The Tamiami Trail was named for what it joined, Tampa and Miami, and it took thirteen years and an astonishing amount of dynamite to build. Begun in 1915 and opened in 1928, US 41 cuts straight west across the Everglades, one of the largest wetlands in North America, and it changed Florida by linking the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, though it also interrupted the flow of water across the Everglades in a way that scientists are still trying to repair. The road starts in downtown Miami as Southwest 8th Street, known to locals as Calle Ocho, the heart of Little Havana.
Miami is the most Latin of large American cities, and that is very much the point. In Little Havana, men play dominoes in the park, cafés serve cafecito, a tiny cup of very sweet, strong espresso, through street windows, and cigars are rolled by hand. Downtown has glass towers along Biscayne Bay, and nearby Vizcaya, an Italian-style villa of the early twentieth century, is a quiet retreat with gardens running down to the water. The city is hot and humid for most of the year, with sudden afternoon thunderstorms in summer and a hurricane season from June to November.
Leaving town on the Trail is a sudden change. Within half an hour, the suburbs fall away and the road runs straight through a wide flat landscape of sawgrass, canals and cypress, with white herons and alligators visible beside the road. Airboat operators offer rides, the Miccosukee tribe runs a cultural centre and the small post office at Ochopee claims to be the smallest in the country. Shark Valley, in Everglades National Park, has a tower with a view across the grass. The road is flat and monotonous, with a modest speed limit and plenty of police, and traffic can be heavy at weekends.
Fuel is easy in Miami but sparse in the Everglades section, with only a few stations, so fill up before leaving. Mosquitoes are ferocious from May to October, and so is the heat. The dry season, from December to April, is far more comfortable. Carry water and sunscreen, and keep a safe distance from alligators.