From Suncoast Boulevard
Kayaked 1.9 miles, 2 hours 46 minutes.
We visited the Crystal River area to go kayaking with the manatees. There is a roped off area where many manatees congregate - we were told there were around 200 of them there. Kayakers and swimmers are not allowed within the roped off area, but can go outside the ropes, where there were still plenty of them. We started early and it was pretty quiet. Later on, there were many boats bringing snorkelers in. We were happy to see several volunteers from the Florida Wildlife Commission kayaking in the area, to make sure everyone behaved. You aren't supposed to touch the manatees, but if they touch you, consider yourself lucky. Being in kayaks, obviously, we won't interact with them. The manatees come up every 4 minutes to breathe if they are awake, or around every 15 minutes to breathe if they are sleeping. They were hard for me to photograph due to the reflection on the water, but they regularly came right next to and under our kayaks. We watched a manatee rescue while we were there. Almost all of the manatees have scars on their backs from being hit by motorboats going too fast.
 |
| Boardwalk path - where onlookers watch the manatees in the roped in area. |
 |
| Snorkelers with pool noodles |
 |
| Boats which bring in the snorkelers |
 |
Often, you'll see just their noses as they come up to breathe.
One was rather congested. |
 |
| Using a net to pull an injured manatee onto the FWC boat. |
No comments:
Post a Comment