This weekend we headed three hours west to Crystal River, where the spring-fed waters are a magnet for chilly manatees. Five or so companies have licenses to bring a limited number of people out to passively swim with the manatees in their wild habitat. It was an absolute dream come true for me to snorkel among these gentle giants. The highlight was a baby calf being very curious and playful with me. He checked me out for a bit, and even rolled over and showed me his widdle belly. If it weren’t for the wetsuit holding me together I might have melted right there and then.

There were countless manatees in one area, but that also meant there were a lot of other people snorkeling to see them. So our dive master had us leave that one area and head to a place where the resident manatees know to find grass. The visibility was much lower because they move the silty bottom when they graze or when they flap their large tails. There were no other swimmers there; it was just our little group. And about a dozen manatees. The limited visibility meant that you were looking at nothing and then suddenly a massive animal floats by you and disappears. There were two in particular in that area that had me absolutely gobsmacked. They were so unbelievably large. Like massive. I was beside it, and I could see neither it’s snout nor its tail nor the top of its back or the bottom of its belly. I started at the tail and it took me seven breast strokes to get close to his head.

After the encounter I needed to get out just to be able to process what I was witnessing. It was beyond incredible. The manatees were the best birthday present I could have imagined, but just because they were the finale of the weekend doesn’t mean they were the only activity.

On Saturday we went to Weeki Wachi where we got to enjoy the incredible mermaid show that they have been putting on for decades. It was truly classic old school Florida entertainment, and I loved every second of it. They built their theater with glass walls looking into the actual spring-fed river. Real wild fish passed through during the show. There was even a manatee that made a cameo appearance towards the end of the performance.

Before the show we enjoyed a charming pontoon boat ride and then rented kayaks to be able to get close and personal with the amazing Crystal River. While paddling we saw manatees, a raccoon washing his hands, an otter playing on the shore, and countless fish and birds.

After the mermaid performance, we drove to Homosassa Springs and managed to squeeze in a power walk through their animal park just before it closed. We were able to see some incredible animals, including (inexplicably) the world’s oldest hippo, Lu, who celebrated his birthday this weekend too.

Here are more pics of the weekend, because I found it very difficult to narrow it down. And because I think the manatee are so unbelievably cute.