Adventures in Belize – searching for the Elusive Manatee

“Do you see it? It’s ideal there!” our guide, Harry Sr. exclaimed as he explained into the translucent waters. We didn’t see anything, however eagerly transferred to the front of the boat to browse for the elusive Manatee grazing on turtle-grass at the bottom of the sea. There in the shadows of the swallow Caye wildlife Sanctuary, we lastly saw the dark formation swimming near our boat. It was our very first Manatee sighting!

Ser du det?!
Manatees are gentle herbivores discovered in the coastal areas as well as rivers of the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean Sea, the Amazon basin as well as Western Africa. often referred to as “sea cows”, these slow-moving animals likewise have a sluggish metabolism as well as in buy to survive, they’re generally discovered in shallow, warmer waters.

We had been searching for these mammals in the shallow waters of the sanctuary for no a lot more than 30 minutes before discovering one. exactly how this creature was identified by our guide stays a secret to me. Nick as well as I both had our eyes on the water the entire time as well as didn’t see a thing. Harry Jr., our second guide on the boat, cut the motor, which truly enabled us to take pleasure in the peacefulness of the moment. With a big bamboo pole, Harry Jr. propelled the boat towards the Manatee’s next predicted breathing stop. As our informative guides explained, Manatees can hold their breath for as much as 15 minutes, so it was a bit of a waiting game in between surface breaths.

Using the bamboo pole to maneuver with the water
Our finest sighting came near the end of the day. Somehow, with the glaring sun reflecting off of the water, Harry Sr. identified sea cow number 6! Initially, he believed it was circling to the back of the boat, so the other three tourists ran back there, however Nick as well as I stayed in the middle, which [turned out to be] the very best plan.

It’s bit nose peeked up from just below the surface, then came the whiskers, then two cheeks as well as two round eyes! Nick as well as I were ideal next to the Manatee; this was by far the closest we had been all day. We both fumbled around trying to get the cam ready, however just as swiftly as the sea cow exhaled, it inhaled as well as with one huge swoop of its paddle-shaped tail, slipped back into the water.

These are West Indies Manatees, as well poor we couldn’t snorkel with them! (photo by: The garden of Eaden)

Not only did we area our very first Manatee within minutes of being at the Sanctuary, we ended up seeing a overall of 7 throughout the day! A number that high is rather rare, as well as we provided all of the credit score to our professional guides with “sea eyes”, Harry Sr. & Harry Jr. As their names would suggest, they are a daddy as well as kid duo who grew up on Caye Caulker in Belize as well as understand whatever there is to understand about the island, the sea as well as the Manatees. None of our concerns about these herbivores went unanswered as well as their capability to area these creatures was remarkable.

A fantastic sighting of a Manatee
But our day wasn’t all about sitting on a boat spotting majestic mammals, we wished to get wet too! unfortunately, we weren’t able to snorkel with the Manatees, however we were still able to don as well as mask as well as fins as well as check out the sensational Belize barrier Coral Reef that lays just 300 meters offshore. We snorkelled above the colourful coral, spotting a sting ray, moray eel as well as lots of types of fish. We likewise saw a few lively dolphins when we were on the boat. The marine life in Belize is fantastic.

The snorkelling was great
We had identified a dugong during our trip to Mozambique, however we were a lot more than thrilled to area 7 of its cousins while checking out the sanctuary around Caye Caulker. Just being out on the water truly recharged our batteries as well as we felt so privileged to be able to have this special experience.

Företaget

We were interested in E-Z kid excursions not only since of the welcoming, colourful office ideal on the water, however since this business is run by one of the very first households who settled on Caye Caulker! opened in 1997, this household run operation has been supplying Belizeans with tasks as well as tourists with risk-free as well as unforgettable excursions for lots of years. The owner, Hans, is the 5th generation in his household to continue with the custom of fishing as well as has now added snorkelling as well as island trips to the company’s repertoire.

The colourful E-Z kid excursions office with some online music at night

Turen

E-Z kid eXcursions har massor av val när det gäller sightseeing på eller under vattnet. Sex snabbbåtutflykter samt tre seglingsutflykter finns tillgängliga. Segelbåtarna erbjuds också för personlig charter. Nyligen har de lagt till en tre-dagars segling till Placencia, med camping på öar längs vägen.

Vi valde Manatee Tour, som är en 7 -timmars dagstur som börjar klockan 9:30. Dagen ägnas åt att kolla in Swallow Caye Wildlife Sanctuary innan du stannar på St. George’s Caye till lunch. På metoden tillbaka till Caye Caulker stannar utflykten på två olika snorklingsplatser med fantastiska koraller och marint liv. Kostnaden för denna utflykt är $ 85 USD/person. Minst 5 personer behövs.

Manatee-utflykten som används av E-Z Kid Tours
Guiderna

E-Z Kid Guides är alla 3: e såväl som 4: e generationens öar, som är mycket mer än kvalificerade för att förse turister med information om Caye Caulker, det marina livet såväl som de nära heliga helgedomen. Både Harry Sr såväl som Harry Jr var inte bara kunniga, men de var också autentiska – vilket är en hög kvalitet som ofta är svår att upptäcka i en utflyktguide.

Harry Sr såväl som Jr. var båda utmärkta guider
Fördelar nackdelar

Fördelar:

För oss är det som verkligen gör en utflykt oförglömlig guider. Det är avgörande att ha guider som är intressanta, roliga och naturligtvis, förstå en sak eller två om webbplatsen vi ser! Vi frågade Harry Sr. samt Jr. massor av frågor, inte bara om manater, men om Belize, Caye Caulker samt till och med personliga frågor. De var mycket mer än glada över att svara på något så bra som allt.

Den snabbbåt vi var ute utvecklades i Belize och var extremt bekväma och av stor kvalitet. Skugga erbjöds på båten liksom flytvästar.

Njuter av utsikten från den väl underhållna snabbbåten
Snorkelutrustningen var väl underhållen såväl som de till och med har receptbelagda masker!

Om manaterna var inne i Wildlife Sanctuary, kunde vi inte snorkla med dem. Om de av möjligheten fattade ett beslut att simma utanför helgedomen, var vi möjlighet att göra det. På vår turné kom manaterna inte ut från det säkrade området såväl som våra guider respekterade politiken genom att inte göra det möjligt för oss att komma i vattnet med havskorna.

Nackdelar:

Även om fisklunch med ris, bönor, sallad och frukt var välsmakande, var vi missnöjda med att det fördes från Caye Caulker i Styrofoam -containrar, snarare än att kokas upp färskt på St. George’s Caye.

St. George’s Caye, ett underbart område för att njuta av vår lunch

Ekoturism är extremt avgörande för Nick såväl som I. Innan vi åkte ut på turnén uttryckte vi att vi inte håller med om utfodring och beröring av det marina livet (många utflyktoperatörer på Caye Caulker gör detta). Vi var säkra på att detta inte inträffar med E-Z-turer, men under snorkling valde en av våra guider upp en sjöstjärna för oss alla att hålla. Det inträffade bara en gång så bra som du skulle vara svår pressad att upptäcka en utflyktoperatör i detta område som inte rörde så bra som stör havslivet.

Kontaktinformation

För att boka en av massorna av utflykter med E-Z Kid-utflykter i Caye Caulker, kan du reservera på internet eller kontakta dem på Facebook.

Det här stycket är en del av Momondo -upplevelsens serie. Momondo challenged us to area monstrous Manatees in Belize, as well as we gladly accepted that challenge. A huge Thank-You to E-Z kid excursions in Caye Caulker, Belize for making this such a unforgettable tour!

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