Original subtitles

THERE ARE SOME THINGS

THAT ARE JUST IMPOSSIBLE TO MISS IN MIAMI...

LIKE THE PACKED BEACHES THAT LINE ITS SHORES,

THE PEACEFUL WATERS OF ITS BISCAYNE BAY,

AND EVEN THE CROWDED WINDOWS OF ITS CUBAN CAFES.

BUT WHEN YOU SPEND A DAY IN THE SKIES

OVER THIS FLORIDA METROPOLIS,

YOU ALSO DISCOVER THAT IT TAKES HARD WORK

TO KEEP MIAMI RUNNING 24/7.

THERE ARE THOSE WHO BATTLE BAD WEATHER AND ROUGH SEAS...

OTHERS WHO PUT THEIR LIVES AT RISK

TO PROTECT AMERICA’S SHORES...

AND EVEN THOSE WHO WORK THROUGH THE NIGHT

IN A MAD RACE AGAINST TIME.

SO MUCH HAPPENS IN A DAY IN THE LIFE OF MIAMI,

IT CAN BE HARD TO FATHOM.

AND WHEN THE SUN STARTS TO SET, THIS METROPOLIS COMES ALIVE

LIKE NO OTHER PLACE IN AMERICA.

WITH THE COLORFUL GLOW OF OCEAN DRIVE,

EXPLOSIONS OF LIGHT AND SOUND,

AND EVEN HARD-FOUGHT GAMES THAT GET PLAYED HIGH IN THE SKY.

ALL THIS IN JUST ONE DAY ON THE LANDS AND WATERS OF MIAMI.

♪

♪

♪

IT’S ALMOST 6:00 A.M., AND THE FIRST MORNING LIGHT

IS JUST BEGINNING TO PEEK THROUGH

THE TOWERS OF DOWNTOWN MIAMI.

THIS CITY THRIVES LIKE NO OTHER ON SUNLIGHT.

♪

AS DAWN BREAKS OVER MIAMI BEACH,

TEAMS OF HOTEL STAFF RACE TO STAKE OUT A PLACE IN THE SUN

FOR THEIR GUESTS

BEFORE MANY OF THEM ARE EVEN AWAKE.

EACH HOTEL’S UNIQUELY COLORED BEACH CHAIRS,

CABANAS, AND TOWELS

ALL GET FRESHLY LAID OUT ON THE SAND.

IT’S A DAILY RITUAL THAT’S A BIG PART

OF WHAT GIVES MIAMI ITS SIGNATURE STYLE.

NEARBY A GROUP OF YOGIS IS ALREADY EMBRACING

SOUTH FLORIDA’S FIRST LIGHT.

♪

BUT NOT EVERYONE IN MIAMI STARTS THEIR DAY ON THE BEACH.

ESPECIALLY NOT CRANE OPERATOR TIMMY GOMES.

EVERY MORNING, TO GET TO WORK

HE HAS TO CLIMB UP AN 80-STORY CRANE

THAT CLINGS TO THE OUTSIDE

OF ONE OF MIAMI’S HIGHEST SKYSCRAPERS.

IT’S CALLED PANORAMA TOWER.

BY THE TIME TIMMY REACHES THE TOP OF HIS CRANE

AND STARTS RUNNING THROUGH A DAILY CHECK

OF THE CRANE’S PULLEYS AND CABLES,

HE HAS THE HIGHEST PERCH IN FLORIDA.

THE PANORAMA IS THE TALLEST STRUCTURE

ON THE EASTERN SEABOARD OUTSIDE OF NEW YORK CITY.

THAT MEANS THAT EVERY DAY TIMMY HAS THE BEST VIEW IMAGINABLE

OF THE LANDS AND WATERS THAT ARE KNOWN AS MIAMI.

BUT THE NAME MIAMI REFERS TO MUCH MORE

THAN JUST A SINGLE CITY.

FIRST, THERE’S THE RIVER FOR WHICH MIAMI WAS NAMED.

NATIVE AMERICANS CALLED IT MAYAMI, OR BIG WATERS.

SURROUNDING THE MOUTH OF THE RIVER

IS THE CITY OF MIAMI ITSELF, WHICH LINES BISCAYNE BAY.

TO THE EAST IS THE SEPARATE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH,

WHICH COVERS AT LEAST 15 DIFFERENT ISLANDS.

THEN, THERE’S MIAMI-DADE COUNTY,

WHICH STRETCHES OUT ACROSS MORE THAN 2,000 SQUARE MILES

BETWEEN THE ATLANTIC COAST TO THE EAST

AND THE EVERGLADES TO THE WEST.

THERE ARE 84 MILES OF SHORELINE IN MIAMI-DADE COUNTY,

INCLUDING 22 MILES OF BEACHES.

AND THAT MAKES THIS PART OF FLORIDA

A BIG CHALLENGE FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT.

IT’S 10:00 A.M., AND WELL-EQUIPPED AGENTS

ABOARD A BLACK HAWK HELICOPTER ARE PATROLLING THE SHORELINE.

WITH ITS PROXIMITY TO THE CARIBBEAN AND THE BAHAMAS,

MIAMI HAS LONG BEEN A FAVORED DESTINATION

FOR DRUG TRAFFICKERS.

TODAY THESE SHORES ARE HEAVILY GUARDED,

BUT IN THE 1970s FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT

HAD VERY LITTLE PRESENCE HERE ALONG SOUTH FLORIDA’S COAST.

THAT’S WHEN TRAFFICKERS

WORKING WITH THE MEDELLIN CARTEL IN COLOMBIA

DISCOVERED THAT IT WAS EASY TO SMUGGLE

ENORMOUS QUANTITIES OF COCAINE INTO MIAMI

ON THE WATER AND IN THE AIR WITHOUT GETTING CAUGHT.

THE MEN AND WOMEN WHO RAN THOSE OPERATIONS

CAME TO BE KNOWN AS THE COCAINE COWBOYS.

MANY BELIEVE THAT THEY PAID OFF THE POLICE

TO KEEP THEIR SHIPMENTS COMING.

WITH SO MUCH DRUG MONEY FLOWING THROUGH MIAMI,

IT SOON BECAME THE BANKING CAPITAL OF AMERICA.

IN THOSE DAYS, A STEADY STREAM OF SMUGGLERS AND DEALERS

SIMPLY WALKED THROUGH THE DOORS OF MIAMI’S BANKS

WITH SUITCASES FULL OF CASH.

AT THE TIME, BANKS WEREN’T YET REQUIRED

TO AUDIT SOURCES OF CASH DEPOSITS,

WHICH MADE IT EASY TO LAUNDER DRUG MONEY.

ONCE THE MONEY HAD MADE ITS WAY INTO BANKS,

LAW FIRMS AND OFFSHORE CORPORATIONS,

IT WAS OFTEN INVESTED IN PROPERTY.

IN FACT, MANY NEW BUILDINGS IN DOWNTOWN MIAMI

IN THE 1970s AND ’80s

WERE PAID FOR WITH PROFITS FROM COCAINE.

THIS EMPTY LOT ON NORTH BAY ROAD WAS ONCE COVERED

BY THE VAST, PINK WATERFRONT ESTATE

OF COLOMBIAN DRUG LORD PABLO ESCOBAR,

HEAD OF THE MEDELLIN CARTEL.

HE BOUGHT THE HOUSE IN 1980

AND IS SAID TO HAVE USED THE DOCK OUT FRONT

TO RECEIVE SHIPMENTS OF CASH AND COCAINE.

FEDERAL AUTHORITIES SEIZED THE PROPERTY,

AND IT WAS EVENTUALLY BULLDOZED BY NEW OWNERS IN 2016.

BY 1979 RIVAL DRUG GANGS HAD STARTED TURNING MIAMI

INTO THE MURDER CAPITAL OF AMERICA.

ON JULY 11th, A DEADLY SHOOTOUT INSIDE A LIQUOR STORE

HERE AT THE DADELAND MALL SOUTH OF DOWNTOWN

KICKED OFF THE BLOODBATH.

IT CAME TO BE KNOWN AS THE DADELAND MASSACRE.

IN 1981, THERE WERE MORE THAN 600 KILLINGS IN MIAMI.

FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES MOVED IN

TO SHUT DOWN THE OPERATIONS OF THE COCAINE COWBOYS

AND STOP THE VIOLENCE.

THE LAST OF THE MAJOR SMUGGLERS, A MAN NAMED GUSTAVO FALCON

MANAGED TO EVADE AUTHORITIES FOR 26 YEARS,

BUT WAS FINALLY CAPTURED IN APRIL 2017 IN ORLANDO.

TODAY, CARTELS STILL TRY AND GET DRUGS INTO MIAMI,

BUT IT’S MUCH HARDER NOW.

AGENTS LIKE THESE, FROM U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION,

KEEP A CAREFUL EYE ON SOUTH FLORIDA’S COAST 24/7.

THEY DO IT WITH A WIDE ARRAY OF ASSETS,

FROM HELICOPTERS TO BALLOONS TO POWERFUL, FAST BOATS.

AND EVERY DAY OUT ON THE WATER, THEY TRAIN HARD.

THESE TWO MEN ARE ACTUALLY FEDERAL AGENTS

TAKING PART IN AN INTERCEPT TRAINING EXERCISE.

ONE OF THEM IS MASKED SINCE HE OFTEN WORKS UNDERCOVER.

USING A FAST BOAT JUST LIKE THE SMUGGLERS DO,

THEY’LL TRY TO REACH LAND BEFORE THEY’RE STOPPED.

FOR MORE THAN FIVE YEARS, THE TELEVISION SERIES MIAMI VICE

WAS FILMED IN AND AROUND MIAMI BEACH.

AND NOW, WITH NEW FILMS AND TELEVISION SHOWS

BEING SHOT HERE ALL THE TIME,

IT CAN BE HARD TO KNOW WHAT’S REAL LIFE OUT HERE ON THE WATER

AND WHAT’S NOT.

THE DRUG RUNNERS AND HUMAN TRAFFICKERS

THAT U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION INTERCEPT

COME FROM ISLANDS ACROSS THE CARIBBEAN AND THE BAHAMAS.

OUT HERE, DRUG RUNNERS HOPE THEY WON’T BE SPOTTED.

AS THEY MAKE THEIR WAY CLOSER

TO THE MANY INLETS ALONG THE MIAMI SHORELINE,

WHERE THEY CAN TRANSFER THEIR DRUGS TO DEALERS

OR SIMPLY DROP THEM OFF IN THE WATER FOR PICKUP.

BUT WHEN U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION

IDENTIFIES POTENTIAL SUSPECTS,

IT CAN TAKE TIGHT COORDINATION BY AGENTS IN THE AIR

AND ON THE WATER TO GET THEM TO STOP.

BY USING TWO MARINE INTERCEPTOR CREWS,

AGENTS PRACTICE KEEPING SMUGGLERS

FROM MAKING SHARP TURNS AS THEY TRY AND GET AWAY.

THE GOAL IS TO KEEP PUSHING THEM CLOSER AND CLOSER TO LAND.

OFTEN TRAFFICKERS ARE HEAVILY ARMED,

WHICH MEANS AGENTS LIKE THESE HAVE TO BE VIGILANT

WHENEVER THEY APPROACH A SUSPECT VESSEL.

AND WHEN SMUGGLERS STILL TRY AND OUTRUN THE AGENTS,

THE BLACK HAWK ABOVE IS EQUIPPED WITH A WEAPONS SYSTEM

CAPABLE OF TAKING OUT A BOAT’S OUTBOARD ENGINES

WITH A SINGLE SHOT.

THE TWO AGENTS ACTING AS SMUGGLERS

DO EXACTLY WHAT MOST REAL SUSPECTS DO

WHEN FEDERAL AGENTS CLOSE IN.

THEY SLOW THEIR MOTORS AND GIVE UP.

HANDS RAISED, THEY ALLOW THEMSELVES TO BE CUFFED

AND SUBMIT TO ARREST ON THEIR KNEES.

♪

THERE’S ALMOST ALWAYS HIGH DRAMA HAPPENING

SOMEWHERE IN MIAMI 24/7,

BUT THERE ARE ALSO PLACES

ALONG THIS STRETCH OF SOUTH FLORIDA COAST

THAT REMAIN ALMOST AS QUIET AS THEY WERE CENTURIES AGO.

AND THIS IS ONE OF THEM:

THE MANGROVE-COVERED SHORELINE OF BISCAYNE NATIONAL PARK.

LONG BEFORE EUROPEAN SETTLERS ARRIVED IN SOUTH FLORIDA,

A NATIVE AMERICAN TRIBE CALLED THE TEQUESTA

INHABITED THIS COASTAL AREA.

THEY SURVIVED BY GATHERING PLANTS AND BERRIES

AND FISHING IN THE WATERS OF BISCAYNE BAY.

TODAY, FROM THE AIR, MANATEES CAN OFTEN BE SPOTTED HERE

AS MOVING SHADOWS IN THESE SHALLOW WATERS.

THEY HAVE BEEN CALLED GENTLE GIANTS

AND ARE THE OFFICIAL STATE MARINE MAMMAL OF FLORIDA.

MANATEES USUALLY SURFACE EVERY THREE TO FIVE MINUTES,

BUT THEY CAN STAY UNDERWATER FOR UP TO 20.

♪

WHAT MAKES THIS NATIONAL PARK UNIQUE

IS THAT MOST OF IT IS WATER, NOT LAND.

THE AREA OF BISCAYNE BAY

THAT LIES CLOSEST TO MIAMI AND MIAMI BEACH

IS FILLED WITH MANMADE ISLANDS LIKE THESE

THAT ARE KNOWN AS THE VENETIANS.

NEARBY LIES STAR ISLAND.

WHICH MAY BE MIAMI BEACH’S MOST FAMOUS,

THANKS TO THE CELEBRITIES WHO HAVE LIVED HERE,

INCLUDING GLORIA ESTEFAN AND SEAN "P. DIDDY" COMBS.

TO KEEP THE DEVELOPMENT OF ISLANDS AND WATERFRONT LAND

FROM GETTING OUT OF CONTROL IN AND AROUND MIAMI,

THE LARGEST PART OF BISCAYNE BAY,

WHICH LIES SOUTHEAST OF DOWNTOWN,

WAS PLACED UNDER PROTECTION IN 1968.

TODAY, THIS NATIONAL PARK COVERS MORE THAN 170,000 ACRES

AND INCLUDES ANCIENT CORAL REEFS

AND THE NORTHERNMOST ISLANDS OF THE FLORIDA KEYS.

BUT RIGHT ON THE EDGE OF THIS NATIONAL PARK

LIES A SURPRISING HABITAT.

A NUCLEAR PLANT THAT’S ALSO HOME

TO HUNDREDS OF THE LARGEST REPTILE SPECIES IN THE U.S.,

AND THEY’RE NOT FLORIDA’S FAMOUS GATORS.

IN THE 1930s A MIAMI FISHERMAN KNOWN AS "CRAWFISH" EDDIE

DECIDED TO BUILD A SHACK ON STILTS IN BISCAYNE BAY,

SO HE COULD SELL BAIT TO HIS FELLOW FISHERMEN.

OTHERS FOLLOWED,

AND SOON THERE WERE MORE THAN A DOZEN STRUCTURES

HOVERING OVER THE BAY.

THE COMMUNITY CAME TO BE KNOWN AS STILTSVILLE.

BY THE 1960s, THERE WERE BARS AND CLUBS OUT HERE, TOO,

AND THEY LURED MANY OF MIAMI’S

MOST PRESTIGIOUS LAWYERS, BANKERS, AND POLITICIANS.

THERE WAS ALSO A BAR IN A GROUNDED SHIP,

NAMED THE BIKINI CLUB,

SINCE IT OFFERED FREE DRINKS TO WOMEN IN BIKINIS

BEFORE IT WAS RAIDED AND SHUT DOWN.

THE MOST FAMOUS STILTSVILLE STRUCTURES,

INCLUDING CRAWFISH EDDIE’S ORIGINAL SHACK,

WERE DESTROYED BY HURRICANES.

BUT THIS ONE, OWNED BY JIMMY ELLENBURG,

WHO WAS OFTEN CALLED THE MAYOR OF STILTSVILLE,

IS STILL STANDING.

BY 1999, THE STATE OF FLORIDA

STARTED FORCING THE LAST RESIDENTS HERE TO LEAVE.

PEOPLE STILL COME HERE TO FISH,

BUT NO ONE LIVES IN STILTSVILLE ANYMORE.

THE SOUNDS OF ITS NIGHTLIFE ARE GONE,

AND ONE DAY THE LAST REMAINING SHACKS HERE MAY BE, TOO.

♪

BUT PARTYING ON THE WATER IS STILL BIG IN MIAMI.

AND THE MOST FAMOUS WEEKEND WATERING HOLE TODAY

IS A PLACE CALLED HAULOVER SANDBAR.

IT LIES IN THE INTRACOASTAL WATERWAY,

BETWEEN MIAMI’S BARRIER ISLANDS AND THE MAINLAND.

ONCE, THIS WAS A QUIET PLACE TO MEET FRIENDS.

NOW, HUNDREDS COME TO BLAST MUSIC, DANCE, AND TAKE SELFIES.

FOOD BOATS ALSO PLY THESE WAIST-DEEP WATERS.

THE MIAMI-DADE FIRE DEPARTMENT LETS EVERYONE KNOW

THERE’S HELP NEARBY.

BUT HUMANS AREN’T THE ONLY ONES IN MIAMI-DADE

WHO SPEND THEIR DAYS BASKING IN THE SUN.

ONE OF AMERICA’S TOP PREDATORS DOES, TOO,

AND NOT IN A PLACE WHERE MANY PEOPLE WOULD WANT TO SUNBATHE.

THESE CANALS AND BERMS

ARE PART OF THE TURKEY POINT NUCLEAR GENERATING STATION

JUST SOUTH OF MIAMI.

THEY WERE BUILT TO COOL THE HEATED WATER

FROM THE NUCLEAR REACTORS

INSTEAD OF SENDING IT INTO BISCAYNE BAY.

IN 1978, WORKERS HERE AT TURKEY POINT

MADE AN AMAZING DISCOVERY.

THEY HAPPENED TO SPOT A NEST OF BABY AMERICAN CROCODILES

ON ONE OF THESE BERMS.

AT THE TIME, THIS SPECIES OF CROC WAS ENDANGERED.

THERE HAVE LONG BEEN MILLIONS OF ALLIGATORS IN FLORIDA,

WHICH IS WHY SO MANY OF THEM END UP IN PEOPLE’S BACKYARDS.

BUT IN THE 1970s THERE WERE JUST A FEW HUNDRED AMERICAN CROCS

LEFT IN THE WILD IN THE U.S.

UP CLOSE IT’S EASY TO TELL THESE TWO PREDATOR REPTILES APART.

AMERICAN CROCS HAVE A MUCH LONGER SNOUT THAN GATORS.

HOPING THESE WARM CANALS WOULD PROVIDE

A SUITABLE BREEDING GROUND FOR THE CROCS,

THE PLANT STARTED A PROGRAM TO MONITOR AND PROTECT THEM.

OVER TIME, THE POPULATION GREW.

NOW THERE ARE MORE THAN 400 AMERICAN CROCODILES

HERE AT TURKEY POINT ALONE

AND MORE THAN 2,000 TOTAL ACROSS SOUTH FLORIDA.

THEY ARE NO LONGER ON THE ENDANGERED SPECIES LIST.

THESE PREDATORS SPEND MOST OF THEIR DAYS WAITING PATIENTLY

TO STRIKE POTENTIAL PREY.

IN SOUTH FLORIDA,

CROCS AND GATORS OFTEN SHARE THE SAME WATERY HABITATS,

AND WHEN THEY BATTLE,

AMERICAN CROCS ARE ALMOST ALWAYS THE VICTORS.

IT’S 12:55 P.M. JUST OVER A MILE OFF SOUTH BEACH.

A STORM IS MOVING IN,

AND SHIP PILOT JON NITKIN IS POUNDING HIS WAY OUT TO SEA

TO DO ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT JOBS IN MIAMI.

HE HAS MORE THAN TWO MORE MILES TO GO,

AND THE SWELLS ARE ONLY GETTING BIGGER.

OUT ON THE HORIZON, THE CREW ON A MASSIVE CONTAINER SHIP

FROM SINGAPORE, THE MAERSK SANA, IS WAITING FOR JON’S ARRIVAL.

EVERY FOREIGN CARGO SHIP THAT ARRIVES IN THE WATERS OFF MIAMI,

HAS TO STOP FIVE MILES OUT

AND WAIT FOR A BISCAYNE BAY PILOT LIKE JON

TO GUIDE IT INTO PORT.

FOR THOSE ON MIAMI BEACH,

THIS SHIP IS JUST A TINY SHADOW ON THE HORIZON.

BUT UP CLOSE, IT’S COLOSSAL.

THE MAERSK SANA IS WHAT’S CALLED A POST-PANAMAX SHIP,

ONE OF A NEW GENERATION OF VESSELS THAT ARE BIGGER, FASTER,

AND ARE ABLE TO CARRY MORE CONTAINERS

THAN THE LARGEST SHIPS THAT CAME BEFORE.

EVERY DAY, ON AVERAGE, THREE CARGO SHIPS ARRIVE AT PORT MIAMI

ALONG WITH THE MANY OTHER VESSELS

THAT HAVE TURNED THIS PORT INTO ONE OF THE BUSIEST IN AMERICA.

IT’S WHY THE BISCAYNE BAY PILOTS ARE BASED

RIGHT AT THE TIP OF THE PORT,

READY TO GO WHENEVER A SHIP ARRIVES OR DEPARTS.

TODAY OUT ON THE WATER, THE SWELLS ARE HITTING 12 FEET.

BUT ON SOME DAYS THEY GET UP TO 20.

♪

JON’S TINY PILOT BOAT IS DWARFED BY THE CONTAINERS

THAT TOWER MORE THAN 100 FEET ABOVE HIM.

MIAMI’S PILOTS HAVE TO CLAMBER ON BOARD THESE GIANT VESSELS

AT ALL HOURS OF THE DAY AND NIGHT

IN EVERY KIND OF WEATHER IMAGINABLE.

WHEN THE SEAS ARE ROUGH, IT’S ESPECIALLY DANGEROUS.

IF A PILOT SLIPS ON THE DECK OR LADDER,

OR A SWELL SUDDENLY YANKS THE PILOT BOAT

AWAY FROM THE SHIP’S HULL,

HE COULD EASILY GET THROWN INTO THE WATER

AND CRUSHED BETWEEN THE TWO VESSELS.

BUT JON IS A FIFTH GENERATION MARINER

AND KNOWS WELL THE DANGERS OF LIFE ON THE SEA.

AFTER 28 YEARS ON THE JOB,

HE’S EXECUTED THIS LEAP THOUSANDS OF TIMES.

HE WAITS FOR JUST THE RIGHT MOMENT AND THEN MAKES HIS MOVE.

ON MANY SHIPS, PILOTS HAVE TO CLIMB 50 FEET OF LADDER

TO REACH THE MAIN DECK.

BUT THIS ONE HAS A PORTSIDE HATCH,

AND AFTER JUST A FEW RUNGS, JON’S SAFELY ON BOARD.

♪

WHEN THE WORLD’S BIGGEST PLANES APPROACH AN AIRPORT,

ANY TRAINED PILOT CAN LAND THEM,

BECAUSE RUNWAYS FOR JUMBO JETS

HAVE ALL BEEN STANDARDIZED WORLDWIDE.

THAT’S NOT THE CASE FOR THE WORLD’S MEGA SHIPS.

NO TWO PORTS IN THE WORLD ARE THE SAME.

AND THAT’S WHY SHIPS LIKE THIS ONE

NEED TO HAVE A LOCAL PILOT LIKE JON ON BOARD,

SINCE HE HAS YEARS OF EXPERIENCE WITH THE UNIQUE WINDS, CURRENTS,

AND VARYING DEPTHS OF MIAMI’S SHIPPING CHANNEL.

SO JUST MINUTES AFTER JON ARRIVES UP ON THE BRIDGE,

THE CAPTAIN OF THE VESSEL HANDS OFF

WHAT SAILORS CALL "THE CONN."

OUT ON THE BRIDGE WING, HIS SETS UP GPS EQUIPMENT

SO HE KNOWS EXACTLY WHERE THE SHIP’S BOW, STERN AND SIDES ARE

IN THE SHIPPING CHANNEL AT ALL TIMES.

FROM NOW ON IT WILL BE UP TO JON

TO DECIDE EVERY MOVE THE SHIP MAKES

UNTIL IT’S SAFELY AT ITS DOCK AT PORT MIAMI.

♪

AND MIAMI’S SHIPPING CHANNEL

ALSO HAS ITS OWN UNIQUE CHALLENGES.

FIRST OF ALL, IT’S EXTREMELY NARROW.

MOST OTHER MAJOR PORTS IN THE WORLD

HAVE CHANNELS THAT ARE AT LEAST 1,000 FEET WIDE.

BUT THE WIDTH OF MIAMI’S IS JUST 500 FEET,

AND THERE’S NO ROOM TO WIDEN IT FURTHER.

GUIDING A FULLY LOADED 140-FOOT-WIDE VESSEL

SAFELY THOUGH THIS CHANNEL

IS A JOB FOR ONLY THE MOST EXPERIENCED PILOTS AND CAPTAINS

IN THE WORLD.

IT YOU WERE TO PUT THIS SHIP ON ITS END,

IT WOULD BE TALLER THAN MIAMI’S TALLEST BUILDING.

A TEAM OF TUGBOATS AND THEIR CREWS HELPS KEEP IT ON COURSE.

WHEN THE WIND IS BLOWING HARD, LIKE TODAY,

THESE MEGA SHIPS DON’T TRAVEL NICELY IN STRAIGHT LINES.

THE CONTAINERS STACKED ON BOARD ACT LIKE A GIANT SAIL

THAT CONSTANTLY PUSHES THE SHIP OFF COURSE

AND CAUSES IT TO CRAB.

SO WHEN A VESSEL THIS SIZE IS ON ITS WAY INTO MIAMI,

THERE’S VERY LITTLE ROOM FOR ERROR.

IF JON DOESN’T KEEP IT RIGHT IN THE CENTER OF THE CHANNEL,

IT CAN RUN AGROUND IN A MATTER OF SECONDS.

IF THAT HAPPENS, THE CHANNEL COULD CLOSE DOWN FOR WEEKS.

NO CRUISE SHIPS WOULD BE ABLE TO COME OR GO,

AND PORT MIAMI, THE LARGEST DRIVER OF FLORIDA’S ECONOMY,

WOULD GRIND TO A HALT.

GROUNDED SHIPS OFTEN LEAK FUEL, AND A MAJOR LEAK HERE

COULD TURN THE SANDS OF MIAMI BEACH

INTO AN ENVIRONMENTAL DISASTER ZONE.

TODAY, IT TAKES JON 20 MINUTES TO GET THE MAERSK SANA LINED UP

INSIDE THE NARROW SHIPPING LANE.

UNLIKE MOST MAJOR PORTS IN AMERICA,

PORT MIAMI LIES RIGHT NEXT TO THE CITY.

THOSE WHO LIVE HERE ON FISHER ISLAND

ARE USED TO SEEING THESE ENORMOUS VESSELS

GLIDING RIGHT PAST THEIR WINDOWS, DAY AND NIGHT.

AN HOUR AFTER JON BOARDED,

IT’S TIME FOR ONE OF THE MOST DANGEROUS PARTS OF HIS JOB:

LANDING THIS MASSIVE, MOVING HUNK OF STEEL

GENTLY AT THE DOCK.

HE LIKES TO THINK OF HIS JOB

AS LIKE THAT OF AN ORCHESTRAL CONDUCTOR.

HE CALLS EVERY SHOT IN A CAREFULLY CHOREOGRAPHED DANCE

OF TUGBOATS, CREWS, AND ENGINE THRUSTS.

DOCKING PROCEDURES CAN BE DEADLY.

IN OTHER PORTS, CONTAINER SHIPS LIKE THIS ONE

HAVE LANDED TOO FAST, SLAMMED INTO THE CRANES,

AND CAUSED CONTAINERS FROM THE SHIP TO CRASH ONTO THE DOCK.

BUT TODAY THE SANA ARRIVES WITHOUT INCIDENT.

DOWN BELOW, LONGSHOREMEN CATCH THE LINES

THAT WILL KEEP THIS SHIP TETHERED TO THE PORT UNTIL DAWN.

WITH SO MANY SHIPS AND BOATERS ON THE WATERS AROUND MIAMI,

IT’S NOT SURPRISING THAT MIAMI-DADE COUNTY

KEEPS A HIGHLY TRAINED TEAM OF FIRST RESPONDERS

RIGHT HERE AT THE PORT.

BUT WHEN THESE FIREFIGHTERS GET A CALL,

THEY DON’T SLIDE DOWN POLES.

THEY RACE OUTSIDE ONTO A WAITING FIRE BOAT INSTEAD.

THERE MAY BE BRIDGES TO MOST OF THE ISLANDS

IN MIAMI AND MIAMI BEACH,

BUT IT’S OFTEN FASTER FOR PARAMEDICS LIKE THESE

TO REACH INJURED PATIENTS CLOSE TO THE SHORELINE BY BOAT.

IN 2016, THIS FIRE RESCUE UNIT RESPONDED TO CLOSE TO 600 CALLS.

AS SOON AS A SICK PATIENT IS BUNDLED ON THE GROUND,

THE MEDICS CALL IN AIR SUPPORT.

MIAMI-DADE FIRE RESCUE IS THE PRIMARY MEDEVAC SERVICE

FOR THIS PART OF SOUTH FLORIDA.

THEY COVER EVERYTHING FROM BOATING ACCIDENTS

TO GATOR BITES IN THE EVERGLADES.

THE PROBLEM IS, MUCH OF MIAMI, INCLUDING ITS ISLANDS,

IS DENSELY POPULATED,

AND SO FIRE RESCUE CAN’T LAND JUST ANYWHERE.

TODAY, THE FASTEST WAY TO GET THIS PATIENT

THE TREATMENT HE NEEDS

IS TO MEET THE AIR UNIT

ON ANOTHER ISLAND NEARBY KNOWN AS VIRGINIA KEY,

WHERE THERE’S SPACE TO LAND.

WITHIN SECONDS THE PATIENT IS AIRBORNE

AND ON HIS WAY TO A NEARBY HOSPITAL.

♪

THE BEST WAY TO UNDERSTAND THE EPIC ROLE THAT WATER PLAYS

IN A DAY IN THE LIFE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI

IS TO PEER DOWN ON THIS SUN-SPLASHED METROPOLIS

FROM VERY HIGH ABOVE.

UP HERE IT’S CLEAR

THAT JUST ABOUT EVERY STRETCH OF WATERFRONT IN AND AROUND MIAMI

HAS BEEN BUILT AND SHAPED BY HUMANS.

BUT ALL THAT ENGINEERING IS NOT ENOUGH

TO PROTECT AGAINST THE SINGLE BIGGEST THREAT

TO THIS FLORIDA CITY:

THE SEA LEVELS THAT HAVE BEEN CREEPING HIGHER AND HIGHER

EVERY YEAR.

MOST OF THE GROUND HERE IS LESS THAN FIVE FEET ABOVE SEA LEVEL,

AND SOME SCIENTISTS PREDICT THAT MUCH OF MIAMI

COULD BE UNDERWATER BY THE END OF THE 21st CENTURY.

BUT THE BIGGEST REASON MIAMI RESIDENTS

HAVE A TOUGH FIGHT AHEAD

IS BECAUSE OF WHAT LIES UNDER THE CITY’S STREETS.

MIAMI, AND MOST OF FLORIDA ITSELF,

SIT ON A BED OF HIGHLY POROUS LIMESTONE KNOWN AS KARST.

DURING HURRICANES AND POWERFUL HIGH TIDES,

OCEAN WATER FINDS ITS WAY INTO THE KARST, DEEP UNDERGROUND.

THEN, IT STARTS BUBBLING UP IN MIAMI’S STREETS.

WALLS AROUND THE CITY AREN’T ENOUGH TO KEEP THE WATER OUT.

AND IF THE SEA CONTINUES TO RISE,

MIAMI BEACH COULD BECOME A SANDBAR,

COVERED ENTIRELY BY WATER AT EVERY HIGH TIDE.

BUT FOR NOW, THE DESIRE TO OWN A PIECE OF MIAMI

IS STRONGER THAN EVER.

JUST ABOUT EVERY WATERFRONT LOT HERE IS BUILT ON,

EVEN IF IT’S JUST A FEW FEET ABOVE SEA LEVEL.

AND JUST LIKE THE SEA ITSELF,

THE PRICES FOR WATERFRONT PROPERTY CONTINUE TO RISE.

IN 2005, JENNIFER LOPEZ SOLD THIS HOUSE ON BISCAYNE BAY

FOR CLOSE TO $14 MILLION.

TEN YEARS LATER, IN 2015, SINGER PHIL COLLINS BOUGHT IT

FOR MORE THAN DOUBLE THAT PRICE: $33 MILLION.

EVEN EMPTY LOTS WITH WATER ACCESS

ASK UNBELIEVABLE PRICES.

THESE PATCHES OF DIRT, WITHOUT A HOUSE,

WERE RECENTLY ON THE MARKET FOR MORE THAN $15 MILLION.

BUT IT’S EASY TO SPEND 24 HOURS IN MIAMI

WITHOUT HAVING TO THINK ABOUT

ALL THE LONG-TERM THREATS OF RISING SEA LEVELS,

ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU’RE OUT ON THE WATER ITSELF

OR UP IN THE AIR.

IT’S 2:32 P.M., AND A MIAMI-DADE POLICE DEPARTMENT HELICOPTER

IS RESPONDING TO A CALL THAT WOULD BE UNUSUAL

IN MOST MAJOR AMERICAN CITIES.

A SUBMERGED VEHICLE HAS BEEN REPORTED IN A CANAL

SOUTH OF THE CITY.

THESE OFFICERS WILL TRY AND SPOT THE CAR FROM THE AIR

AND HELP GUIDE IN AN UNDERWATER RECOVERY TEAM

THAT’S JUST ARRIVED ON SITE.

THEIR FIRST PRIORITY IS TO FIND OUT IF THERE ARE BODIES INSIDE.

IF YOU PEER DOWN ON MIAMI FROM HIGH ABOVE,

YOU’LL SEE THAT HUNDREDS OF MILES OF CANALS

CRISSCROSS MIAMI-DADE COUNTY.

THEY WERE BUILT STARTING IN THE EARLY 1900s

TO DRAIN WATER AWAY FROM THE EVERGLADES

AND TO STORE AND DELIVER IT TO LOCAL FARMERS.

SOME OF THESE CANALS DRAIN RIGHT INTO BISCAYNE BAY

TO HELP KEEP THE LAND AND NEIGHBORHOODS AROUND THEM

AS DRY AS POSSIBLE.

BUT THESE WATERWAYS ARE ALSO

OCCASIONALLY USED TO COMMIT INSURANCE FRAUD.

ON THE BANK OF THIS ONE,

THE UNDERWATER RECOVERY TEAM IS FINALLY READY TO DIVE.

ONCE THEY ARE IN THE WATER,

POLICE OFFICERS ABOVE PROVIDE EXTRA EYES IN THE SKY.

THESE CANALS ARE THE PERFECT BREEDING GROUND FOR GATORS.

RECENTLY, A POLICE OFFICER WITH THE RECOVERY TEAM

HAPPENED TO SPOT A 12-FOOT GATOR TRACKING HIS COLLEAGUES

IN THE WATER.

THE ONLY CHOICE THEY HAD WAS TO SHOOT THE GATOR DEAD.

IT TAKES JUST A FEW MINUTES TO FIND THE VEHICLE.

IT’S A MINIVAN.

LUCKILY THE DRIVER’S NOT INSIDE.

EVERY YEAR, DOZENS OF VEHICLES LIKE THESE

END UP IN MIAMI’S CANALS.

THEY ARE OFTEN ABANDONED FOR INSURANCE FRAUD

OR DUMPED TO GET RID OF EVIDENCE.

SOME HAVE EVEN BEEN FOUND WITH CORPSES.

WITH THE DIVERS AND THE CAR BACK ON LAND,

THE OFFICERS IN THE AIR UNIT CAN HEAD BACK TO THE CITY

TO WAIT FOR THEIR NEXT CALL.

IT’S 2:45 P.M.,

AND OUT ON THE QUIET, BLUE WATERS OFF MIAMI

ANOTHER GROUP OF DIVERS IS GETTING READY TO EXPLORE

A UNIQUE SITE ON THE SEAFLOOR.

ABOUT 40 FEET DOWN BENEATH THIS BOAT

LIES AN UNDERWATER CEMETERY

MORE THAN THREE MILES OUT AT SEA.

IT’S CALLED NEPTUNE MEMORIAL REEF.

THE MEMORIALS ARE MADE FROM THE CREMATED REMAINS OF THE DEAD,

WHICH ARE MIXED WITH CONCRETE

AND FORMED INTO SHAPES LIKE SHELLS AND STARFISH.

TODAY, A NEW MEMORIAL IS READY TO BE LAID TO REST.

AFTER ALL THE OTHER DIVERS ARE IN THE WATER,

JIM HUTSLER, WHO OVERSEES THE MEMORIAL,

HOLDS THE 35-POUND STARFISH TO HIS CHEST AND JUMPS IN.

IT’S JUST A SHORT DIVE TO REACH THE BOTTOM.

♪

EVEN THOUGH IT MIGHT LOOK LIKE ONE,

NEPTUNE MEMORIAL REEF IS NOT AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL RELIC

FROM THE PAST;

IT’S A NEWLY BUILT UNDERWATER MAUSOLEUM FOR CREMATED REMAINS.

THE CRUMBLING RUINS ARE BASED ON AN ARTIST’S IMAGININGS

OF WHAT THE LOST CITY OF ATLANTIS MIGHT LOOK LIKE TODAY.

TO GET THE PERMITS FOR THE PROJECT,

THE OWNERS HAD TO BUILD THE REEF’S STRUCTURES

TO WITHSTAND 100-MILE-PER-HOUR HURRICANES.

NOW IT’S A POPULAR SITE FOR RECREATIONAL DIVERS

AS WELL AS THE FAMILY MEMBERS OF THOSE WHO ARE MEMORIALIZED HERE.

UNDERWATER, IT TAKES JIM JUST 30 MINUTES

TO PLACE THE NEW MEMORIAL AND ATTACH IT TO THE SEAFLOOR.

♪

BEFORE HE HEADS BACK TO THE SURFACE,

HE’LL MARK THE SPOT ON A MAP OF THE REEF

SO THE FAMILY OF THE DECEASED CAN COME TO VISIT

ANYTIME THEY WANT.

♪

EVERY DAY, ON AVERAGE,

MORE THAN 42,000 VISITORS FROM AROUND THE WORLD

DESCEND ON MIAMI.

WHEN THE SUN’S OUT, THESE STRANGERS PACK IN

TO SHARE THE SUN AND SAND OF MIAMI BEACH.

BUT THERE ARE BIG PARTS OF MIAMI THAT MOST VISITORS NEVER SEE.

IF YOU SOAR THROUGH THE SKIES NORTH OF DOWNTOWN,

YOU MIGHT CATCH SIGHT OF THESE COLORFUL BUILDINGS.

THEY’RE NAMED LIBERTY SQUARE.

IN 2016, AN ACADEMY AWARD-WINNING FILM

SUDDENLY SHINED A SPOTLIGHT ON THIS HOUSING ESTATE

AND THE NEIGHBORHOOD THAT SURROUNDS IT,

WHICH IS KNOWN AS LIBERTY CITY.

THE FILM, CALLED MOONLIGHT, IS THE COMING-OF-AGE STORY

OF AN AFRICAN AMERICAN BOY NAMED CHIRON

AS HE STRUGGLES WITH HIS OWN SEXUAL IDENTITY

AND THE DRUGS, CRIME AND POVERTY

THAT HAVE LONG PLAGUED THIS MIAMI NEIGHBORHOOD.

MOONLIGHT’S POWERFUL HUMAN STORY RESONATED WITH AUDIENCES,

AND THE FILM WAS NOMINATED FOR EIGHT ACADEMY AWARDS,

WINNING THREE, INCLUDING BEST PICTURE.

BUT THE REAL-LIFE STORIES OF THE FILM’S WRITER AND DIRECTOR

ARE A BIG PART OF WHAT MADE MOONLIGHT SO POWERFUL.

DIRECTOR BARRY JENKINS AND SCREENWRITER TARELL McCRANEY

GREW UP HERE IN LIBERTY CITY IN THE 1980s.

THE TWO NEVER ACTUALLY MET UNTIL THEY WERE ADULTS.

BUT LIKE IN THE MOVIE, JENKINS AND McCRANEY STRUGGLED AS KIDS

WITH MANY OF THE SAME CHALLENGES AS CHIRON,

AND BOTH WERE RAISED BY SINGLE MOTHERS WHO HAD HIV.

WHEN THIS VAST HOUSING ESTATE WAS BUILT IN THE 1930s,

IT WAS THE THRIVING HEART

OF MIAMI’S AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY.

UP UNTIL THE 1960s,

AFRICAN AMERICANS WEREN’T ACTUALLY

ALLOWED TO LIVE IN MIAMI BEACH

DUE TO THE CITY’S SEGREGATION LAWS.

MANY OF LIBERTY SQUARE’S EARLIEST RESIDENTS

EVENTUALLY MOVED OUT

TO BUY HOMES IN THE SURROUNDING NEIGHBORHOODS,

AND BY THE 1960s, THE BUILDINGS OF LIBERTY SQUARE

HAD STARTED FALLING INTO DISREPAIR.

LIKE MUCH OF MIAMI IN THE 1970s AND ’80s,

THE NEIGHBORHOOD WAS SOON PLAGUED BY DRUGS AND CRIME.

TO MAKE MOONLIGHT FEEL AUTHENTIC,

JENKINS CAST RESIDENTS FROM THE NEIGHBORHOOD,

AND THE COLORFUL HOUSING BLOCKS OF LIBERTY SQUARE

FEATURED PROMINENTLY IN THE FILM.

NORTHWESTERN SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL DOES, TOO.

JENKINS, LIKE THE CHARACTER CHIRON, PLAYED FOOTBALL HERE.

ONE OF THE FILM’S MOST MEMORABLE SCENES

WAS SHOT INSIDE THIS NEARBY DINER.

♪

MOONLIGHT WAS THE FIRST FILM MADE IN MIAMI

TO WIN BEST PICTURE AT THE OSCARS.

TO HONOR ITS SUCCESS, THE CITY OF MIAMI RENAMED

A SECTION OF NORTHWEST 22nd AVENUE,

WHICH RUNS THROUGH LIBERTY CITY, "MOONLIGHT WAY."

THERE ARE MANY CORNERS OF MIAMI WITH RICH STORIES

THAT HAVE NOT YET BEEN TOLD.

BUT OVER ON SOUTH BEACH, ONE MAN HAS BEEN TELLING THE SAME STORY

FOR THE PAST FOUR DECADES.

AND IT’S MADE HIM INTO SOMETHING OF A MIAMI LEGEND.

♪

EVERY DAY SINCE JANUARY 1, 1975,

ROBERT RAVEN CRAFT HAS MADE AN EIGHT-MILE RUN

ALONG MIAMI BEACH, NO MATTER WHAT THE WEATHER.

IT ALL BEGAN AS A SIMPLE NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION

TO RUN EIGHT MILES EVERY DAY FOR ONE YEAR.

MORE THAN 40 YEARS LATER, HE’S STILL AT IT,

AND HE SAYS HE HASN’T MISSED A DAY OR RUN SINCE.

HE EVEN RAN DURING HURRICANE IRMA.

OVER THE YEARS, MORE THAN 2,500 OTHERS HAVE JOINED HIM,

ON WHAT’S KNOWN AS RAVEN RUN.

TODAY IS NO DIFFERENT.

EVERY AFTERNOON, RAVEN AND A PACK OF HIS FANS

AND FELLOW JOGGERS HEAD SOUTH TOWARDS THE END OF MIAMI BEACH.

ALL ALONG HIS ROUTE, LOCALS COME UP TO GREET HIM

AS THEY CELEBRATE RAVEN’S MORE THAN FOUR-DECADE ACHIEVEMENT

AND CAN-DO SPIRIT.

RAVEN HAS MADE HIS DAILY RUNS

DURING SOME OF THE MOST COLORFUL PERIODS IN MIAMI’S HISTORY.

ONE OF THEM WAS THE 1990s.

THAT’S WHEN SOUTH BEACH EXPERIENCED A MAJOR REVIVAL

AFTER ITS DECLINE DURING THE DRUGS AND CRIME WAVE

OF THE ’70s AND ’80s.

BY 1992, ONE FAMILIAR FACE HERE ALONG OCEAN DRIVE

WAS ITALIAN FASHION DESIGNER GIANNI VERSACE.

HE PURCHASED THIS MEDITERRANEAN-STYLE VILLA,

JUST A FEW FEET FROM THE BEACH,

AND THEN EXPANDED THE HOUSE WITH LAVISH POOLS, GARDENS,

AND EVEN HIS OWN OBSERVATORY ON THE ROOF.

HE WAS FREQUENTLY SPOTTED ON HIS MORNING WALKS

TO AND FROM THE NEARBY NEWS CAFE,

WHERE HE OFTEN WENT TO READ THE PAPER OVER BREAKFAST.

BUT IT WAS DURING HIS RETURN HOME FROM THE CAFE ONE MORNING

THAT VERSACE WAS SHOT DEAD ON THE STEPS OF HIS HOUSE

ON JULY 15, 1997.

HIS ASSASSIN, A SERIAL KILLER, COMMITTED SUICIDE

A FEW DAYS LATER ON A MIAMI HOUSEBOAT.

EVER SINCE, THE STEPS OF CASA VERSACE

HAVE BEEN ONE OF THE MOST VISITED SITES IN MIAMI.

♪

IT’S 3:00 P.M. IN LITTLE HAVANA, JUST WEST OF DOWNTOWN.

THAT’S THE TIME WHEN SMALL CROWDS START TO GATHER

AT STREETSIDE WINDOWS LIKE THIS ONE.

THEY COME FOR WHAT’S CALLED A CAFÉCITO, OR CUBAN COFFEE.

MIAMI’S LITTLE HAVANA IS WELL KNOWN FOR THESE TINY CAFES

AND THEIR VERY STRONG ESPRESSOS.

♪

AS SOON AS FIDEL CASTRO CAME TO POWER IN CUBA IN 1959,

CUBAN EXILES STARTED ARRIVING IN MIAMI.

TO PROCESS THESE NEW ARRIVALS,

THE U.S. GOVERNMENT USED THIS FORMER NEWSPAPER BUILDING

AS A POINT OF ENTRY,

AND IT SOON CAME TO BE KNOWN AS THE FREEDOM TOWER.

BUT THE LARGEST NUMBER OF CUBANS ARRIVED IN MIAMI IN 1980,

DURING WHAT’S KNOWN AS THE MARIEL BOAT LIFT.

♪

ON APRIL 20, 1980, FIDEL CASTRO SUDDENLY ANNOUNCED

HE WAS OPENING UP THE PORT OF MARIEL, NEAR HAVANA,

FOR ANY CUBAN WHO WANTED TO LEAVE BY BOAT.

IN THE DAYS AND MONTHS THAT FOLLOWED,

1,700 VESSELS OF ALL SHAPES, SIZES AND CONDITIONS

MADE THEIR WAY ACROSS THE FLORIDA STRAIT

AS PART OF A MASS EXODUS OF 125,000 CUBANS.

SOME LANDED IN KEY WEST, BUT MANY WENT STRAIGHT TO MIAMI.

MOST OF THE NEW ARRIVALS JOINED EARLIER CUBAN IMMIGRANTS

WEST OF DOWNTOWN

IN A NEIGHBORHOOD KNOWN AS LITTLE HAVANA.

♪

MANY GOT THEIR FIRST TASTE OF AMERICAN CULTURE AND LANGUAGE

BY WATCHING HOLLYWOOD MOVIES

HERE INSIDE MIAMI’S HISTORIC TOWER THEATER.

MIAMIANS OF CUBAN DESCENT STILL GATHER EVERY DAY AT DOMINO PARK

TO MEET OLD FRIENDS OVER GAMES OF DOMINOS.

♪

TODAY, MORE THAN 30% OF MIAMI’S POPULATION

CONSIDERS THEMSELVES TO BE OF CUBAN ORIGIN.

BUT MIAMI HAD TIES TO CUBA LONG BEFORE CASTRO’S REVOLUTION.

AND ONE OF THOSE TIES

HAPPENS TO HAVE BEEN A FLOCK OF PINK FLAMINGOS.

IN THE 1930s, A WEALTHY DEVELOPER NAMED JOSEPH WIDENER

BOUGHT A FORMER DOG RACING TRACK,

WHICH NOW LIES NORTH OF LITTLE HAVANA.

HE TRANSFORMED IT INTO A RACECOURSE FOR HORSES

WITH A NEW LUXURIOUS CLUBHOUSE.

IT WAS KNOWN AS THE MIAMI JOCKEY CLUB.

IN THE MIDDLE OF THE TRACK,

WIDENER INSTALLED ELABORATE GARDENS

AND IMPORTED 14 PINK FLAMINGOS FROM CUBA

TO WANDER THE GROUNDS AND AWE THE SPECTATORS.

BUT AFTER ARRIVING HERE,

THE BIRDS FLAPPED THEIR WINGS AND FLEW AWAY,

SOME SAY BACK TO CUBA.

WIDENER SHIPPED OVER A SECOND FLOCK

A FEW YEARS LATER IN 1934,

BUT THIS TIME, HE PINIONED THEIR WINGS SO THEY COULDN’T FLY.

HIALEAH PARK HAS BEEN KNOWN FOR ITS PINK FLAMINGOS EVER SINCE.

BUT THE SIGHT OF THESE BIRDS IN FLORIDA

IS NOT AS EXOTIC AS IT USED TO BE.

THESE DAYS, THERE ARE NEW COLORFUL SIGHTS IN MIAMI,

AND THEY LIE IN AN OLD INDUSTRIAL NEIGHBORHOOD DOWNTOWN

KNOWN AS WYNWOOD.

ARTISTS STARTED MOVING TO EMPTY WAREHOUSES HERE

IN THE LATE 1980s

AFTER GETTING PUSHED OUT OF OTHER NEIGHBORHOODS

BY RISING RENTS.

IN THE MID-2000s A LOCAL DEVELOPER NAMED TONY GOLDMAN

BEGAN BUYING UP BUILDINGS HERE

WITH A VISION OF TURNING WYNWOOD INTO A GIANT ARTS DISTRICT.

TO SPUR THINGS ALONG, HE STARTED WYNWOOD WALLS,

WHERE ARTISTS COULD USE THE ENTIRE FACADES OF BUILDINGS

TO CREATE LARGE-SCALE MURALS.

SOON, JUST ABOUT ANY WALL IN WYNWOOD WAS A POTENTIAL CANVAS

FOR ARTISTS IN MIAMI AND FROM AROUND THE WORLD.

TODAY, THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF MURALS ALL ACROSS WYNWOOD.

THERE ARE EVEN WORKS OF ART THAT AREN’T MEANT TO BE SEEN

FROM THE GROUND, LIKE THIS ONE, BY ARTIST RANDY BURMAN.

THESE WORDS COME FROM A POEM

WRITTEN BY AN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENT

IN MIAMI’S LIBERTY CITY NEIGHBORHOOD.

HER NAME IS NIEEMA MARSHALL.

BURMAN PAINTED WORDS FROM HER POEM HERE

SO PASSENGERS ARRIVING AT MIAMI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

COULD PEER DOWN AND BE INSPIRED BY MARSHALL’S WORK.

♪

EVERYDAY IN MIAMI, STARTING AT 4:00 P.M., LIKE CLOCKWORK,

A LONG LINE OF CRUISE SHIPS, LOADED WITH NEW PASSENGERS,

HEAD OUT TO SEA.

MIAMI HAS BEEN CALLED THE BUSIEST CRUISE SHIP PORT

IN THE WORLD.

FROM HERE, THEY HEAD TO THE BAHAMAS AND THE CARIBBEAN.

TOMORROW MORNING, PASSENGERS ON THIS SHIP,

THE NORWEGIAN SKY, WILL WAKE UP IN HAVANA, CUBA.

♪

BY 7:00 P.M. THE WATERWAYS OF MIAMI START TO GET QUIET.

BUT THIS IS WHEN LONGSHOREMEN HERE AT THE PORT

ARE JUST GEARING UP FOR ANOTHER BUSY NIGHT AHEAD.

ONE OF THEM IS DERRICK DANSBY.

HE STARTS HIS SHIFT

WITH A RIDE UP ONE OF THE PORT’S TOWERING GANTRY CRANES.

SOARING 262 FEET ABOVE THE WATER,

THESE ARE SOME OF THE TALLEST CRANES IN THE WORLD,

WHICH IS ONE REASON DERRICK TAKES AN ELEVATOR

TO GET TO THE TOP.

BY 7:15 P.M. HE’S READY FOR HIS FIRST PICK:

A PAIR OF 20-FOOT CONTAINERS FROM THE MAERSK SANA.

IT’S ONE OF MORE THAN 200 CONTAINERS ON THIS SHIP

THAT ARE DESTINED FOR PORT MIAMI.

TO STAY ON SCHEDULE,

DERRICK WILL HAVE TO PICK UP A NEW CONTAINER

ROUGHLY EVERY TWO MINUTES

AND DROP IT ONTO A WAITING TRAILER

FOR THE NEXT STAGE OF ITS JOURNEY.

IT’S GOING TO BE A LONG NIGHTSHIFT FOR DERRICK,

AS HE AND HIS FELLOW LONGSHOREMEN

RACE TO UNLOAD AND THEN RELOAD THIS SHIP BY DAWN.

♪

WHEN A DAY IN MIAMI BEGINS ITS TRANSITION TO NIGHT,

THERE’S NOTHING LIKE GLIDING ACROSS THE NOW-EMPTY WATERS

OF THIS SOUTHERN METROPOLIS.

AS THE LAST RAYS OF THE SUN FADE TO THE WEST,

BIRDS FLOCK TO BISCAYNE BAY.

♪

THIS IS THE TIME THAT THE DAZZLING SPECTACLE OF NIGHT

IN MIAMI BEACH STARTS TO COME ALIVE.

THE MOST COLORFUL LIGHTS

LINE THE CITY’S LEGENDARY OCEAN DRIVE.

BUILT IN THE 1930s, THE COLONY HOTEL HAS WEATHERED

THE MANY BOOMS AND BUSTS OF MIAMI BEACH.

AND THAT’S WHY IT’S NEON BLUE LETTERS

ARE SOME OF THE MOST ICONIC, HERE ALONG SOUTH BEACH.

NEARBY, A STEADY STREAM OF CLUB-GOERS

ARRIVE AT THE FONTAINEBLEAU HOTEL.

THEY’RE HERE TO TRY AND GET PAST THE ROPES AT LIV NIGHTCLUB,

ONE OF THE HIGHEST GROSSING CLUBS IN THE WORLD.

CELEBRITIES, INCLUDING JAY-Z,

HAVE REPORTEDLY RUN UP CHAMPAGNE TABS AT LIV

IN THE HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS.

AFTER DARK, FROM ABOVE,

IT CAN SEEM LIKE THERE’S A PARTY GOING ON

EVERYWHERE YOU LOOK IN MIAMI BEACH.

EVEN PARKING GARAGES ARE LIT UP LIKE CLUBS,

INCLUDING THIS ONE AT 5th STREET AND COLLINS AVENUE.

BUT THERE’S NO EXPLOSION OF COLOR, SOUND AND LIGHT IN MIAMI

THAT COMPARES TO THIS:

THE MAIN STAGE AT THE ULTRA MUSIC FESTIVAL.

IF THERE’S ONE PLACE IN AMERICA

THAT GIVES LAS VEGAS A RUN FOR ITS MONEY AT NIGHT, IT’S MIAMI.

EVERY YEAR, MORE THAN 150,000 PEOPLE FLOCK TO THIS CELEBRATION

OF ELECTRONIC DANCE MUSIC.

♪

THEY ALSO COME TO EXPERIENCE THE RAW ENERGY

OF ONE OF THE MOST POWERFUL

LIGHTING AND PYROTECHNIC DISPLAYS ON EARTH.

♪

BUT MIAMI’S COLORFUL LIGHTS DON’T JUST COME

FROM ONCE-A-YEAR PARTIES LIKE THIS ONE.

THEY ALSO COME FROM HARD-FOUGHT GAMES OF SOCCER

THAT ARE PLAYED BY LOCALS EVERY NIGHT.

THESE TWO ROOFTOP SOCCER FIELDS WERE THE BRAINCHILD

OF TEOFILO CUBILLAS, WHOSE FATHER WITH THE SAME NAME

WAS A STAR SOCCER PLAYER IN PERU.

THEY LIE ON TOP OF A PARKING GARAGE AT 444 BRICKELL AVENUE.

IN SOUTH AMERICA,

SOCCER FIELDS ON THE ROOFS OF BUILDINGS ARE NOTHING NEW,

SINCE THERE’S NOT ENOUGH OPEN SPACE LEFT

IN CITIES LIKE LIMA AND RIO TO BUILD FIELDS ON THE GROUND.

AFTER OPENING THESE TWO PITCHES MORE THAN 13 YEARS AGO,

THEY’VE BEEN A BIG HIT WITH OFFICE WORKERS

WHO COME TO PLAY A GAME OR TWO BEFORE HEADING HOME.

AND THEY ARE USUALLY PACKED UNTIL 2:00 A.M.

WITH PLAYERS WHO WORK THE SECOND SHIFT AT RESTAURANTS

AND ALL KINDS OF OTHER JOBS ACROSS MIAMI.

BUT NOT EVERYONE IN MIAMI HAS TIME TO PLAY SOCCER AT NIGHT.

ESPECIALLY NOT DERRICK DANSBY;

HE’S NOW HALFWAY THROUGH HIS EIGHT-HOUR SHIFT IN A CRANE

HIGH ABOVE PORT MIAMI.

ON THE GROUND,

MANAGER EDDIE FLUKER KEEPS TRACK OF ALL THREE CRANE OPERATORS

TO MAKE SURE THEY STAY ON SCHEDULE AND STAY SAFE.

UP ABOVE, DERRICK SHUTTLES BACK AND FORTH OVER THE SHIP

HUNDREDS OF TIMES.

UNLOADING AND RELOADING AN ENORMOUS VESSEL

LIKE THE MAERSK SANA IS A MAD RACE AGAINST TIME.

AND IF CRANE OPERATORS LOSE CONCENTRATION

EVEN FOR A FEW SECONDS,

THEY COULD MAKE A FATAL MISTAKE;

DROP CONTAINERS WITH MILLIONS OF DOLLARS OF CARGO,

OR INJURE AND EVEN CRUSH THEIR FELLOW LONGSHOREMEN

WORKING ON THE GROUND.

♪

BUT WHEN DERRICK DOES GET A MOMENT TO PAUSE,

HE HAS ONE OF THE MOST SPECTACULAR NIGHTTIME VIEWS

OF THE CITY HE CALLS HOME.

AND AROUND HIM ARE WORKERS AND MACHINES

THAT KEEP FLORIDA’S ECONOMY RUNNING 24/7.

BY 7:00 A.M., THE 300 NEW CONTAINERS ON THE MAERSK SANA

HAVE BEEN LOADED ON BOARD,

AND THE GIANT GANTRY CRANES HAVE FINALLY COME TO A STANDSTILL.

IT’S TIME FOR THIS MEGA SHIP TO HEAD ON

TO ITS NEXT PORT OF CALL.

THE PROBLEM IS, IT’S FACING THE WRONG DIRECTION

AND NEEDS TO BE COMPLETELY FLIPPED AROUND

BEFORE IT CAN LEAVE.

MIAMI PILOT JON NITKIN IS ALREADY UP ON THE BRIDGE.

ONE OF THE MOST CAPTIVATING SIGHTS IN MIAMI FROM ABOVE

IS WATCHING GIANT VESSELS,

INCLUDING CONTAINER SHIPS AND CRUISE LINERS,

MAKE THEIR 180-DEGREE TURNS

SO THEY CAN HEAD OUT TO SEA, BOW FIRST.

TURNING THESE MORE THAN 1,000-FOOT-LONG VESSELS

TAKES ABOUT 20 MINUTES, BUT YEARS OF EXPERIENCE AND SKILL.

FINALLY THIS SHIP IS LINED UP WITH THE CHANNEL

AND READY TO GO.

♪

WHEN YOU SPEND A DAY IN THE SKIES OVER MIAMI,

YOU UNDERSTAND THE UNIQUE WORK IT TAKES DAY AND NIGHT,

TO KEEP THIS FLORIDA METROPOLIS RUNNING 24/7.

BUT YOU ALSO DISCOVER THAT MIAMI IS MUCH MORE

THAN ITS SUNLIT BEACHES,

MUCH BIGGER THAN JUST A SINGLE CITY,

AND WITH MANY MORE STORIES THAN YOU COULD EVER TELL

IN JUST ONE DAY.

BUT THAT’S ALWAYS BEEN TRUE

ON THE COLORFUL, FASCINATING

AND ALWAYS SURPRISING LANDS AND WATERS OF MIAMI.

♪

♪

♪