Manatees do not exist!

    We had a guest from Europe and they really wanted to see manatees. We ware sailing for two weeks all around Belize, we anchored at many mangroves where you can spot manatees but unfortunately nothing. 
Every time when I could spot one  they missed it.  I kept talking to them how cool it is to see manatees and what amazing animals they are but sadly they couldn't spot any.
They were just laughing and kept telling me that "manatees don't exist".
       In the old time sailors reported to see mermaids all around in this waters.
As we know now most probably it was a manatee what they see. But again sailors did add a lot of rum to the water to kill bacteria. A mixture of the time spent at sea and a lit of bit alcohol might make things look different a bit.
     In Belize  we have the West Indian Manatee. This is the largest of all manatee species. Between 800-1200 lbs. They are vegetarian gentle giants. It is really hard to spot them as they can hold they breath up to 20 minutes. When they come up for air you will just see they nose for few second and they are gone again. It is all about your patience and time and a little bit of luck. One of my favorite anchorage is the Sapodilla lagoon, that is a great spot to see manatees and other wildlife. Nothing can make your morning better when you wake up and there is a manatee family around the boat.  I think most of the tourists  miss a lot just because they follow the plan that was done before the arrival. Just want to go to "point A" to "point B" and tour companies really happy to do that. Fast and done, get the next ones.  When you are on a sailboat one thig what you will not do is hurry and I think  that's why we always see amazing wildlife and cool things on our adventures. If we don't see manatees, don't be sad, for sure we will see something else maybe a mermaid... you never know:)

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