In the morning we headed into the township of Crystal River
and caught the trolley bus to Three Sisters Spring, where manatees gather and
you can see them from the shore. Like the springs we saw in the Ocala Forest, the
many springs on the coast come out of the ground at around 72 degrees F (23C)
and provide the manatees with a heat source during the winter. When the water
is too cold for them, they swim upriver to the springs and loll about like cows
chewing cud, in the warm water.
The Three Sisters Spring is shaped like a 3 leaf clover,
with a spring boil in each lobe. There were around 50 manatees in the springs
this morning, although we were told that on Monday it was cold and there were
350 of them.
The water is clear and turquoise blue, due to the
concentration of tiny particles reflecting light. The manatees are big and
somnolent, occasionally breaking the water with their noses to take a
breath. In the right light they almost
look like big river boulders, tumbled into oval shapes by the water, as they
cluster over the spring boils, basking. Odd to think that ancient mariners
thought they were beautiful women with fish tails and the legends of mermaids
began. If you squint, and remember that sailors often didn’t see women for months
on end, maybe and after a flagon o rum, just maybe you can see it…
On the drive north we stopped in at Cedar Key, a delightful
little town. Unfortunately it started to rain, so we decided to drive on.
Buckets of rain made the highway driving unpleasant and we were glad to find a
truck stop with a small RV parking lot for the night.
http://fms.ws/s7tGN/28.89958N/82.625W
If the above link does not work, try this link:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=28.89958,-82.625&ll=28.89958,-82.625&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1
I can see the mermaids.
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