Seeing and experiencing wildlife has been one of the amazing aspects of our journey. We’ve seen first hand grizzlies, black bears, moose, deer, antelope, martins, foxes, wolves, coyotes, Havalenas, marmots, among others as well as an amazing variety of raptors like eagles, ospreys, and condors. One aspect of viewing any wildlife though is that it’s hit or miss, (unless you’re at the zoo)! You can’t plan on it or know for sure whether you’re going to get a chance to see it or not. Timing is everything. Such was the case today when we went on a “swim with the Manatee’s excursion” in Crystal River Florida. This is the best time of the year to do it as Manatee’s migrate from around Florida and come to Crystal Springs to form the largest concentration of Manatee’s in the world. The attraction for them is that the bay here is fed by a large number of underground springs that flow into the bay and provide water at a constant temperature of 72 degree’s. This allows them to survive the colder water that comes with the winters in Florida. The bay we were in is not a remote body of water. It is surrounded by homes, docks, and boat lifts and is quite a busy place. The springs that pump millions of gallons of crystal clear fresh water into the bay however is what makes it special. Although it is connected to the ocean, the water is fresh and still rises and sinks with the oceans tides. Manatees are large aquatic mammals that are quite docile and can also be quite curious. If you’re really lucky, you’ll not only see them on an excursion, but they will come up and interact with you while you’re in the water. That is the attraction that made us sign up for the tour. So, even though at this time of the year they form a huge concentration in this bay, how many you see and whether you are lucky enough to interact with them is somewhat hit or miss. We were able to get seats on the first excursion of the day, which left at 6am. It was dark and pretty chilly when we arrived at the dock, where we took a short boat ride out into the bay, and we were in the water while it was just getting light out. We wore wet suits for warmth and buoyancy and also used “water noodles” to keep us on the surface and minimize disturbing the Manatees as well as the silt on the bottom of the bay. Manatee’s sleep on the bottom and can also unconsciously float to the surface for air but they become more active as the sun rises and the surface water starts to warm. It took awhile for us to really encounter the first ones and for me; it was as a 10 foot long monster just came swimming up along side me, brushed against me, and then passed me. As the morning wore on we had more and more encounters with them and then after 30 or 40 minutes we sort of hit the mother lode, or, like they say in real estate sales; location, location, location! We had been moving throughout the bay but this particular location had a lot of active Manatees. There were several of them at first and they were very curious about us and came up to interact. These guys are big. I’d say some of the bigger ones are about 10 feet long or more and 4 to 5 feet in diameter. There were also some smaller ones that were still big. All of us had interactions of varying degrees but I think I might have had one of the best. My first real interaction had a Manatee come up along side me and put his face right into mine. They sense with there lips/mouths and that’s their way of investigating you. He also pushed me around a little bit with his large flippers. The second encounter in this area occurred when a very large female came up alongside me, looked into my face and then turned on her back and went underneath me. Her body was perpendicular to mine and she just laid underneath me for about 30 seconds and then suddenly pushed me with her flippers off the top of her with a big sudden splash. To have an animal like that just flip you to the side was really amazing. I thought that that would be my best experience of the snorkel trip and was actually heading back towards the boat as I was starting to get cold. I came across an extremely large female who seemed to take a liking to me. She was looking into my face and bumping into me and then she rolled on her back and slid underneath me. The next thing I know she has both of her large flippers wrapped around me and is pulling me into her! My face is pushed into her chest, all I could see was her rough scaly skin, and she held me there for no less than a minute. It seemed like forever! I was hoping Laurie wasn’t watching! Eventually she disengaged and we went our separate ways. I tried to give her my phone number but she was gone! It was truly incredible to be literally embraced by this huge creature. I never thought I would be so fortunate to have experienced this. Made me think of the movie, which is currently out, called “The Shape of Water”. I talked to our guide and he said that female Manatees will do amorous maneuvers with male humans and male manatees with female humans. He also said that they often hug you because you are warm and they like that. Either way, it was great. Laurie also had some great interactions where she swam with them and touched them but unfortunately, didn’t get the opportunity to do as much as I did. I really wished she had but that’s the way it is with wild life. It truly is hit or miss. These animals are truly beautiful and graceful creatures and the bay is actually a marine sanctuary where they are protected and yet still able to be experienced by the public. What an experience. Come in the winter and get an early excursion if you can so that you can maximize your chances of reaching first base with these amazing creatures. You will not regret it.