I have wanted to do this for a very long time. Paul told me about Manatee and diving with them in the late 70’s and I have remembered. We finally found the time and booked a tour with Captain Mikes Manatee Tours. The weather has been less than perfect in Florida this winter so I was concerned about booking and it being cold or rainy but went ahead and I am so glad!
Watching a mom and her juvenile pass beside our boat
These gentle giants are so much fun to watch. They don’t even seem concerned that there are black suited humans wearing snorkles and masks swimming right near them.
Captian Yves telling us about our tour
Our captain was so interested in us having a great experience and the Manatee being taken care of. We set out into Crystal River about 8:30 am. It was still quite cold (64 degrees) but we were cozy with a heater inside the houseboat and we slowly made our way to the springs where we were going to be snorkling with the Manatee.
Hmmmm
The banks of this area are littered with homes. It is a beautiful area with crystal clear water. Our first stop was were there were two small springs and we found 4 manatee resting on the bottom. The water was only about 10 feet at the deepest. The manatee come to the springs because that is where the warmest water is. We spend quite awhile just floating a watching the manatee rest on the bottom and surface for air. Eventually we left and moved to the Three Sisters area. While we moved up the river towards the area we found lots more tour boats and knew the viewing was going to be great.
A small spring
There were lots of these areas that our captain pointed out. The really light area is a small spring area.
Everyone out to view the manatee
We finally arrived at the springs and there were so many boats we figured the viewing would be hard as so many snorklers would muddy the waters. Wrong! There we so many manatee and they were pretty active. We found lots moving into and out of the springs. Two swam right under me on my way in. They are definitely not bothered by us as the manatee didn’t even stop. I could have reached out and touched her but I am afraid of breaking rules and there are very strick rules about Manatee protection. You are not suppose to approach them but when the approach you that is fine. Paul and I watch one guy stand in the spring in only swim trunks and a manatee began chewing on his shorts! He almost was pants!
After awhile I was getting cold, even though the water is about 70, it was still cold outside! We returned to our boat and continued to watch the manatee swim by. We had another guest on our boat, Janine from Germany. She was here on vacation.
Manatee right under Janine
None of us had a really personal interaction like a kiss but we all were close enough to be able to really experience them. It was definitely as cool as I thought for over 30 years! Next trip to Florida we will definitely do this again!