Fabulously big and fabulously small

  I was invited on a fabulous trip to swim with a whale shark.  We set off early one morning by boat and bounced over the increasing waves as we traveled further and further from the shore - it was turning into an adventure! On the way I asked why it was not called a shark whale if it was a whale that looked like a shark. It was carefully explained to me  that it wasn't a grammatical error, it was in fact a shark that was so large it could be taken for a whale! Well panic surged, but by then we were 90 mins from shore with another 30 to go so I had to woman-up!! The good news I was told is that it only eats plankton and the second bit of good news is that there would only be 1-3 of them, later in the season there could be as many as 40 or 50 which I think I would find disconcerting. Whale sharks are apparently, I had yet to personally verify this,  docile and friendly to people 🫨 but they are bloody enormous, as the largest fish in the world they are an average  of 39 feet, 12m but a large one is 18-20m 59-66 foot!!!! 

As we approached the area where they had been see the day before we met 4 other boats all with 8-10 people on board. The process was explained to us. We would put on snorkel masks and tubes, and fins, we all had life jackets on already. We would be taken to the rear of the fish, jump in the water off the back of the boat with a guide and them swim with our faces in the water to see the shark below. We were to try to stay over his front fin as if we got behind we would be pushed further away 🫨.  I was Ebricking it!!! It was also explained that the shark could dive down out of sight at any time (I started praying as I still had not reconciled myself to willingly getting in the water with a 39 foot shark no mater what its usual lunch menu was!!).  

Each boat took it in turns, the captain was driving the boat positioning the team over the back of the shark, a pair of tourists  were dropped in the water with their guide and they swam with the shark. When it came to our boat the first pair volunteered (clearly not me!!)  and followed the very clear instructions, no messing!! When they got back in the boat their debrief was  " You jump in the water and its really cold and takes you breath away and then you panic and can't breath and get water in your breathing tube, choke a bit but it's amazing, it's so big!! 🫨🫨. (Un)fortunately at that point we got the signal that it had dived down and couldn't be seen. The guide and the captain decided that we would go to a different location where the sharks could be seen and we set off for another bone bouncing trip skipping/ not skipping across the waves again, taking off from the crest of a wave and either making the next one with a crash or not and landing in the valley and being engulfed in sea water reminded me happily of the adventures my dad used to enjoy in his little boat, a 9 food inflatable with an outboard motor into which we crammed all 7 of the family and the family dog for adventures around the Outer Hebrides Islands. I was also on a first date which added a fission of excitement to the day. 

Another hour and a half bouncing across the sea which was  getting rougher and rougher,  ( I could literally see daylight underneath the enormous Texan sitting opposite me every time we took flight) the 40* heat had also disappeared  and it was a bit cold, and some poor passengers were heaving over the side of the boat; my sense of adventure was being tested. However we arrived and there was a shark and only 3 boats this time, the others having given up and gone home or to other sights. In a very short time it came round to our turn, in my panic I got my fins wrapped around  some of the boat railings, and had a very undignified time untangling my legs but I was finally ready; life jacket on, snorkel on and mouth piece in , fins being held at a weird and uncomfortable angle sticking out from the side of the boat. We got the signal and in we jumped!

I am happy to report, I jumped, it was not cold, I did not panic or get water in my tube, I didn't panic when I put my head in the water,  something I often do in waist high water, I put my head in and swam with the whale shark.

 It was about 10 foot below us and the water was quite murky with plankton, but I could see it really clearly, and it was enormous and beautiful and  just minding its own business hoovering plankton for a late lunch (probably more of an all day buffet). We swam over it for about 3-4 mins as it moved slowly  but it was quicker than us and moved out of sight so we circled back to the boat and clambered aboard once we had divested out fins and snorkels. The rest of our adventurous friends had a turn, all except the ones still chundering 🫨🫨. We were offered a second swim but we declined, it had been exciting and amazing but once was enough on this trip.

                                         

We set off back to shore around 2pm, the captain explained that we had to go at a fast speed to jump the waves , the alternative was to catch them and sink so with gritted teeth we set off again, this time only 45 mins and we arrived at a beautiful sandy island to explore while the captain and our wildlife guide made us the most delicious ceviche lunch served with fresh avocado and a mango salsa,  tortilla chips and cold drinks. Pelicans gathered to eat the chefs scraps while we ate in the shade of the boat, gently rocking in the calm  shore waters, the sea was again emerald green and beautiful.

This was an amazing adventure, made all the more exciting by the difficulty of the journey  to swim with the sharks.

                                            

That evening we also went to encounter ocean wild life at the opposite end of the spectrum. Claudia booked a taxi and a guide for 11pm to experience bioluminescence; the strange organisms/ crustaceans which when moves take on  oxygen and shine a tinny light.

We drove to the far side of Coco beach  and a short walk along the sand and we went down to the shore and sure enough moving the water makes the sea lights up. We had a wonderful time playing in the shallows making sea angles as you would snow angels while looking up at the stars. Our guide was also  incredibly knowledgeable about the stars and the night sky, it was such a privilege to experience the bio luminescence and see the stars, the perfect end to a perfect day.