Manatee River and Goff’s Cay, Belize
We slipped back into the protection of the Barrier Reef late last night, and made our way south to one of the large rivers that drain the coastal plain of Belize, namely the Manatee River. So named because of the occasional presence of West Indian manatees in this short mangrove lined river. In fact it is believed the manatess use the river to gain access to the lagoon system located at the head of the river. We deployed kayaks and Zodiacs in search of these elusive creatures, hoping for a glimpse of a snout or a tail, but we got more, so much more!
Our first encounter was with looked like a float used by fishermen, as we slowly approached in one of the Zodiacs we thought maybe the float moved, but no maybe it was the current, we inched closer and it looked like a radio antenna stuck in a plastic float, upon closer inspection we found that the antenna was attached to a line, which was attached to a manatee’s tail! Suddenly the manatee swam off, pulling its radio transmitter with it!
The next major encounter was even more exciting, a manatee surfaced right beneath one of our kayaks, sending the occupants for a short dip as their kayak tipped – the sound of laughter from the two kayakers was matched only by that of the people in the Zodiacs next to them who witnessed the whole episode. Manatees are not aggressive or harmful animals, in the least, and we cannot be sure who was more surprised, the kayakers or the manatee!?
We returned to the ship for a wonderful lunch and watched a video about the Lost Kingdom of the Maya as we made our way towards our final destination, the small island of Goff’s Cay. Upon arrival many of us went ashore for a last chance to swim in the warm waters of the Caribbean and run our toes through the soft white sand. A great end to our voyage through the Reefs and Rivers of the Mayan World.
We slipped back into the protection of the Barrier Reef late last night, and made our way south to one of the large rivers that drain the coastal plain of Belize, namely the Manatee River. So named because of the occasional presence of West Indian manatees in this short mangrove lined river. In fact it is believed the manatess use the river to gain access to the lagoon system located at the head of the river. We deployed kayaks and Zodiacs in search of these elusive creatures, hoping for a glimpse of a snout or a tail, but we got more, so much more!
Our first encounter was with looked like a float used by fishermen, as we slowly approached in one of the Zodiacs we thought maybe the float moved, but no maybe it was the current, we inched closer and it looked like a radio antenna stuck in a plastic float, upon closer inspection we found that the antenna was attached to a line, which was attached to a manatee’s tail! Suddenly the manatee swam off, pulling its radio transmitter with it!
The next major encounter was even more exciting, a manatee surfaced right beneath one of our kayaks, sending the occupants for a short dip as their kayak tipped – the sound of laughter from the two kayakers was matched only by that of the people in the Zodiacs next to them who witnessed the whole episode. Manatees are not aggressive or harmful animals, in the least, and we cannot be sure who was more surprised, the kayakers or the manatee!?
We returned to the ship for a wonderful lunch and watched a video about the Lost Kingdom of the Maya as we made our way towards our final destination, the small island of Goff’s Cay. Upon arrival many of us went ashore for a last chance to swim in the warm waters of the Caribbean and run our toes through the soft white sand. A great end to our voyage through the Reefs and Rivers of the Mayan World.
