Possibly the best day off ever?!?!

Wow! I have so much to tell you about swimming with the manatees. It was amazing! Still, let me do this in order.

I was up early (5.00am!) and I had to meet the bus at the crossroads which is about a ten minute walk away. I paced it out the day before but I was horrified to learn that while I could get most of the way there, there's a huge massive interstate (the I4) in the way and there is no way to cross it without risking becoming road kill. America really doesn't cater well to pedestrians. I had to get a taxi instead and all because of that road I couldn't cross! Bizarre!

I met up with the coach and my driver, Graci (pronounced Grassy, he was great!) and he took us out to Crystal River. It's quite a distance from Orlando but they had provided a "breakfast bag" to keep us going and Graci had decent music taste so I was listening to The Eagles and Abba on the way up. We were taken to a PADI shop where we were given our fins and masks. We also hired wetsuits which was an extra $10 but apparantly it was recommended. We carried on down to the river and boarded the boat which took us out into the canals. All around were houses and they were incredible but apparantly cost over a million each! Not surprising. Our boat captain kept an eye out and looked for the manatees. We found one and the guide got in to see if she wanted attention. However, the manatee wasn't interested in playing so we let her go off and carried on. We found another a little later and she wanted a tummy rub so everyone got in and swam out.

Manatees are huge! I had no idea they could grow to 12 feet in length. They are also really difficult to describe. They're kind of like fat hippos crossed with walruses without teeth. They eat sea grass that grows on the bottom of the canal and they are extremely gentle.

We all swam over and straight away I saw the manatee underneath me. She was just stationary munching on sea grass. I swam over the top of her as she swam along and then jumped out of my skin when it felt like the canal floor rose up to get me. What happened was she surfaced to breathe and she did it right in front of me. Both my hands ran along her back as she surfaced in front of me and then she kicked me in the face with her tail when she went back down. It didn't hurt, I found it amusing more than anything. Besides, it was her revenge because I hit her in the face earlier with my fins. Accidentally and I think I missed but obviously, she didn't forget! Swimming alongside the manatee was amazing. She ignored us most of the time but at one point she came up to us and let us touch her. Manatees feel....I want to say beautiful or amazing but in truth, manatees feel absolutely disgusting! They are slimy! Moss grows on thier backs and it's like stroking a rock that is covered in seaweed. Still, I touched a manatee!!!

After half an hour or so, the first manatee was joined by another one. This one was a male but our girl wasn't interested and chased him off. After that our guide said, "okay guys, let's leave her to it" and we all climbed out. I loved the fact that the guide was so respectful of the manatees. He made sure she wanted us there and we never chased after her if she swam away. There's also a region of the river that people aren't allowd just so the manatees have freedom from us if they want it. That's how it should be.

We went to lunch next at a restaurant. This was included in the price of the tour and I had chicken burger and chips. Then we continued to the Homosassa Springs State Park where they had resident animals from Florida. We saw alligators, crocodiles, bobcats, cougars, black bears, various birds, deer, manatees and foxes. I loved seeing all the native wildlife and their enclosures are huge which made me happy. Alot of these animals are rescued from various situations and are being rehabilitated.

Once we were done at Homosassa, we boarded the bus back to Orlando. When we got back, I went to the Magic Kingdom. It's already decorated for Halloween which I find strange as that's still nearly two months away! The park was practically empty for some reason and the longest I had to wait to ride anything was five minutes! I walked straight onto the Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, Thunder Mountain, Splash Mountain, It's a Small World... I've never seen the park so quiet! Still, it was great for me!

When I got home around 9.30pm, I was exhausted and I fell asleep on the sofa. I eventually woke up and went to bed around midnight. Still, it was a fantastic day and I think I deserved the huge lie in I had this morning.