Goff’s Cay, Belize
We began our day with a Zodiac and kayak exploration of Manatee River some 50 miles south of Belize City, on the Belize mainland. Sure enough the river lived-up to its name, and a lumbering manatee was soon spotted, his bristly snout protruding above the surface of the water. Almost immediately after locating this aquatic giant, another was spotted, then another, then another! Sure enough we had a group of manatees that seemed to be lolling around at the surface. We stayed and watched them for a while, periods of inactivity punctuated by shouts of “over there”, “see its nose, over there”. These gentle giants of the Caribbean are rarely seen, and we felt very privileged to have found a group of them, and speculated we may have found a group of males sticking close to a female who may be in estrus. They were certainly quite unaffected by our presence and the kayakers had manatees surfacing inches from their kayaks.
We returned to our home the Sea Voyager for a delicious brunch, as we headed towards our final destination of this trip through the Reefs and Rivers of the Maya World, namely Goff’s Cay. We spent the late afternoon on this tiny islet, a cliché if ever there was one of a tropical island - palm trees, white soft sand and turquoise waters. We had ample time for snorkeling, scuba diving and just relaxing. We lingered until sunset soaking in the last rays of the setting tropical sun, dreaming of another trip to this wonderful part of our world.
We began our day with a Zodiac and kayak exploration of Manatee River some 50 miles south of Belize City, on the Belize mainland. Sure enough the river lived-up to its name, and a lumbering manatee was soon spotted, his bristly snout protruding above the surface of the water. Almost immediately after locating this aquatic giant, another was spotted, then another, then another! Sure enough we had a group of manatees that seemed to be lolling around at the surface. We stayed and watched them for a while, periods of inactivity punctuated by shouts of “over there”, “see its nose, over there”. These gentle giants of the Caribbean are rarely seen, and we felt very privileged to have found a group of them, and speculated we may have found a group of males sticking close to a female who may be in estrus. They were certainly quite unaffected by our presence and the kayakers had manatees surfacing inches from their kayaks.
We returned to our home the Sea Voyager for a delicious brunch, as we headed towards our final destination of this trip through the Reefs and Rivers of the Maya World, namely Goff’s Cay. We spent the late afternoon on this tiny islet, a cliché if ever there was one of a tropical island - palm trees, white soft sand and turquoise waters. We had ample time for snorkeling, scuba diving and just relaxing. We lingered until sunset soaking in the last rays of the setting tropical sun, dreaming of another trip to this wonderful part of our world.
