So today was Don’s birthday and we decided to do whale sharks again! Because how many times are you in Isla Mujeres during Whale Shark Season?? I was definitely hesitant to do this excursion again because it was costly and I thought it couldn’t get much better, but I am so happy we did! First off, it was a deal where we only had to pay for one person (so it was $120). Secondly, it was a really great experience in comparison to the first time.
So we got to the shop where Ocean Adventures Mexico operates out of around 7:20. We waited here for awhile, finally another person showed up his name was Ron and and he was from Israel. Then a couple from New Jersey came, Aoife and Sean. A family of three and another couple were also with us on this excursion. Right from the beginning this group of people was much more fun than the first group we went with. Our guide was awesome, her name was Gretchen. The captain was also very nice but I can’t remember his name.
Even though Gretchen and the captain both spoke limited English they explained how the excursion would go better than the guides we went with on Monday. The ride to the whale sharks was great; the water looked so calm; it was like glass.
When we got to the shark area we could immediately see sharks swimming in the water. It was so cool.
We were the first couple that got to go with Gretchen. It was so much easier to jump off the side of this boat than the one on Monday. The captain also knew exactly when to tell us to jump. It was awesome. Immediately when we jumped in a I saw a whale shark and I swam with it for a good bit. This time was much more relaxing than on Monday also because it didn’t seem there were as many people in the water. Last time we were getting kicked in the face as everyone swam towards the shark, but this time it was really just me, Don, and Gretchen with the shark. We both took great video and here is a still shot of me and the shark from Don’s video.
On our second jump with the shark I got turned around and started swimming the wrong way then by the time I realized the shark was going on the other way I was so tired. I got a small glimpse of the shark but I was too tired to keep going. My adrenaline was up so high, at first I felt like I could do anything to get to a shark but the minute I realized I lost it I was done and really glad I had a life jacket on. Don swam with this shark for a good few minutes though and he got some really great video, here a few screenshots from the video.
The third dive was by far the best for me and Don had a good view too. When I jumped in I was heading straight for the shark. Gretchen was even giving me a little pull to get there faster. I must have got too much force going though because all of the sudden I was almost on top of the shark! Gretchen pulled me back a bit and I got the best video! Hopefully I can get it a link to it here. It was absolutely an incredible experience.
Here are a couple of videos from the day…
On the way back we had sandwiches and some coke. The water and the sky looked amazing.
Once we got back within view of Isla we stopped at Mia Reef for a snorkel. This is along the same beach as ours and we had been wanting to snorkel here so we were happy. While we snorkeled the captain and Gretchen were busy making ceviche. The snorkeling was pretty good here. We saw a good variety of fish and a couple of sting rays. Once we were done we had some beer and ceviche. Now the ceviche is the only part of this excursion I can say was not as good as Monday’s experience, but it was still pretty good. We were all having fun and when we got back to the port Ron had invited Sean, Aoife and us to a party later at the hostel. The party was not until 11 pm. So we decided to meet up with Sean and Aoife at Bobo’s around 5.
From Bobo’s things got kind of crazy. We started with margaritas. Then I think I went to beer. The guys from the other night at Bobo’s showed up also, along with a girl from California, a girl from Australia, and a few others. We all decided to play Cards Against Humanity. The bartender, Julia, made up a bottle of a shot we would have to take if our card was chosen as the best one in each round. I think I had two of these shots and was thinking “why if I am winning at this game am I having to do shots?!” Needless to say we had a lot of fun and before we knew it, it was about time for the party at the hostel. So we all walked over there. The hostel was so weird from what I remember. It was huge! There were people playing different games like ping pong and I don’t even know. There was this weird bar where we got our beers. There was also a band and a dance floor where no one was dancing. So we went to the dance floor to listen to the band…I think one of the band members was Julia’s boyfriend (bartender from Bobo’s). So a group of maybe 4 of us are on the dance floor not really dancing but talking when all of the sudden I see a cat laying on the dance floor. I thought this was hilarious and of course I wanted to pet the cat and I was so intrigued as to why a cat would be on a dance floor. So I started to bend down to get closer to the cat when all of the sudden I dropped by beer and the bottle broke all over. The cat ran away.
Don and the girl from Cali tried to get help to clean up the bottle but no one seemed concern and I think they ended up doing it themselves. After this we had to go outside to a beach bar because the bar inside closed. We sat outside and there was sand but I don’t really remember water. Out here Aoife and I made plans for the four of us to hang out tomorrow. We wanted to rent a golf cart to go to the Southern Point again to check out the secluded beaches there. The guys agreed and so we have plans for tomorrow!