I lay floating on the surface of the water at Three Sisters Spring, watching manatees in their underwater world. The only sounds are steady breaths through my snorkel and the water-muffled movements of bodies: mine and theirs.

The manatees are all around, snuffling along the bottom with round, flat snouts. Every so often, they rise slowly to the surface and poke their hairy noses up to breath, then sink again to eat more. They go about their business, and seem to  ignore my intrusion.

They’re West Indian Manatee, and they’re listed as an endangered species. According to a 2009 survey by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, there are at least 3,800 Florida manatees. There are also about 350 Antillean manatees in Puerto Rico. Both groups seem to be stable, the government agency says, with good survival and reproductive rates, despite increasing human-related threats from watercraft, habitat loss and other activities.

In the winter, when the Gulf of Mexico waters are colder, manatees seek refuge in warm inland springs like Three Sisters Spring, where the water is always about 72 degrees.

The day we went, there were dozens of adult manatees and calves. Before we left the dive shop, we had to watch a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission video about how to interact with them. Don’t approach them, it said, let them approach you. Don’t swim down to the bottom and bother them while they’re feeding, don’t chase them or swim after them. They did say that the manatee appear to enjoy human contact — but the word “appear” was emphasized.

After watching the video, we squeezed ourselves into wetsuits and got on a pontoon boat. We left from the Crystal Lodge Dive Center at about 8:30 a.m. and it was cold — about 40 degrees. A 10 minute boat ride later and we were at the spring, where it was time to get in the water. The water was actually warmer than we expected, since 72 degrees was much warmer than the air.

I wondered if we were bothering them, awkward humans wearing snorkels and flippers floating around in their warm spring water. There was a sanctuary area where we couldn’t go, beyond a line of white pipes floating between buoys. We swam up a small creek, flowing from the spring, that opened to a large pool of crystal clear water filled with manatees.

The calves came toward me, swimming up to my outstretched hand so I could touch their rubbery, elephant-like skin, sloughing off clouds of green algae with my fingertips. They rolled under my fingers, letting me rub the skin under their flippers and on their bellies.

A Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officer arrived in a boat while we were swimming and watched. I was glad they were watching, because some of the people swimming there didn’t seem to be very cautious.

On the FWC website, it says not to touch manatees. After doing some research about it, it seems there has been controversy at times about how people should interact with them. It doesn’t surprise me. I’m sure there’s lots of money to be made on swim with manatee tours. We paid about $35 each.

There also has been controversy about the spring site. The land is privately owned, and there are plans for possible development – and also a local movement to prevent it.

Go if you can, but be respectful. They’re beautiful wild creatures.

TIPS: Most manatee tours leave early in the morning (we had to be at the dive shop at 8 a.m. and they had a tour that started at 6 a.m.). If you don’t want to swim, you can just go on a boat ride to see them. If you’re confident in your navigational skills, you can rent your own boat or kayak. Also, if it’s cold outside like it was when we went and you plan on going in the water, bring extra towels, warm pants, socks and a polar fleece blanket. You’ll be fine on the way out and in the water, but the 10 minute boat ride back is freezing!

Where to stay: We stayed at the Best Western our first night. It was a clean motel with wireless internet in the room, a boat ramp for hotel guests and the dive shop where we left for our manatee tour on site. It cost a little more than $100. For our second night, we moved to the Quality Inn. It was about five minutes outside of town, but had wireless internet in the room and a good continental breakfast for about $65. We also considered the EconoLodge, which was about $55 a night and also had internet, but were having trouble with their internet due to a storm.

Where to get coffee: We didn’t eat out much while we were there, but being coffee addicts, we did find a local coffee shop and had lunch there. It’s called Koffee Kafe and More. The employees were very friendly and the drinks and food less cookie-cutter than that venti/grande/tall place we often frequent.

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