This adventure had been on my bucket list for years. For all the years I’ve lived in Mexico, I couldn’t wait to be swimming with whale sharks in Cancún. Ever since I first saw a photo of one on the covers of National Geographic , it was love at first sight.
What can I say ...
I’m a water baby! If I’m honest, it’s why I live in the Riviera Maya. The crystal clear Caribbean waters are stunning. So I was delighted when we found these gentle giants off the northern tip of Isla Mujeres.
A mere 25 minutes after leaving Cancún, my lifelong dream came true. I found myself staring down at one as it went silently glide past. The size was astounding.
Bigger than I thought. The first one was the length of our boat. The second one was a little smaller but still breathtakingly impressive.
Staring down through the crystal clear water was beautiful satiny dark skin mottled with white spots. The enormous gaping mouth sucked in everything in its path. My friend next to me sucked in her breath seeing this.
But it’s okay, it’s not dangerous, being filter feeders, that’s how they feed. A post shared by Mexico News Daily (@mexiconewsdaily) And did that huge mouth deter me from wanting to jump in? No, not at all. I knew I wasn’t on the menu.
Okay, bear with me while I geek out on fun facts so you know how harmless they are! Fun whale shark fact time: Whale sharks are harmless. Even though they have 3,000 teeth. Teeny tiny teeth.
In fact, they are so tiny they’re not visible,.