My, my...manatees!

So on Wednesday it was Jason and I's 'dating' anniversary, celebrating 3 years since we started going out. By 'started going out', I mean I snogged him in my local bar and he didn't really have a choice in the matter, but he didn't seem to object either...

Anyway, as part of a rather marvellous weekend we had lined up - including lunch at a fancy restaurant and comp tickets to Cirque du Soleil - we drove up to Crystal River, about 90 minutes north of our house, to visit the manatee wildlife reserve.

(This was courtesy of Groupon, whose daily deal about 3 weeks ago was 50% off a manatee snorkel tour and equipment hire, saving us over 50 bucks...)

We donned some very fetching wetsuits at the dive shop and set out in a little boat into the reserve. First stop was a sanctuary area near the spring source, where you can't go in to swim with the manatees but can watch them from very nearby in the incredibly clear water.

There were lots of mums and babies in the water who were extremely adorable. I've never seen manatees in the wild before and I made two observations - firstly, they have lots of algae-type stuff growing on them (which you definitely don't see at Sea World!). Secondly, if they aren't interested in you, they can swim considerably faster than I can, despite their reputation for generally being slow-moving souls.

Our guide said that often, if they're feeling well-fed, the manatees will come up to you of their own volition and want to play. As it had been very cold and then very warm recently, our sea cow friends were more interested in sleeping and eating than getting to know us. Very warm, by the way, is all relative if you ask me - the water was pretty chilly and with a northerly wind blowing, J and I had the full-on shakes while we were sat on the boat!

We did, however, meet a girl manatee who, although not particularly interested in playing, didn't seem to mind having her back scratched while she was searching for breakfast.

For those who are wondering - it was like stroking an algae-covered rock. But still a wonderful, once-in-a-lifetime thing.

I did feel a bit concerned afterwards that we had been 'chasing' our manatee friend for an encounter, which I didn't want to do. But we watched the DVD of our adventure afterwards which showed her happily foraging in the silt for food while we scratched her - she couldn't care less, so long as we didn't get in the way of her food, so that made me feel better.

It was a wonderful, albeit a bit chilly, day, seeing a rare and amazing animal in its natural habitat. A perfect way to celebrate 3 years together :)