The conditions have to be perfect ... and the warm shallow water on Deerfield beach this 4th of July was just right.
These photos of another family staying at our hotel, playing on a giant surf board/small sailing device shows just how shallow the water was that day.
David and I were floating on our floats and a woman shouts out to me "what is that behind you? a giant stingray?" I turned around to look and it was giant all right, but it was not a stingray. It was only a few feet away from me and while everyone else started heading back towards shore, I headed straight to it in hopes finally getting to touch one in the wild. It was a manatee ... not a very old one but still quite large.They typically hang out in brackish water canals here, but when the water becomes warm enough they occasionally head for the sea. This is only the the forth time in a lifetime that I've seen one in the wild, I was close enough to count his whiskers and do wish I could have photographed it.
Later that evening I spoke to the lady that shouted out the warning, she said she wanted to ask if it was a shark but choose not to use the "S" word.
Although David did not necessairly share my excitement and desire to get as close to the big guy as I could, he did see him and he also saw the mother and calf from Hillsboro pier with me a month or two ago. I'm lucky to have such a close friend to share so many of life's amazing moments with.
3 comments:
Coy your pictures are beautiful ~ it must have been exciting being so near to that Manatee I too wish you could have taken a picture of it :o) ~ Ally x
WOW! That's so exciting! The things that happen rarely like that are always the most precious. I've only seen whales in South Africa a handful of times but everytime it's like they're there just for me. Magic.
Coy - that picutre with the sailboat is absolutely amazing. It makes me want to leave dreary Philadelphia for a life somewhere warm and beautiful.
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