Our Trip to Florida, Continued
The day after we did Magic Kingdom (Day 3), we were exhausted, so we were happy to take it easy and just knock around town near Jesse’s mom’s house. We got donuts and went shopping, and then had a nice dinner and went to bed early.
Day 4
The next day started for us when it was still dark out, and shockingly cold for Florida. Shocking to two Virginians who were expecting tropical temperatures, anyway. Fortunately, we knew, there would be wetsuits when we arrived at the manatee tours. Jesse’s mom offered to take us swimming with the manatees as a gift while we were planning our trip, and all three of us were beyond excited. We bundled up and headed to the car, staggered into a gas station along the way for a caffeine fix, and made it to the boat with about 30 minutes to spare.
Now, before I continue with the story, I have to tell you that I have had something of a love affair with manatees ever since I knew what they were. They’re huge and they shouldn’t be beautiful, but there is something incredibly graceful and captivating about the way they move, the expressions in their eyes, and the interaction between baby manatees and their mothers. I just love manatees.
So of course I was thrilled to be the first person in the water, and I couldn’t wait until a manatee came up to be — and Captain Hank assured us that they would swim right up to be petted and have their bellies rubbed. I was looking around and around and around and then, HOLY CRAP, one swam right up to my face.
I freaked out and did everything you’re not supposed to do. I screamed through my snorkel, started thrashing around, and did everything I could to get away from the giant sea THING that I was sure was about to kill me. I had a full out panic attack, had to get out of the water, and sat on th edge of the boat hyperventilating for several minutes.
Never mind that they’re incredibly gentle, nonaggressive, love people, blah blah blah. A 3000-lb water mammal snuck up on me in murky water and I thought I was going to die. After about 15 minutes, I worked up the courage to get back in the water and managed to give myself a nice bruise when I fell off the ladder (you’re also not supposed to fall off the ladder, btw). Rinse. Repeat.
Finally the captain moved us to a different area where the water was clearer and at least I could see the manatees coming, but it was still terrifying. One baby manatee was like stalking Jesse and me and it CHARGED ME and almost ran right into me. That was it — I’d had enough. I got out of the water when we still had about 30 minutes left in our hour-and-a-half tour, but I was more than full of manatee interaction for the rest of the trip — and for the rest of my life, if you ask me.
Jesse stayed in the water far longer than I did, and one manatee adopted him, following him around and kind of stroking him with its flippers. We took a million pictures, but of course all you can see is the back of Jesse’s head and his snorkel, so it doesn’t look like anything.
I never dreamed that swimming with the manatees would be anything but peaceful and amazing, but it was terrifying. And little did I know, the scary stuff had barely begun. More on that soon…
Tags: disney, florida, scary, snorkel, swimming-with-the-manatees, wetsuit, woman, women, Womens-HealthRelated Stories
POSTED IN: A Slice of Kristen's Lively Life
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