills.
Don’t miss the next blog where we wake up before the crack of dawn to drive three hours north to Cape Canaveral, there might be more rockets in our future.
