Swimming With Sharks?

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If the opportunity ever arises, I highly recommend swimming with the whale sharks.  These gentle giants are plankton feeders and are more interested in eating than what you might be doing around them.  You can usually find them off the coast of Baja Mexico in the warmer waters there during January through April each year.  We went during the first week of May; which is considered the end of the season and got very lucky.  The sharks were still there.  Check out photo's from our Whale Share excursion in La Paz, Mexico.

 

There are only a couple of rules.  The first rule is (usually) no more than six swimmers in the water at a time.  The second rule is no touching.  We were fortunate to be in a small group of 8 people and we were divided into two groups of 4 each.  After the first couple of encounters, there was enough room for any who wanted to go out to do so.

 

This is not your typical snorkeling activity.  I was expecting to be in the water and the shark would swim around with us while we looked at other fish as well.  But because these sharks feed on plankton, they are constantly moving around and in an area where there are no other fish.  The procedure is to first, find where they are feeding.  Once this is accomplished, the guide will jump in and you need to follow as quickly as possible.  Keeping up with the shark can be a challenge, so once you hit the water start swimming as quickly as you can or you will be left behind.

 

It is hard to put into words this amazing experience.  The day we went there were two swimming rather closely to each other and we had the privilege of swimming with both.  They were both around 25 – 35 feet long.  If you check out our website and Facebook pages you will get to see the video of our swim.  If you do check us out on Facebook, be sure to like our page so you can keep up with all of our adventures!