We got up early on the 29th of June because we had a date to swim with the Manatees in Crystal River at 10:00. Greg drove his rental with Kelly, Jakes and Lindsey riding along with him. Di and I followed him in through all the little towns and never got lost– and we were traveling at quite a clip. I was excited about the Manatees and curious. As children we knew the Manatee as “Sea Cows” in the St. Johns River. It was exciting to come upon a pod of manatees in the river. They were mythological and glorious in their grandeur and we didn’t know much about them other than the myth of the sirens who sang Jason to the rocks in his pursuit of the Golden Fleece. Other’s thought them to be mermaids. They were munching on river grasses and came up for air once or twice and that was the only time we would see them. They have relatively small heads and noses, and I had never see the entirely of the manatees’ body! I was a bit afraid of the size of the manatee – they are huge mammals without any natural enemies.They grow from small newborns to 2 to 3 tons in weight and 12 to 20 feet in length. We were excited out of our minds at the prospect of swimming with them! Paradoxically, I was a tiny bit uncomfortable with the idea of invading their space. There is a spiritual feeling for me that accompanies getting close to the splendid grandeur of Mother Nature–in any form, whether a beautiful sunset, the roar of the ocean, or a peacful summer rain. Essentially I feel awe and I am honored to share in the beauty of nature, and this was one of those times. Respect nature and do no harm.
Once we arrived at Crystal river we were invited to watch a short file about the rules and process of swimming with the manatees. We were not to approach them in any way. Dead man’s float is the rule if they are approaching you. The guides were excited because they heard there was a pod just a short distance away that included a mother and her baby. You can not reach to touch them, but if you are lucky they will slide their body by you– if you are still and not aggressive. (Still we saw one man chasing a manatee like a jerk. Our guide warned the jerk it was against the law and the guides made him get out of the water.) Greg, Lindsey, Jakes, Di and I were lucky and the manatees were amazing. Especially as their bodies slowly swam into your view. Because I was snorkeling and the water was murky, it was my singular experience, as if the manatee would magically emerge from the depths and appear right in front of my face. It was awesome. We stayed out on the boat or in the water for 3 hours. A truly amazing experience we all agreed.
When we changed back into our clothes and left for the 3 1/2 hour ride north to Wakulla we were all pretty exhausted. We stopped at Subway and grabbed a bite then drove through afternoon thunderstorms and beautiful countryside till we arrived at Wakulla Springs State Park at about 5pm. We checked in to the Ed Ball Lodge and headed for our rooms for a rest and to clean up for dinner and watch for the panhandle portion of our family to arrive. Soon enough my younger sister BC and Roy showed up with her daughter Bessie, her husband Jessie, grandson Jackson,6, and granddaughter Kellan,3, and we began another portion of our Fabulous month long Road Trip.
Stay tuned for alligators, sink-holes, diving towers, and