Day 3 - Thursday March 21, 2013 - Manatees and Rainbow River Float

Day 3 – Thursday March 21, 2013 – Swimming with Manatees and Snorkeling With suitcases, daypacks and breakfast bags in hand, we boarded our bus around 5:15am for a 1 hour and 45 min drive to the Pro Dive shop in Crystal River. We quickly got fitted with our wetsuits, flippers and snorkeling gear. Once back on the bus we only had a 10-minute drive to the marina where we divided up into groups on three boats. Our first stop – Jurassic Springs – turned out to be without manatees so we proceeded to Three Sisters Springs manatee sanctuary. There we had better luck. Even though we could not actually go inside the sanctuary, everyone got to see many manatees. We saw a pregnant manatee, a mom and her calf and many other females and males in a variety of sizes. Some of these gentle giants did venture outside the roped off area and a few lucky students got to touch them. Our guides and the manatee watch crew commented on how well our group did with respecting the rules – staying quiet, keeping out of the sanctuary, not touching the ropes, not splashing too much and not stirring up the bottom. What an amazing compliment! Well done - that made Mrs. Nicholas and Mrs. Rhodes very proud. Back at the Pro Dive shop we watched the DVD that was made of our experience. There was also an opportunity to do some souvenir shopping. We grabbed our lunch – Quizno Subs, chips, cookie and a well-needed bottle of water. The lunch was eaten on the bus on the way to Rainbow River and KP Hole Park. We suited up again. The wet, cold wetsuits were not too pleasant to put back on, but once on, the sun helped to warm us up. The boats took us up the river about a mile and a half. Flippers and masks were put on and in the water we went. Today’s water temperatures for both places was 72 degrees. It actually felt very warm, however the wind was very cool and made many of us extremely cold – especially early this morning. Floating down the Rainbow River including various stops at popcorn springs, warm springs, a cavern and free diving for fossils. Our river float took about 45 minutes-1 hr and most everyone seamed to enjoy themselves tremendously. Around 3 pm we were back on the bus and headed to Key Largo! This 5.5 hr trip was broken up half-way with a dinner and restroom stop. During the drive we watched “The Lorax” and part of “Pirates of the Caribbean”. We worked on our daily reflection journals and finished up our energy section in our World Strides Journal. We also talked about many interesting manatee facts. Interesting facts of the day: Manatees • live approximately for 50-60 years. • can remain submerged for up to 20 minutes. • have marching molars and can have up to 7 sets of teeth in their life. • can go without food for up to 30 days. • have fingernails. • scientists determine the age of manatees by counting the growth rings in their ear bones. • have a gestation period of 13 months. The Rainbow River is really not a river but the output of several springs. These springs put out between 300 and 400 million gallons of water per day.