Above: Not a very successful day.
Swimming or snorkelling with the whale-sharks is one of the most highly-rated adventures in Isla Mujeres. We reported at 0800 to Sea Hawk dive centre and as soon as they had a confirmed location for the sharks (by radio from a spotter craft), we set off.
It was a 40km ride in a speedboat to the site and took about an hour. We saw lots of flying fish along the way … they do fly like bumblebees and hummingbirds … I used to think that they only just jump out of the water briefly!
When we got to the site, there were dozens of boats. I’ve been told there can be as many as 600 swimmers. I think the business is quite regulated by the maritime authorities and only 2 people per boat can swim at a time.
We saw only one 10m spotted whale-shark and managed to snorkel with it for a couple of minutes on our third attempt. The others in the boat weren’t so lucky … one couple caught a briefer glimpse, another couple not at all, and one guy didn’t even make it into the water.
The weather had turned atrocious with rain and swell. Swimming in the sea seemed like a course in ocean survival.
Back on dry land at about 1400, the boss offered us a repeat of the trip for tomorrow or if the weather wasn’t conducive, scuba diving instead. I think they were genuinely surprised by our bad luck … in the briefing, they were preparing us for how:
- We should stick together so as not to scare and disperse the schools of sharks.
- He would be taking 10 minute turns per couple and repeating it in a cyclic fashion.
The boss thought the rain may caused the plankton (the shark’s food) to sink, meaning that they wouldn’t have to surface in order to eat. However, I blame our Australian companion … he had joked in the beginning that he either scares the animals away or brings bad luck to nature-spotting trips.
I was quite happy with what we had seen until I spoke to other travellers. This man in our hotel had been out four times as each time there had been dozens if not hundreds of sharks around. He said that the boats were rather dispersed rather than all trying to crowd around one shark.
As for the environmental impact, he thought that the sharks don’t appear to be intimidated by people but are curious born-performers! We’ll wait for someone to validate that, perhaps.
Some advice if you’re planning to swim with the whale-sharks:
- If you have several days on Isla Mujeres, check the weather forecast before you book. We had a limited stay and didn’t have a choice of days.
- Prices can differ greatly. The official price is USD125 but we paid USD90 (with lunch) a bit too quickly as it was cheaper than the indicative price in our guidebook. Other places charge USD60 (no lunch) or USD60 (with lunch). There are warnings that cheaper operators may take shortcuts with safety but all boats out there seem pretty seaworthy. However, I doubt the cheaper operators would offer a second trip for free in the event of a failed sighting.
- Consider taking the sea-sickness pills that the operator may offer to you for free. The Vontrol they gave me was different from my usual medication as it was non-drowsy. I did throw up some liquid during the journey but it wasn’t accompanied by any nausea.
Tomorrow came and the weather wasn’t good enough for a repeat of today’s trip “gratis”. So it was a complimentary dive trip instead, which you can read about here. It too turned out disappointing due to rough conditions.
I look forward to returning to Mexico to try the whaleshark excursion again!