Your adventure starts right outside the cruise terminal where your friendly, English speaking guide will greet you and get on board the transportation. You will be heading outside of Belize City to a mangrove tree zone where the manatees live in peaceful existence. As the transportation passes through Belize City, your guide will point out the sites and give you all kinds of information about the
area and the famous manatees. Your destination is the Belize River that is home to the gentle creatures. A short boat ride will take you to where you can see the manatees doing what they do best...grazing on grass and lazily gliding in the water. Known as "sea cows" they get their nickname for the amount of seagrass they consume daily - up to 90 pounds each day! Manatees are mammals that live in fresh water but breathe air. View the shy manatee as it comes up for air so have your cameras ready! Manatees are gray or brown in color, quite wrinkled and are covered in bristly hairs. Your excursion guide will help point them out and give you lots of information as well as answer questions. These protected sea mammals are believed to be the "mermaids" many sailors saw and talked about because of their slow and frolicking swimming motion. This may be a once in a lifetime chance to see manatees in the wild! The guide will return you to your Belize cruise tender terminal when the excursion is completed. The actual duration will depend on how long the search for manatees takes - 2.0 to 3.0 hours. There are several boats used depending on group size for that day - ranging from 23 feet to 38 feet (15 to 35 passengers) but larger boats available.
