Wildlife Bucket List: Swimming with Whale Sharks in Cancun
I've held a koala, pet a wallaby, and I get to care for adorable native PA wildlife every week, but there are quite a few animals that I get giddy just thinking about interacting with. On the third day of my trip to Mexico, I was literally shaking with excitement over getting to swim with one animal that has been on my list for a long time.
Whale Sharks, the largest fish species, are a tricky creatures and are tough for scientists to study. Despite the scary connotation with a name like shark, these gentle giants are filter feeders and love plankton that they can skim from the surface of the ocean. Which makes these guys the perfect swimming partners, especially because they love warm water just like me.
Our tour was booked with Easy Tour the day before and did admittedly cost us a large chunk of change. Our hotel pick up, shuttle to Cancun, boat ride to the diving location, lunch, drinks, equipment needed to swim including snorkel and mask, as well as the shuttle back to our hotel were included in the $125 USD excursion. I do realize that is quite a hefty price tag but we were able to talk it down from almost $200 USD and we saved money by doing our exploring without booking tours. More importantly, I do NOT regret it all.
We met the shuttle driver a block from our hotel early in the morning. The man we booked the tour with even met us a few minutes before hand just to make sure everything went as planned which was a great gesture. There was one other couple in the van and we made two other stops on the way to pick up a few other riders. We arrived at the boat dock and met some other travelers and had a modest breakfast and thankfully coffee. Brian and I decided to rent wetsuits instead of just using the life jackets provided. We wanted to be able to really swim with the sharks when we found them instead of just being forced to float on top of the water to look at them. Plus, everyone looks better in a wet suit. This initially cost $20 USD each, but because there were two of us, we talked them down $5 USD off of each.
Renting the wetsuit in hind site may not have been totally necessary. Now realizing that my Patagonia Ascensionist 45L Pack could pack enough clothing for a month long trip (seriously this bag is amazing) I probably would have packed my own wetsuit, a hand-me-down shortie from my aunt. I also was in such shock of seeing these animals the first time I jumped in that I did nothing but swim along the top of the water anyway. The water was really warm, the guide said its around 17-20 degrees Celsius, so high 60s, and a wetsuit was not necessary for the warmth either.
Next, we loaded onto the boat and got our life jackets and settled in for about an hour and a half boat ride to the site where we found the whale sharks. I guess everyone else we were on the boat with see whale sharks all the time because I was the only one freaking out. I sat there the whole time with a big dopey grin on my face and every few minutes would look and Brian and squeal with excitement. He would just roll his eyes. What was wrong with everyone! We were getting closer and closer to swimming with these giant fish and everyone was acting like it was just another casual boat ride..
After watching the flying fish splash out of our boats wake and the bright turquoise water turn to a deeper blue, we eventually started to see a few boats appear on the horizon. Then a few more and a few more. At this point I am shaking and Brian is giving me the, "If you start to cry I am going to be really embarrassed" face. We listened to our guide give us some instructions for how the day will go. Basically, you swim with the whale sharks in groups of two. He will tell you when to jump in the water and he will follow. Swim next to the animal going in the same direction, if he turn, you turn. Depending on how long the whale sharks stays in the general area, you could have 1 minute up to 5 minutes in the water.
At first I was a little disappointed by how regimented the encounter was going to be, but it turned out to work just fine in the end. Brian and I were the second group to jump, so we geared up and sat on the edge of the boat until we were told to jump. I don't even think the words were completely out of his mouth and I was in the water. It was kinda a total bust this jump. I was so excited I couldn't catch my breath and somehow ended up chocking on the water I couldn't get out of my snorkel. I was a little dissoriented, too when the animal made a turn and started heading right at me. We had just had the lecture that if you touch them you don't to to make any more dives so I was hoping to avoid all confusion and not have the shark swim into me. We weren't in the water long before it was time to climb back aboard and wait for our turn again.
We made two more jumps, each one better than the first. Being within a few feet of these gentle giants was truly humbling. I have never seen one before, only in documentaries but Brian has seen them in the Georgia Aquarium and he was still taken aback by how large they actually were. On the third dive, the fish's tail passed right in front of me and it was all I could do to keep myself from drowning when I realized his tail was as large as I am tall. You were able to make out every detail on their gigantic bodies. See their tiny little eyes. They moved with such grace, but would make you smile when you thought about how silly they looked swimming with their mouths wide open.
The more time we spent with them, the more you were able to see differences between each individual. There was one with significant damage to his dorsal, possibly from a boat propeller. There was another who had very bright white spots on his body. There were a few that seemed tiny in comparison to the others swimming in the area. The there is me: dopey smile plastered on my face thinking about how much a love the ocean and never wanting to leave.
Our time spent aboard the boat was just as amazing, minus the sea sickness. Cerzesas, water, and coke were on hand whenever you needed one. I could not take my eyes off of the water the whole time, so I was content to sit and watch from the surface as well as below. Three dives later, once everyone was packed back onto the boat, it was time to leave my new found ocean loves. We had the choice to enjoy our ceviche lunch aboard and head to a shipwreck/reef on the way back to the dock or anchor off the beach of Cozumel and swim in the shallows for the remainder of the day. Brian and I were originally planning on snorkeling at Cozumel before finding this tour so we were happy when the group decided to spend our remaining afternoon there.
There wasn't any snorkeling but the water was shallow and warm and perfect for drinking beer and eating ceviche on our floating tables. It could not have been a better way to end the day. I highly recommend taking the opportunity to see a whale shark if it presents itself. While I am partial to marine mammals and humpbacks are still my favorite giant of the sea, crossing whale sharks of my wildlife bucket list is certainly something I will never forget. And should you find yourself standing on the corner of 15th and 2nd Streets in Playa del Carmen with an urge to explore the Yucatan, you will find yourself in good hands with EasyTours.
What is on your wildlife bucket list? What animals am I missing out on?
