Crystal River, on Land & Sea

Some stops along my journey have more to do with a place to park for the night than anything else. Yet most of the time I find some really amazing things to do while I’m there.

Crystal River was one of those places. When researching Harvest Host & Boondockers Welcome locations (I’ll write a post about these two RV programs soon, I promise!) I found a place that offered the opportunity to swim with manatees. You heard that right SWIM WITH MANATEES!! If you’ve been following along on my journey, you’ll know that my answer to this was, “where do I sign up!?”

Early (even for me, who is usually awake, without an alarm, by 6:30) on my day in Crystal River I found myself pulling on a wetsuit along with an odd collection of people! I found great entertainment in watching novices struggle putting on their wetsuits (they really are wily things if you don’t know what you’re doing! One woman kept talking about how she could already feel herself bloating inside her wetsuit & another guy had to have his two daughters put on and take off his wetsuit for him because he wasn’t able to do it himself). Once we were all trapped in neoprene we headed to the boat, in search of some manatees.

Due to the unseasonably warm winter so far in Florida, the number of manatees gathered at the springs were minimal compared to normal. Usually, when the sea water drops below a certain point manatees can’t handle it – actually get a version of frostbite and hypothermia – because they’re not fat, just thick skinned! Since Florida springs are 72 degrees year round, they are exactly what is required to survive winter. But no temp drop in the gulf = less manatees in the bay.

Cruising around the bay as the mist rose off the water, wasn’t a let down. It was beautiful, and also gave our guide and our driver time to share fascinating information about manatees, the project to clean out the invasive algae that had taken over the bay, and see other wildlife (like a dolphin!).

At last we found a manatee – along with her calf – so we ventured into the water. It was fun to float around them and watch how the mom kept trying to sleep but her baby wanted to play! Manatees aren’t fast, but as I floated above them (trying to stay out of their way, as instructed by the safety video), I kept finding myself directly over them – once when the mom started to come up to breath! She almost ran into me!

After watching the pair for a while, we headed to a different spot and found one going crazy eating his way around a riverbed. It was amazing watching him graze on the seaweed, in much the same way I’ve seen cattle do. I really can understand why they are called sea cows! I could have trailed him around his grass field for hours. It was mesmerizing.

Unfortunately, the pictures taken by the guide were terrible so I don’t have any recorded images to look back on, but I’m glad I didn’t try and bring my phone (in a dry bag, of course), getting distracted by trying to get the very best shot, instead of simply enjoying the encounter.

Once on land again, I headed over to Crystal River’s main street. It was adorable. While I’m not a big shopper, I enjoyed browsing through the different local stores, seeing all the fun and wacky knickknacks and souvenirs. I did end up buying the cutest PJ bottoms that have manatees on them as well as “no wake zone.” They were impossible to resist!

I also went to Three Sisters Springs. It was beautiful, but not worth the entry fee. My advice, just go visit a state park, it costs less and has just a lovely springs.

In general, I enjoyed my day in Crystal River. It was an interesting combination of exactly what makes any small town fun to visit: a unique experience (that usually costs more than you’d thought you’d be willing to pay) and a cute town center for shopping & eating. Who could ask for more? Certainly not me!