Manatees

This morning we went to the dive shop bright and early for the manatee tour. They gave us wetsuits and snorkel gear and then we boarded the pontoon boat.

The bay was really calm in the morning and our captain explained to us how to spot a manatee. First you will hear them breath out above the water and then you will see a "manatee footprint" that looks like a ripple ring on the surface. You can see our first sighting in the center of the photo below, the small disturbance in the water.

We got a little close in the boar and then we jumped right in! The manatees are MUCH bigger than I expected. They can weight up to 4000 lbs and get about 12-14 feet long. The water was only about waist deep and they were really curious. The manatees would swim right up to you and then pass underneath. It was really startling when they bumped into me but so cool! I didn't think I would get to touch one.

The water was clearer in some areas of the bay than others. The captain of our boat took pictures of the expedition and then made a picture CD of the tour. In the picture below you can see my hand and a manatee.

 We watched this manatee eat for about 15 minutes. When they are eating you are not legally allowed swim towards them so you have to just float and try not to get in their way. If you startle them, they will kind of squeal and then swim away quickly. I had read about how manatees are very slow moving, but actually they have such big tails I was pretty impressed with how quick they are.

We swam into a natural spring called the Three Sisters where manatees spend the winter. The water is 72 degrees year round, which is warm in the winter, but kind of cold right now. We only saw about 8 manatees today but I guess in January there are about 700.

 Swimming with the manatees was way cooler than I imagined. I went whale watching when I was 8 and only saw one whale, but this tour was awesome because it was interactive. Syd and I had so much fun that we might go again. Totally worth the trip!!!

More pictures and video as soon I get home and find a CD drive to upload the rest.