The highlight of our trip involved getting to play on three different clear water rivers in Florida. An incoming cold weather system in the Gulf had caused the manatees to seek warmer temps inland which worked out for us since the rivers were nearly swarming with them! Here is the story of two of the rivers:
Our first river adventure was a canoe trip on the Crystal River on January 12. After Scott was done working for the day we made the hour drive to the river and put in at Hunter Springs Park in the small Gulf town of Crystal River.
It took us about half an hour to paddle to the springs where manatees notoriously gathered. We spotted our first few manatees as we were making our way to the Three Sisters Springs. When we got to the popular spot we were able to float and observe them as they made their way into the protected sanctuary area where the warmest water was. We then tied the canoe up and donned snorkeling gear. I imagine it was comical watching me squish into a shorty wetsuit while balanced on a piece of coral! Scott’s sister Tiffany generously loaned me her snorkel gear and I enjoyed being able to get up close and personal with these docile sea mammoths. They are as large a horse but much more graceful and it was incredible to be so close to them- they would swim within inches of us and didn’t seem to be frightened by our presence- one even swam up to our canoe and booped it with his sweet sea creature nose!
Once we were thoroughly chilled from our snorkel we got back into the canoe and kept going up the inlet. The Crystal River is highly developed and it was a strange juxtaposition seeing these federally protected animals amongst densely built waterfront properties. We stopped when we were at the end of an inlet to have lunch- I had made sandwiches and somehow forgot to put the turkey on them, which caused quite a laugh- and were able to observe two canoodling manatees while we dined.
We explored a bit longer and then made our way back to the launch, paddling by a handful of manatees on the way back in. We packed up and then decided to watch a Gulf sunset nearby so headed to Fort Island. Despite it being cloudy, we enjoyed the approaching dusk as we sat on the ubiquitous loveseat eating popcorn and overlooking a bay on the Gulf.
Our next river adventure was the following day when Gus rented a pontoon boat for us for an afternoon trip on the Rainbow River. After he and Alex were done coaching at the horse show for the day we loaded up and headed to Captain Bob’s marina in Dunnellon. Carrying scuba and snorkel gear, we loaded up the boat and headed upstream- first taking a detour into the blackwater Withlacoochee river to see if we could spot the notorious giant alligator. Sadly, he/she was hiding that day. We then backtracked back to the Rainbow River and it was wild how the two rivers converged- a clear delineation between the crystal clear water of the Rainbow and the black water of the Withlacoochee.
We went upstream on the Rainbow, observing the strict no-wake ordinance and eventually made our way into a cove where we dropped anchor for Gus to fish and for Scott to scuba dive. Despite Gus not catching anything, we still had fun- Alex and I tracking Scott’s progress along the lagoon via his bubbles. Once Scott was back on the boat we went upstream a bit farther, enjoying the scenery of the clear river and admiring the beautiful houses lining the waterway, before turning around and heading back for a seafood dinner at the marina’s riverside restaurant, the Blue Gator. I finally got the scallops that I had been craving the whole trip and they didn’t disappoint!
