Swimming with Whale Sharks in Cancun

While in Cancun for a fabulous wedding (congrats Maggie & Chris!) we did an excursion to snorkel with whale sharks.  July and August are prime feeding season for whale sharks in the waters off the coast of Cancun.  Although swimming with sharks sounds scary, unlike Jaws these sharks are basically gentle giants.  They don't have sharp teeth like the great whites; they are filter feeders which means that they feed on plankton in a way similar to humpback whales.

They are enormous up close -- they're the largest type of fish in the world and some can measure as long as 35-40 feet.   They tend to swim slowly while feeding, but it's still quite a workout to keep up swimming alongside them.

Kevin swimming with the sharks

Our group was small, about eight of us with two guides.  But there were 30 or so similar boats out at the feeding grounds.  Luckily there were about 50 sharks feeding so it didn't feel like we were harassing the sharks too much.  When one would approach our boat, two of us at a time would drop into the water and swim alongside for a few minutes to watch it feed.

Afterwards, we went by boat to Isla Mujeres and had a nice lunch of fresh ceviche and tiny Coronita beers.

Beers with Kevin and my dad

Kevin took some great video of the whole experience, and there are some nice shots of the sharks actually feeding as they swim by.  You can really get a sense of how majestic these creatures are.


Whale Shark Tour 2 from Solsticecatamaran on Vimeo.