Spot the elusive manatee

There are several places off the coast of Belize where you may have the good fortune of spotting the shy and elusive West Indian manatee.

In Placencia lagoon you can cruise slowly by motor boat looking for neat trails of sea grass, the tell-tale signs that manatees have been munching their way along the bottom of the lagoon. The boat heads stealthily to where the manatees congregate at the mouth of a freshwater creek. If you're lucky you'll also spot Morelet's crocodiles or the bottle-nosed and Atlantic-spotted dolphins which frequent the lagoon. 

These comical creatures may even be spied off the coast at Hopkins village, where the winding Sitee river reaches the sea,