CROCODILE DIVING
Banco Chinchorro, MX. July 2020

This was our 8th season, and our 15th trip out to Banco Chinchorro, Mexico, for crocodile diving. After 15 visits, I am still madly in love with this place and these animals. Crocodiles are remarkable predators and completely misunderstood. They are a lot smarter than people give them credit for.

For those unfamiliar with where Banco Chinchorro is, it is one of Mexico’s protected jewels. A marine sanctuary, resting in the Caribbean near the Belizean border.

When we loaded up the boat in Xcalak, Mexico, with supplies, tanks, and gear, I was looking out at sea, hoping she was going to be fair to us during the crossing. On a good day, it takes an hour and a half to two hours to get to Banco Chinchorro from Xcalak. But on a bad day, when the ocean is angry and trying to kill you, it takes longer. One season it took us five hours to get home. It was brutal.

Fortunately for us, the ocean was happy, probably because we humans haven’t been out there much this season. Whatever it was, it was a great crossing, with beautiful weather, and we got to Banco Chinchorro quickly. The bigger surprise was the water visibility when we got there. Typically the vis is decent. But the vis was gin clear. It was the best I have ever seen it.

I figured it would be okay until low tide. Usually, during low tide, the current dies, and it murks up the vis, and for the next couple of hours, we typically dive in either a greenish or brownish murk. The vis is still good enough to continue swimming with the crocs, but not always the best for images. However, even during low tide, we were blessed with fantastic visibility; it was mind-blowing how good it was.

These conditions went on the entire time we were out here. AND we also had some excellent crocodile action. At least for the first two days, then it fizzled out on day three. Which does happens sometimes, but that is why we make these trips over several days. We do this to ensure that we get some quality croc diving action. Because these are wild animal encounters, there is never any guarantee we will see them, or even if they do show up, there is no guarantee that they will want to spend long hours in the water with us.

But that is what makes these encounters unique, is that there are no guarantees. It is a wild animal, and they can come and go as they please. They allow these encounters to happen, and they decide when they have had enough. That is what I love about them; they are completely wild and free.

We had several crocs come by to visit us for the first two days, but by day three, our fantastic luck on this trip had run out, and the crocs had had enough and decided they did not want to play. So we packed it in early and headed back to Xcalak to try our luck at finding manatees swimming out on the reefs.

The crossing was even better on our return trip.

Sadly our luck for the remainder of this trip had dried out, we saw no manatees, and the conditions around Xcalak were murky and a bit hazy. It is all good; encountering the Xcalak manatees would have been a bonus to an overall fantastic trip. I am just thankful that our guests got quality time with the crocodiles and got to see Banco Chinchorro in all its perfect glory.

Until next season… Thank you for reading.