There’s always a cluster of small fish floating around the whale shark’s mouth to feed on leftovers.

Unfortunately for me, the water was far less than pristine this day. When I jumped into the water ahead of the shark, I waited for him to show up, and when he did, he nearly ran over me. Everything went from haze to shark instantly.

His head breaches the surface as he begins to feed, and these give some idea of his length as he leisurely outpaces my swimming efforts to keep up.

I was told that I was about two weeks early to get the really big 40 footers out in the deep blue clear water. Apparently, about the middle of July attracts the larger animals to the deeper waters just north of the Yucatan. The whole season, however, runs from June till the first couple of weeks of September. Even in the murky water filled with plankton, however, the trip is worth doing.

While very adequate to the task, it seems a little odd to be chasing sharks which are longer and in most cases weigh more than the boat. Guides are only allowed to carry two snorkelers at a time in with the sharks, so each group sits on the side of the boat waiting to get in to position to drop in front of the shark. Here our guide ‘Junior’ (really Edgar) prepares to jump with two inductees. A word to the wise. All snorkelers are required to wear a life vest while snorkeling. This really cuts back on any ability to get even near the animals. However, there’s a loophole if you really want to snorkel and enjoy the experience - no life vest if you wear at least a 5 mil wetsuit and they do enforce the 5 mil so be prepared.

Marina El Cid     Bat Cave     Dos Ojos     Taj Mahal     Kukulkan

Chac Mool     Ponderosa     Angelita     Grand Cenote     Dive Mexico     Puerto Aventures

Dream Gate     Tankah