Swimming with Whale Sharks

On Friday the 10 of September Daniel and I went to Isla Mujeres an island outside of Cancun that is 500 meters wide buy about 5 miles long. We stayed the night there to wake up for a great adventure the next morning. That night we ate at a Mediterranean restaurant name Olivia. It was one of the best meal I have had in my life. I loved it so much I wished we lived closer so we could go more often.

The next morning came and Daniel and I headed off to swimming with whale sharks. Whale sharks are the largest fish in the world. They do not have any teeth and they eat plankton. We were told if one gets behind you do not swim away just keep swimming straight and it will move around you. Kind of scary thought though because their mouths are not small. They say they can live up to about 70 years. They stay usually on the surface of the water but can dive deeper than 2,000 feet.

"Picture from www.aboututila.com"

We were able to see only one after looking for 5 hours. It's the end of the season for whale sharks. They start heading back to Africa starting in September. That is why we got the tickets so cheap and could afford to go. However one is better than none. When we found it we were all so happy that we just jumped in and tried to all swim with it. I could not swim fast enough. I had gotten sea sick and was not feeling that great. I jumped into the ocean and realized I needed more strength. I was able to see the tale but felt really sick so I swam back to the boat. Daniel got really close.

This is not anyone I know. Just a picture that I found so that you can see the size compared to a human. www.dsc.discovery.com

This is Daniel swimming with the whale shark. He said that once you got close enough the momentum of its movement was so strong he did not have to swim any more just float along and it would pull him along with it. Once I got back to the boat. I feed the fishes with all the food I had eaten that morning. So getting back in the water sounded to exhausting for me at that moment. Than all the boats that were looking for whale sharks all day just like us came so it was to crowded so we had to leave. Not giving me a second chance to get to swim with the whale shark. However I had a lot of fun. I could see it extremely well from the surface and I was able to see the tale when I first jumped into the water. So it was a great day.

picture from http://www.abdb.com/ Look how beautiful they are. It was very beautiful and wonderful experience.

We than headed to another island where the island and the reef itself are a national park. We were able to snorkel close to it and we were giving special instructions not to touch anything. It was so beautiful. I saw so many schools of fish and beautiful coral. Some of the tourist were able to see a nurse shark. It was very small and harmless. I was not able to see it but all was very cool.

Daniel after the swimming with the whale sharks and the snorkeling. We were tired yet still smiling. It was a wonderful day. Look how beautiful the water is behind that handsome man of mine.

Some pictures of the island. The water was so beautiful as well as the the sky. I could not stop taking pictures. At that moment I wished I had a great camera to show the true colors and capture the beauty of the scene.

Well it was a great day. This is a picture of us and our friends headed home with our tired and sunburned bodies. We sure slept well that night except for when we woke up from our sunburns. I hope we can do it again next year earilier in the season. Not every year but one more time with more. Whale sharks anyone is invited some come on down. Next year earily August.