FL Day 5: Sea Cow Soiree

Five a.m. arrived before we knew it and we were up and ready to snorkel with the manatees. We drove over to Bird's Underwater, one of the only tour companies to offer the early morning tour in Kings Bay at Crystal River. The West Indian manatees migrate to this protected area every winter. Some of the manatees do hang around year-round, however, so even though we were visiting in May, we still had a chance to see them. We suited up in our rented wetsuits and boarded our assigned pontoon boat. There was supposed to be donuts and coffee for breakfast for everyone but apparently they had been a little stingy with the goods this morning. I think I got a donut hole. Our first manatee sighting was actually right by the dock. We all jumped in the water and slowly made our way over to the groups. There were two different groups of manatees there. The gentle giants allowed us to hover in the water while they twisted and turned all around us. With your ears in the water you could actually hear them munching on the sea grass below. We stayed with the two groups for as long as the manatees allowed and then we headed off to try and find another group. We managed to find a few more that morning and each one of us on tour had ample time to spend with these magnificent creatures. Because we had taken the early tour, no other tour boats were crowding us and we were able to take our time. Unfortunately, the water was pretty murky so I don't have any manatee pictures but Bird's Underwater did make a DVD compilation of our manatee snorkels available for purchase.

After snorkeling with the manatees, we went to an area called Three Sisters' Springs for some additional snorkeling. This area of natural springs is completely clear. During the winter, the manatees are also in this area but not today. We were able to see some other freshwater fish as well as a turtle.

The springs were ridiculously cold and I couldn't snorkel there very long, even in a wetsuit. Brenda and I used the extra time to change into some dry clothes so we could warm up.

Once we made it back to the dive shop, we did a little manatee souvenir shopping then got on the road to Orlando to catch our flights home. We parted ways at the airport with a list of new experiences and memories that we can laugh about and reminisce about for years to come.