I am by myself in Georgia and miss my cuddle bear in China tremendously. I thought it would be nice to spend Christmas with the manatees. So I packed my kayak and went down south, to Homosassa Springs, Florida, where the water that seeps out of the springs maintains a year-round temperature of 72F (22C) in the rivers. When the water in the Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico drops below 68F (20C), the manatees migrate into the rivers with warmer natural springs.M is for manatees. They are migratory marine mammals, massive in size, mild in manner, and mosey in movement. Swimming in the river with manatees is mystical - as they mow along the bottom for food, they stir up the muck so the water becomes murky. As I was swimming and looking around through the mask in this green mist, sometimes a huge greyish-brown shadow smoothly glide by, like a deployed torpedo in slow-motion. When I least expected it, out of nowhere, a round face with stubby muzzle, short whiskers, and small eyes appeared in front of me. They did not seem to be surprised or startled by me. Instead, they looked at me like I was slow and I was supposed to know what to do. Much like a puppy coming to you wagging his tail, a manatee comes to snorkelers asking for a scratch. They love to be scratched under the flippers. If you find the spot, they will roll over and let you rub the belly. While the back of a manatee feels leathery and rough with algae growing on it and scars from motor boat propellers, the belly feels like tofu, smooth, silky, and soft. It has the bounciness of a balloon filled with water. Although they look comical and clumsy, their presence is majestic and the encounter is magical. 
With ecotourism blooming, everywhere you visit, you run into nature guides. There are good ones and there are not-so-good ones. Unfortunately, it is often the bad ones that you remember so vividly. In the Amazon, a nature guide told me about butterflies: There are big ones and small ones. And they come in different colors, red, blue, white, and black. The species is called "mariposa" (Spanish word for butterfly). In Homosassa, I visited a manatee rehabilitation center before driving back. Now hear what the nature guide told us about the manatees: They do not have external ears, only internal ones. They are buried under the skin, just behind the ears. This is another nature guide I will remember.
While I was travelling, I learned this golden rule of finding a decent restaurant: go to the one with a lot of locals. So we passed by this Italian restaurant that had many cars parked outside and decided to wine and dine Italiano. The restaurant was full of people and we had to wait a little while to be seated, which I thought was a good sign. When I was finally seated and looked around, I found every table with people with silver hair in golden age. Instead of a local favourite, this was only an old-people home field trip. I was a little concerned at that point. Nevertheless, the food turned out to be excellent, although the thought of "old people food" just ruined my appetite for dessert. I'm thinking silky smooth tofu with Baileys instead...
With ecotourism blooming, everywhere you visit, you run into nature guides. There are good ones and there are not-so-good ones. Unfortunately, it is often the bad ones that you remember so vividly. In the Amazon, a nature guide told me about butterflies: There are big ones and small ones. And they come in different colors, red, blue, white, and black. The species is called "mariposa" (Spanish word for butterfly). In Homosassa, I visited a manatee rehabilitation center before driving back. Now hear what the nature guide told us about the manatees: They do not have external ears, only internal ones. They are buried under the skin, just behind the ears. This is another nature guide I will remember.
While I was travelling, I learned this golden rule of finding a decent restaurant: go to the one with a lot of locals. So we passed by this Italian restaurant that had many cars parked outside and decided to wine and dine Italiano. The restaurant was full of people and we had to wait a little while to be seated, which I thought was a good sign. When I was finally seated and looked around, I found every table with people with silver hair in golden age. Instead of a local favourite, this was only an old-people home field trip. I was a little concerned at that point. Nevertheless, the food turned out to be excellent, although the thought of "old people food" just ruined my appetite for dessert. I'm thinking silky smooth tofu with Baileys instead...
For more pictures of the manatees and other wildlife I saw on this trip, go to http://s302.photobucket.com/album/nn90/evastonge/US%Florida/
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