This is not an amusement park attraction featuring trained animals swimming in a pool. These are real live, wild manatees, and they are enormous, up to 13 feet long and 3500 pounds.* What makes it  incredibly cool is that for some reason manatees like people. They are gentle and curious. Here’s a little about our trip.

The water in the Three Sisters area of the Crystal River was so clear that I might as well have been gazing through air. I could see as many as 20 manateesat one time. Some rested like giant blimps on the river’s bottom, but many were occupied with the snorkelers. I shivered inside my black wetsuit, listening to the quiet sounds of my breathing and the motion of my arms as they pulled me through the water.

One of the manatees seemed smitten with an underwater photographer. I’m not sure why. The photographer sported a large belly that gave him roughly the same profile as the manatee, so perhaps the manatee felt some kinship on that basis. Nevertheless, his affection was obvious. The manatee lay on the bottom of the river, wrapping his flippers around the photographer’s leg to hold him close. Another manatee was fascinated by his camera, poking his soft, grey muzzle towards the lens repeatedly.

A calf was the first manatee to approach me. I guess he approved of the way I scratched his back – softly using my nails to rub the algae off of him, as I had been instructed—because he flipped over to reveal his pale stomach to me, which I also scratched. Either that or he was showing off for the camera; wait till you watch it! While he was on his back I could see the little toenails on his flippers, reminiscent of an elephant’s, which made sense, because the elephant is the manatees’ closest living relative.

Some of the manatees rested in their sanctuary, clearly aware of where people were allowed and where they were not. The sanctuary is just an area marked off by rope and buoys, so that if a manatee wants a little time out to breed, eat, nurse a calf, or just take a snooze, he or she won’t have any problem with being bothered.

I never ran out of manatees to play with or watch. I could have stayed there forever, because it was such an incredible, unbelievable thing I was getting to do, but eventually I was frozen enough I could barely bend my fingers or speak, so I paddled over to our boat to swig some hot coffee and swaddle myself in towels for a bit. Then I couldn’t stand to miss out on the fun everyone else was having so I glided out into the water for one last goodbye scratch before we headed back to the dock.

Insider’s tips:  

• Bring lots of warm clothes. The water is a constant 72 degrees, and you’ll be wearing a wetsuit, so it’s not too bad when you are in the water. However, when you get out you’ll probably feel chilled.
• If your tour doesn’t include warm drinks, bring a thermos with your own.  (The colder it is the more active the manatees will be, so you don’t want balmy weather.)
• Ask what equipment your tour includes and what you will need to rent.  A mask, snorkel, and wetsuit are necessary; fins are not. You’ll mainly only need to float, not swim, and if you are unfamiliar with using fins you can stir up the water and frighten the manatees. My trip with Sunshine River Tours included all of the aforementioned equipment as well as an underwater camera.
• This is mainly a winter-time activity, since that’s when the manatees migrate into the warm water to feed. A few small groups of manatees live in the river year round, so it may be possible for you to have a quality experience at other times of the year. Ask your guide service for advice.
• Tipping the boat crew is customary.
• Consider using alcohol-based ear drops afterwards to prevent ear infection.
• If you have a mustache you might have to shave the top of it in order for your mask to seal well.
• The water is clearer in some spots than others. Ask your guide service for advice.
• Follow the rules for manatee interaction. You literally cannot have this experience anywhere else in the world, and it is a privilege. The tour guides tend to be staunch conservationists that take the welfare of this endangered animal extremely seriously. They want you to have fun, but if you break the rules you are liable to end up back in the boat. Some of the rules? You can only touch manatees with one hand at a time, so that there is never any doubt that you are trying to ride them or hold them. You are not allowed to chase them, and all interaction has to be on their terms. Feeding them is prohibited. Stay out of the sanctuaries – and that means even your arms.

Consider spending the night before your trip in the area. The manatees are most active in the morning, so many of the tours begin at the crack of dawn. The State Parks don’t offer camping, but they can provide a list of 20 places in or close to Crystal River that do. I opted for a comfy bed instead, spending the night at the Best Western in Crystal River.

Citrus County is an ideal spot for you to vacation if you love the outdoors and nature. I recommend the Rainbow River for canoeing and kayaking.  Check out this link If you like to fish. Another possible activity is a trek through the forest on horseback at Rymar Ranch. You can scuba dive, or go scalloping. The area features great parks, like the Crystal River Archaeological State Park, where Paul and I viewed and learned about the Indian temple mounds and burial mounds. I didn’t personally visit the Homosassa Springs Wildlife Park, but it looked interesting; one of its functions is to serve as a refuge and rehabilitation center for orphaned or injured manatees.