Whale Shark Trip Report
July 12 - 17, 2020
We just returned from our summer whale shark expedition, off Isla Mujeres, Mexico. We were very happy that we were able to sneak this trip in, along with our crocodile diving trip, It felt amazing to get back out into the world and be around wildlife and nature again. My soul was definitely rejuvenated. Here are a couple of days from my travel journal, along with a few images captures. Hoping you enjoy.
July 13, 2020 - I am in my hotel room on Isla Mujeres, Mexico. I made it! We were actually able to run our first expedition, after the past few months of craziness happening in the world. So I am very happy right now and feel amazing that we are able to run this trip.
Today was our first day in/on the water. Water was flat, but there was a bit of an early morning chill in the air, it gave the otherwise, calm water, tiny ripples across the surface, which wasn’t bad, but I was hoping for flat and glassy seas. Our guests had a great day out there. We found an area with about 100 whale sharks feeding together. Today was a shark rest day. Which means, the sharks were not interested in having people around them, and even though they were sort of feeding, they had their wits about them and worked hard to stay away from the divers.
On feeding days, the sharks do not care that divers are around, because they are intensely focused on eating. On those days, it seems they are not even aware we are in the water with them. Tomorrow should be a feeding day for the sharks. Should be really good for photos and videos. Looking for a good coke bottling shark, feeding in one spot. I really want to film that behavior.
July 14, 2020 - Day 2. What an epic day out at sea. As predicted, the whale sharks were feeding aggressively today. We had whales sharks all around us, and we’re able to capture images and videos of them without too much effort. What that means is - we did not have to swim very hard to have whale sharks close up. They were literally all around us, I got rammed from behind, by a whale shark. I was recording video of an incoming shark and did not notice that I was in the way of this incoming giant. Its coarse lips rashed up my leg pretty good. It was a total surprise. We also had manta rays as well. We do not always have manta rays out here among the whales sharks, so it is always a welcomed surprise when they are around.
And I got my wish, we had a lot of coke bottling sharks today. Hoping the footage is good. This was a dream day and the kind of day I wanted our guests to experience. The day before was good, and our guests had a great time, but only because none of them have experienced a feeding day before. If they had in the past, they would of said yesterday was an ok day. But now that they know what a feeding day is like, they can feel the difference in the whale sharks behavior. It truly is a night and day experience.
We have two more days out here. Tomorrow will be an ok day, because the sharks will not be feeding as much and they will again go out of their way to avoid the swimmers in the water. However I am pumped, because our last day will again be a feeding day and it should be freaking amazing.
Final Note… I was right, our final day in the water was so damn good!
