In Mexican travel, one of the highlights present that is sure to stand out is the incredible diversity whether on land or water. Recognizing this, Duende Tours has started an expansion of tours which will soon include loads of Mexico's hidden treasures. And this day, the very first time, we are redefining Overseas Adventure Travel.


For people like us, overseas adventure travel does not mean flying over bodies of water from landmass to land mass: it signifies discovering the whole world. More particularly it signifies having an adventure that places you personally experiencing an amazing challenge, in this particular case, with the greatest fish that is known, the Whale Shark.


Taking adventure travel basically overseas provides Duende Tours the chance to primarily promote the travel adventure experience Mexico has to provide, coast-to-coast. We have always had a fondness for eco tourism and whale shark watching is among the most safest, reliable, eco-friendly and most amazing experiences. Though we will not be the first to carry out this amazing experience, given our status, you're able to be assured our methods will keep you safe and sound and taking pleasure in a lifetime experience. Essentially it is good to provide you, the inquisitive, smart traveler of the world, the finest of what Mexico can offer, in caves, jungles, on land, rivers, and right now above and below seas!


Apart from the eco-friendly features Whale Sharks Tours has, we also love the historical past beneath the practice. It is rumored that in the decade of the 80's some people in the fisherman community of Holbox would once fish big snappers that surrounded the Whale Sharks. Eventually, one of the fishermen began swimming together and came to the realization they were amiable animals. After that he started to invite his friends and also the story widely spread. In a period of time there were several people from everywhere in the world at Holbox inquiring them to see the Whale Sharks. For this reason, this gave birth to the whale shark watching.


What is it like to experience Whale Shark Watching?

It is necessary to start the whale shark watching early in the morning. The higher the temperature increases, the lower the Whale Shark food (plankton) goes. On the other hand you may also be fortunate to see some Whale Sharks the whole day.


It's not much what we discover about their migratory behavior, however we do recognize they can go along oceans and that perhaps not shy and can generally permit small boats, divers and swimmers to get near. They have been found to appear as near as few yards off the beach coast. In addition, they travel in small groups or on its own, normally you can anticipate seeing more than just 1 whale shark in a one sighting.


Usually, the whale sharks have dark color with gray spots; the reasons why they people call them Domino, by this spots. Their body length can usually reach at about 18 meters!

The area around Placencia and Hopkins is where to go in Belize if you would like to look for these enormous, friendly sharks. The Gladden Split area became well-known because of a National Geographic documentary about Whale Sharks.It is during the spring months of March, April, May and June that more than 20 species of Caribbean fish come to the area to spawn. The whale sharks, who definitely are plankton eaters, feast upon their eggs. It is about 26 miles off the coast of Placencia that sharks are usually found. This spot is noted to host significant concentrations of whale sharks in the months of April and May when Mutton and Dog Snappers are spawning.

The exact time to find these amazing creatures is hard to determine in Belize.The fish typically breed in the days before and after the full moon and the most typical time to look for whale sharks at Gladden Spit are the ten days following a full moon. Nevertheless, sightings have also been documented in the days prior to full moon and around new moons. Also, sole whale sharks can accidentally be found in the area any time of the year. The probability of finding the kind sharks is about 40% during the right time (opposed to 100% from June to September in the Mexican Caribbean). Nevertheless, local dive operations will be able to inform you whether the whale sharks are there or not before you go out on tour. An encounter with these creatures is a lifetime experience and if you are an experienced scuba diver you can enjoy these animals up to 80 feet deep. Snorkeling is also possible as they often come close to the surface. Waters are regularly pretty choppy in this area, which makes diving the better option. At the same time, researchers believe that snorkeling puts less stress on the friendly sharks than diving.

Either Whale Shark Diving or Snorkeling you will be doing one of the best adventure travel tours available.

The Rhincodon typus whale shark is the world's largest fish; it has traveled the oceans of this world and has a history of 60 million years. Moreover, the shark is extraordinary for the reason that not only is it the only living species of its genus but also of its family.

Nonetheless, we certainly know little about this species which is documented vulnerable in the IUCN list. The first whale shark measuring 4.6 meters was identified, speared and captured on the shores of Table Bay, South Africa in 1828. The caught whale shark was sold for six pounds and its holotype is displayed at the Museum of Natural History in Paris. One year following to this fantastic discovery the very first scientific paper about this species was written, and in 1849 the first complete description of the whale shark was written and published. Owing to the fish's physiology that it was given the name whale shark; a shark with the visual appeal and size more like that of a whale.

The whale shark is an aloof fish which sometimes forms groupings to feed in areas with large food concentrations. Males can be found in different places while females prefer to stay in specific areas. Its belly is white and his back is a darker gray than other sharks and has a lot of dots and horizontal and vertical white or yellow lines. These dots signify a distinctive pattern in each specimen, which explains why they're utilized for identification purposes and to census the population.There are several theories on the purpose of these spots: They might be used for camouflage, as from below they can easily be confused with the light from the sky and from above they can be confused with the reflection of exterior light. Another chance is that these distinct marks are a social feature for knowing other sharks or that the freckling patterns are an adaptation to safeguard the shark from radiation, which is significant for species that keep a significant part of their time on the water surface. An interesting side note on the coloring of the whale shark's skin is that in 2007 Antonio Moreano photographed a rare albino specimen in the northern zone of the Galapagos Islands.

Because whale sharks have a robust and lengthened body which is holding a number of longitudinal ridges on the head and back makes them hydrodynamic animals. The skin of a whale shark can get as thick as 10 cm. Its head is broad and flattened; its eyes are small and are located on the sides. They have spiracles behind the eyes; respiratory openings that permit contact between the air or water and the internal respiratory system. The placement of its eyes creates vision of way less importance compared to smell. Their mouth can be as huge as 1.5 meters wide. Whale sharks have about 3000 teeth in each jaw, yet these are tiny (a lot less than 6mm in length) and usually are not employed for feeding. It has five pairs of large gill slits which clefts are enormous. It has a pair of dorsal fins and pectoral fins. Its tail can measure more than 2.5 meters from side to side. The tail of an adult has a half moon shape and provides the propulsion; the upper part of the tail of younger species is larger than the lower part. They are utilizing their entire body to be able to swim, a particular thing that is not very usual in fish and that make it a less proficient swimmer. The shark won't reach a greater speed than 5 km/h; a reasonably slow speed for a fish of such gigantic size. It is thought that they can grow 20 m in length and they don't reach sexual maturity until they measure over 9 meters (at 30 years more or less). They can weigh up to 34 tons (34000 kg). They are thought to live an average of 60 years, might be more. Though first considered to be viviparous, and then assumed to be oviparous, in the year 1996 it was found out that they are ovoviparous (the eggs keep on being inside the female until eventually hatching), when a female with 300 eggs was encountered; the most significant number of eggs recorded in any types of shark.Newborn whale sharks normally reach between 40 and 60 centimeters in length, despite the fact that little is noted about them.

Eager to see a whale shark yourself? Visit the whale shark tours page.

You may also be interested taking a look at the other adventure excursions we have.

We saw the first Whale Sharks of this year’s season yesterday June 5th, 2010. Our flight left Cozumel airport at 7:20 am and landed on Holbox at around 8:00 am.  This is a panoramic flight with great aerial views of the Caribbean Ocean and Yucatan Peninsula. It was fun for all of us and one of the passengers was even given the chance to fly the plane for a couple of minutes.

 Something I found magical happened during the flight;

our plane’s shade was reflected on the ground and was surrounded by a beautiful rainbow! After that moment I knew we were going to have a great Whale Shark encounter.

After landing on Holbox, a golf cart was waiting to take us to the beach for a fast cup of coffee (no starbucks at Holbox) before the boat ride. As Whale Shark Season has just starting we had to navigate nearly 2 hrs from Holbox all the way to where Isla Contoy was visible. This is more than double the time you normally need to get to the whale sharks at the end of June.

There are 3 places where you can depart by boat to see Whale Sharks from the Mexican Caribbean: Holbox, Punta Sam near Cancun and Isla Mujeres. These last 2 places are just a 20 min. boat ride away from each other. Tours from Holbox or Cancun and Isla Mujeres, each have their own charm.  From Holbox you can get to see more wildlife as it is located in the Gulf of Mexico where waters are richer in plankton and small organism than the Caribbean Sea. From Cancun and Isla Mujeres you will see the Whale Sharks in the clears waters of the Caribbean Sea. I personally advise you to visit both of them and be ready to appreciate the best of each. 


During the trip we saw a group of about 5 big Manta Rays and a group of pink Great Flamingos whose feathers are painted by the red shrimp that they eat.

The first Whale Shark that we spotted was surrounded by 12 small boats including ours. Our boat held a group of 7 adults and we all agreed that it was not a pleasant experience to bother a single shark with so many humans. After hearing on the CV radio that there were 2 more Whale Sharks spotted closer to Holbox we left that place. It took us another 20 min. to get there but it was really worth it. There were only 4 boats and after about 15 min. they all left and we were alone with a big Whale Shark of about 8-9 meters. We jumped in the water in pairs together with our guide and snorkeled next to the biggest of all fish until we all swam with the Whale Shark at least 2 or 3 times. Everyone was very excited and we felt overwhelmed by the magical feeling of swimming next to this magnificent animal.  

Videos embedded or image with link to video

 

The boat ride back was shorter than expected and before we knew we were back on Holbox where we said goodbye to the captain and other passengers before heading to the airstrip for our flight back to Cozumel Island.


There is another scheduled trip to the Whale Sharks next Wednesday; I will keep you updated with fresh news.

 


Here are some other adventures and pictures for you to enjoy:

• Cozumel Island Tour
• Mayan Ruins Expeditions
• Marine Turtle Night Tour 
• Magic Baby Turtle Release Pictures, gallery 2

( you will love those pictures, they are really unique)