Whale Shark Swim - What a Dream!!!

Thursday Today we woke up, had coffee, put more gas in the can for the dinghy, got out our snorkel masks and fins and headed out while the ocean was still flat. We had heard there were whale sharks out a ways and so Gary in his dinghy and Scott and I in ours made the trip out. We had a large area to keep an eye on as the whale sharks don’t “blow” water spouts like whales. They are actually the largest shark/fish there is and they don’t breathe air. They eat huge quantities of plankton and with their huge wide mouths skim through the water and gather it in to eat. They are spotted and have a couple fins that barely break the surface of the water now and then so you can see them. They like to stay just below the surface of the water usually. See this sight for some more info if interested. http://www.whalesharkproject.org/ Anyway, we asked around when we saw kayakers and they had seen them the day before right where we were. So we held fast and basked in the sun waiting. The young Canadian couple we had met Hyo and Mike came along in their sailboat. We gave them a ride out and about 1 ½ hrs. after we had come a boat with tourists headed out to where I had just noticed something and sure enough there was a whale shark. We all got closer and got in and swam around with this beautiful magnificent creature of the ocean. It was so surreal. It was very elegant as it swiveled side to side. Sometimes it would rest and be almost vertical, maybe this is when it swallows the plankton that has built up. It’s gills were amazing and I actually touched it’s side. The skin was very soft and squishy like the underbelly of a little frog. It didn’t react to my touch. It had darling eyes the size of a silver dollar and was very peaceful and docile but could also move quickly when it wanted to swim on. It was a job keeping up with it at times. I didn’t want to get out but eventually we all tired and our fingers were prunes and numb too. Lips blue from the cold. I was shivering but didn’t care, I was having too much fun. I had always wanted to swim with a whale and sharks and this was kind of a two for one special eh. Safe too. I did watch out for the tail though, they are strong huge creatures. This was probably 20’+. I have video and will be adding underwater photos that Mike took soon. Mike and Hyo had us over on their darling sailboat and made us Lemon Zinger tea with honey and ginger snap cookies. Very sweet and interesting, dynamic, energetic couple. Very hospitable as well. I was impressed and had a great time visiting with them. We finally said good bye and wished them luck as they sail on the the Espiritos Islands near here and we headed home in our dinghys. Scott went in to gather more water in our new water jugs and I came home to play on the internet and Blog to you all about these grand adventures. What a beautiful day and what awesome creatures we have on this earth and in our oceans, give thanks! Signing off “Swims with Sharks” my new psuedonickname!!!!