“Go, go, go, swim, swim, swim, Now!!!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Captain Alberto shouts to us. Snorkel and fins donned, two of us hurriedly jump into the deep blue from the boat’s edge. A massive gray head with an extremely large mouth and a gray body with unique white spots is just below me, so I kick away keeping my arms at my sides to avoid excess movement and a potential encounter. A touch could damage its protective mucus layer, and is disruptive to its natural behavior and therefore, a cause of stress which might hasten a whale get-away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sleekly it glides, tail swooshing ever so slowly back and forth; it seems to be barely moving, while I’m power kicking as hard as I can to keep up with this graceful, gentle giant. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The tour company cautions, “This is an ocean safari meaning although we always do our best at finding them, animal sightings are not guaranteed.” The whale shark area is 1 to 1 \u00bd hours away from Isla Mujeres and approximately 60 square miles; boat captains radio each other on sightings, it’s a cooperative effort. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wildlife is unpredictable. On this day, we are fortunate. Regulations require only ten passengers per boat, and only two snorkelers (no scuba diving) at a time for a maximum of two jumps. The captain positions the boat to time our jumps into the path of an approaching whale. When you jump, you gotta start kicking right away – if you’re lucky, you have up to a minute with one before they move deeper or swim beyond your ability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Whale sharks (Tibur\u00f3nes ballena in Spanish) are the largest fish, or non-mammalian invertebrate on the planet and the third largest creature (behind blue and fin whales) averaging 40-60 feet in length. They are sharks, not whales; yet they don’t chomp humans, they are non-threatening filter-feeders, dining mostly on plankton. Shark fins and movements are horizontal, whale fins and movements are vertical – flexing with their spinal backbones. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
For years, I have wished to swim with one of these exquisite, ancient creatures. On this day, I was blessed to swim with two. On the first jump, I reached the side of the shark when guide Raul, pulled me a bit closer toward what he called, “the sweet spot.” Aside its breathing gills, I felt-sensed the energy and life force of this majestic, peaceful being. Sublime. On the second jump, I swam until near heart explosion; when I could no longer keep up, I clasped my hands together in prayer and said aloud through my snorkel, “Thank you, thank you, thank you… (and be wary of humans).” <\/p>\n\n\n\n
That night, i wrote in my journal: “No fear. That’s what I felt. No fear. There is freedom in having no fear. In that moment, with just me and the largest fish on the planet, I felt only awe and appreciation…what I fear, is not having the words to express my elation and gratitude for this experience.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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