After a long, strenuous holiday hiking our way through the Southwest United States, I came to Cabo San Lucas with my husband’s family to relax and rejuvenate. However, I guess relaxation was not on my cards that month, because the very first day in Mexico my husband had plans to take us whale shark diving! What is that, you ask? I didn’t know either! Here’s an in depth (wink, wink) narration of the exhilarating and unique experience I had of swimming with whale sharks:

Before this trip, I had no idea what whale sharks were, so I am going to start by telling you a little bit about these gentle giants. Contrary to their name, whale sharks are not some half whale, half shark hybrid but are a kind of shark that reside in tropical waters. They are also the largest fish in the sea (because as we know, whales are not fish, they’re mammals just like us)! Despite their gigantic size, we have no reason to be afraid because they feed on plankton and not humans (as I had feared before a few intense google searches).

On the first day of our holiday, we got a wakeup call at 5.30 am – whale sharks are early risers! We got ready in a hurry and drove to La Paz (a 1.5-hour drive from our hotel, Solaz, located in Cabo San Lucas). We were doing the expedition with the company Baja Charter, which offers private trips around the Baja Peninsula and hence allows for a more intimate whale shark viewing experience. Once we reached the location, we had to walk for around 5 minutes to an office where we signed some insurance forms, liability forms etc.

We were then taken on a boat – and oh, what a boat it was! My favorite part of the boat was an ex Michelin Star chef from London who was there to whip up anything we desired. It was a 45-minute ride on the boat and in this time, I wolfed down two Baileys hot chocolates and a fresh fruit platter. There were many snacks already ready for us including guacamole and chips (when in Rome…).

After three quarters of an hour, we were moved onto smaller speedboats which we would use to locate the whale sharks. It took almost another hour for the onboard experts to locate a whale shark. As soon as they found this, we were asked to put our snorkels on and jump into the water in groups of 4. The water was comfortably warm and easy to get acclimated to. As soon as I looked down, I could see the whale shark in all its beauty – swimming right under me! I was enthralled and could not stop staring at this gargantuan fish. The whale shark is unique even in the way it looks because its greyish blue body is covered in cream colored, almost fluorescent spots.

I think I must have swum alongside the whale shark for a little over an hour. I don’t know where I got the stamina but observing it was so engrossing that nothing else mattered. These creatures swim at around 5 kilometers an hour and my husband and I kept up with the shark throughout, taking photos and at some points getting close enough to touch it. I can only imagine how many calories we must have unknowingly burnt during this exhibition. I even took a second turn at jumping in the water just to observe the shark again. By the end of the swim I was so tired that I had to wave my arms in the air in the middle of the ocean to signal to my boat that I was no longer able to swim!

After we had all observed the shark to our hearts content, we dried off on the speedboat and made our way back to the bigger boat. I did not know it, but we were in for a real treat! The chef had whipped up a scrumptious meal for us to enjoy. We had a taco salad, fajitas and tacos. The tacos were served with an array of condiments and fillings to choose from. I chose to make a chicken taco and topped it with a mix of salsas (he made 5 types!) while my husband’s family enjoyed some spiced bean tacos (vegetarians…).

After eating, we lazed around on the boat and had a few well-deserved iced teas and listened to some quality music (quality because it was my phone playing it!). Before we knew it, the boat docked, and we were (unfortunately) back on land. We drove to a Mexican ice cream store after to enjoy some paletas (the Mexican version of ice pops) and then we were back on our way to Solaz to finally begin the relaxing part of our holiday!