Manatee Madness in Crystal River!

Manatee Trip January 2013

Trip Report by Mairead Twohig

Instead of taking the easy way out and flying, my dad (JJ) and I decided to make heading to Crystal River, Fl a family vacation. We made quite a few stops along the way, mainly for gas, but one of the “learning experience” stops was at South of the Border. Which as we found out is not as exciting as all the billboards claim it to be, so a few pictures later we are on the road again. Hours later we find ourselves at our first stop, Orlando. We stayed there for two days roaming around Disney and the various resorts.

After a few days of rest and Mickey Mouse we headed west to Crystal River, with a pit stop at Daytona Speedway for a tour. Friday morning we made our way to the dive shop, not knowing what to expect. They tell me to get my gear a group is heading out on a manatee tour and I can dive into a small cave at King’s Bay. Captain Nick and I dove about 25-30 ft and explored a smaller cave, although I was having ear problems so it didn’t last long. On our way out we met a playful manatee which got lots of attention from both of us.

The next morning we headed to Rainbow River so that I could get a relaxing drift dive in. my dad got a few pictures of me before the boat left me to fend for myself. Besides running into a group that liked stirring up the sand, the dive was long and relaxing. Besides all the random pockets of non-vegetation I got to see a turtle. Since the day was still young my dad and I headed back to the dive shop just in time for another manatee tour. This time I got to just enjoy playing with manatees and I got loads of attention from a baby manatee. The baby sure did love my fins and camera. Captain Nick eventually yelled at me to head back into the spring which I grudgingly did. Just my luck there was only one manatee and the second it saw me it decided to plop its nose in the ground and fall asleep. So I headed back which the rest of the group also had worn out and back to shore we headed. Just in time to catch the end of the Manatee Festival. To much surprise there was only one table the sold manatee trinkets, the rest was homemade, business stuff or food.

Sunday morning we switched it up and instead of going to Blue Grotto or Devils Den, we met up with one of the dive shops instructors at a park about an hour away from Crystal River. Although I am already certified it was fun watching others take their certification test. The park is open to the public and the “watering hole” has a small cave in it. The two dives here were relaxing and fun getting to play with fish and dive into the small cave. Sadly the next day we headed home. Instead of making the long weekend just about manatees and scuba diving, my dad and I made it a week of fun.