Isla Mujeres
MEXICO
Checking Off the Bucket List
By LYNDI
Friday, July 14, 2017
I remember after finishing the Annapurna Circuit years ago, Aaron and I looked at each other and said, “well – now what?” What could possibly replace an epic journey that had been at the top of our bucket list for as long as we could remember? The top of the list didn’t stay vacant for long – we knew right away that swimming with whale sharks was next on the to-do list.
Unfortunately, swimming with these giant beasts is kind of hard and unpredictable. We actually started off our travels together nearly a decade ago with whale sharks in mind – we flew to Honduras during whale shark season to try to catch a glimpse of these underwater monsters. We were on Utila Island for nearly two weeks and not a single person saw the oversized fish while we were there. We later planned trips to Mexico to see whale sharks, but the planned trips never materialized for a dozen reasons. So this year, with two kids at home, limited vacation time, and a bucket list item burning in the backs of our minds, we set off for Isla Mujeres to conquer this dream.
We knew that the coast of Cancun offered a near guarantee of seeing whale sharks – between late June and mid-August, schools of whale sharks migrate right past the shore like clockwork. So – with no other reason to leave Portland during the best time of year to go to Mexico during the most sweltering time of year – we were off.
Not exactly off to a running start, however. We arrived at PDX an hour early, ready to party until our evening flight, but parenthood caught up with us and after one drink we were exhausted and falling asleep in line. Then after a 5 hour layover in Houston, we had an easy transfer from the airport to the ferry, and totally rallied with a lukewarm beer on the crossing over to the island. Then we sweated out all that beer as we made our way through the island to our hotel.
After years of planning really active vacations, the lure of Mexico grew even stronger when we decided to stay on Isla Mujeres, a very small island a few miles offshore of Cancun. The island is so small, there’s not much to do BUT relax.
So we chose a cozy hotel right on the beach on the north side of the island where our only options would be to read, lay in hammocks, nap and walk on the beach. Okay, okay. That should read “read while drinking margaritas, lay in hammocks with margaritas, nap from margarita-induced hazes, and walk to the nearest margarita beach bar”. We definitely had an agenda.
We had booked our whale shark tour for Monday, so we used Sunday to get familiar with the island. Which took, like, 2 minutes.
We rented a scooter from a nearby shop and took off to Punta Sur. Isla Mujeres’ main spots are all on the north side of the island – everything from luxury resorts, to discos, to beachside bars and massages, to pharmacies and elementary schools – everything is clustered within a few short blocks. Our scooter ride took us to the end of the island where there are a few more hotels and restaurants, but really there isn’t much in between. We stopped off along the way to take a dip in the crystal blue waters and grab a fresh seafood lunch from a rooftop patio.
Our lunch was delicious, our beer was cold, but our company left something to be desired. In this beautiful, tranquil spot, a small group of about six Bostonians were piss drunk at 1pm, yell-talking in a way that only east coasters can. They cleverly laid out food to entice the resident iguanas closer, where one of the drunkest members of the party decided to pick up the angry dog-sized lizard to show off for his friends. As our waiter brought us our food, he laughed out loud at the group and said in Spanish, “they have no idea those iguanas will bite off their fingers”.
We narrowly avoided a 10,000 peso fine on our scooter ride, as at our last stop we couldn’t figure out how to unlock the seat storage unit where our helmets were kept. We struggled for about five minutes until we were thoroughly soaked in sweat, then recruited two local islanders to help us. They couldn’t get the seat to unlock either, so we quickly hurried back to the rental shop to return the bike. With less than one block to go, the police stopped us and asked where our helmets were. We were able to tell them they were trapped in the seat, we know the law, we were on our way to the shop to get help, etc. and they let us off with a warning. A $500 fine doesn’t sound like a great way to kick-off a relaxing vacation, so we were thrilled with the slap on the wrist.
We finished off our first full day with a bottle of rum and a deck of cards on Hotel Villa Kiin’s balcony, and passed out beneath the hum of the air conditioner.
Monday, July 17th was the big day. What we had waited years to experience. And it was totally worth the wait.
I have to admit my reservations when our tour orientation the night before took place in a run down electronics shop. I still don’t understand the connection, but we met Ramon with Isla Mujeres Whale Shark Tours at some stuffy shop to go over what we needed for the next day. Ramon was fantastic – very detail-oriented and clearly motivated to give everyone a great trip. We met at Muelle 7 on Monday morning at 7am sharp so we could be on the water by 7:30. We were the only group on the dock, which was a good sign, and we found out that almost every other tour leaves at 8:30am, so we would get a jump start on the day.
But come 8am when we were still waiting for the boats, we knew we were operating on “island time”. However, at 8:15am, we had boarded our boats and were headed out to sea. It took about 45 mins to reach what looked like a totally random spot in the middle of the ocean, except for the fact that there were about 6-10 other boats also randomly stationed there.
As we approached, you could see several fins darting through the water. From a distance, it’s easy to think, “Gee, those sure are tiny fins”. When you get closer you think, “Holy mother of Jesus – those are giant fish! But yes, still tiny fins”.
The whale sharks literally took my breath away. The average shark is 40 feet long and weighs close to 50,000 pounds. The ginormous beasts swim gracefully at the surface of the water with their mouths wide open, catching the krill that swims along the surface of the ocean. Each tour boat is allowed to bring two swimmers in at a time, along with one guide. With a handful of boats out there, there was probably two swimmers to every shark. They move pretty fast, but there were so many around the boats that as soon as you lost one, another would be right behind you. Which is, by the way, slightly terrifying.
Aaron and I were in group 3, so we put on our wet suits and jumped in alongside a beast of beauty. We tried swimming alongside them, but poor Aaron’s snorkel didn’t work, so he was guzzling salt water through his snorkel and desperately trying to breathe underwater.
You aren’t allowed to touch the sharks, but they swim so close that they are easily within reach. Our first swim lasted about 10 minutes, when they tell you to get back out so another group can go in. After everyone on our boat had had a chance in the water, the sharks were beginning to disappear – and it was no surprise why. When we had arrived we were in a group of no more than 10 boats. About 45 minutes later, there were easily over 50 boats in a tight circle around us – with speedboats approaching from every angle, so the whale sharks were fed up and submerging to get away from the annoying tourists.
No matter, our captain took us to a new spot another 20 minutes away and with a wide open surface – so with renewed vigor, a better plan of action, and functioning snorkels, we were ready for a second chance to get up close and personal with the whale sharks. And “up close” we did, and “personal” indeed.
When the guide tells you to get in the water, the boat is angling to drop you off alongside the whale sharks so you can immediately start your swim. The captain is at a disadvantage, as you can’t use your motor within 10m of the fish, so your drop can be good or bad depending on the unpredictable movement of the fish.
So when we dropped in for round 2, imagine my surprise when I looked underwater to see a giant whale shark mouth coming right at me. I screamed into my snorkel and tried desperately to swim out of the way. The last thing I wanted to do was get inadvertently eaten by a giant fish. Thank GOD they aren’t as dumb as they look, because my desperate struggle to move was getting me nowhere, but the fish closed his mouth about 10 ft in front of me – and just when I was sure I was going to get knocked unconscious by his giant snout, he dove right under me. And I mean RIGHT under me so that his fin sliced me from sternum to the lady parts.
Okay, “slice” is probably not a good word, considering the fin is basically cartilage and doesn’t hurt at all, but with a thousand feet of ocean for him to swim down, couldn’t I have gotten an extra inch? No matter, my fault for freaking out and dropping in right in his feeding path.
Once I had processed that a) I wasn’t going to be eaten; and b) the shark’s fin had just touched me where???, I thought I was in the clear. But just at the very end, his giant tail whacked me in the arm – maybe because I’m small enough that he didn’t know or care I was there, but probably because I deserved it.
We got one more swim in before we had to head back to Isla Mujeres. Aaron and I had brought an underwater casing for our camera, but it didn’t work at all. But that’s okay. What a trip it had been. We got to swim directly beside dozens of the world’s largest fish – something that imprints itself in your memory no matter what.
On the way back we enjoyed a ceviche lunch and snorkeling near some reef and returned to the island on cloud nine. We were really happy with our tour, and thrilled that we were on the early boat that beat the crowds. And the best part? Now that our bucket list item was checked, we were free to eat, drink and be lazy for the rest of the week.
