The fabulous underwater world off Holbox

I only had a few days left in Mexico before embarking on the final leg of my journey in North America. In the past few days, I had heard a lot about the island of Holbox in the north of Yucatan. It was said to be a great place for snorkeling and there were plenty of animals to see, including flamingos. But what really excited me was the prospect of a trip to see the whale sharks. These giants of the underwater world travel in large groups along the coasts of Yucatan in June/July, particularly where the Caribbean meets the Gulf of Mexico.

I reached Holbox from Valladolid by bus and ferry after a few hours. On the island, the main mode of transportation is motorcycles or (mostly) golf carts. But since the island didn't seem too big, I decided to walk to my hostel. I spent the rest of the evening visiting dive shops and comparing prices for the shark excursion. In the end, I chose the cheapest option. Not just because it saved me some pesos, but because the two older gentlemen who ran the operation seemed like experienced sailors. Although neither of them ended up being part of the actual trip, I had the feeling that the entire crew, who also seemed to be from the area, was very experienced.

The next morning, I woke up at dawn and headed to the small shop where the meeting point was at 6:00 a.m. But not without finding a coffee first. I knew that there would be seven other people on the boat. So, I was a bit surprised not to see anyone there yet. I waited a few minutes and started to worry that no one would show up, when one of the gentlemen from the previous day arrived on his motorcycle, greeted me, and opened the shop. He seemed to have no rush, placed a folding chair in front of the shop's door for me, and offered honey for my coffee. I was a bit skeptical (about the honey), but it actually tasted good. Give it a try!

Even after a few minutes, my fellow travelers did not appear. Instead, the man from the shop took me on his motorcycle to a beach just outside the village. But even there, there were no other passengers in sight except for the captains and guides of the other boats. Finally, I followed my captain and the young guide through the shallow water to the boat. The guide seemed visibly relieved when he realized that I understood and spoke Spanish fairly well. I was still wondering where the others were when he explained to me that we would pick them up at the dock in town.

Once we had gathered everyone, we set off on the more than two-hour journey to the spot where we were supposed to see the whale sharks. On the boat with me were a couple from Cuba and a family from Mexico with parents, two children, and a grandmother. So, Spanish was the only language spoken, which was perfect for me to practice Spanish. After about an hour and a half, we passed over a threshold and entered the open sea. There, the waves got higher accordingly. After a while, except for the daughter of the Mexican family and me, all the women on the boat got seasick. I enjoyed the ride and had a big smile on my face the entire time, which amazed the Mexican grandmother in particular...

And then it happened! Several boats had already gathered at the spot, and soon we could see the first sharks swimming beneath the surface of the water. It was already breathtaking! These animals can grow up to 15 meters long and are simply gigantic! Each pair of us, along with a guide, were allowed to jump into the water one by one as soon as the boat positioned itself correctly with the shark. It was a bit stressful because the time window for jumping off the boat was only a few seconds, and then we had to swim as fast as we could! Despite the sharks' seemingly effortless and slow-motion movements through the water, they are actually very fast compared to humans, thanks to their enormous fins. During the first attempt, we were a bit slow and only saw the shark from behind. The second attempt was much better, and we swam right beside the shark for quite a while. I had enough time to admire its huge gills and graceful movements. It was incredibly awe-inspiring and took my breath away. It gave me an incredible respect for these animals and nature in general, and it was a sight that I will never forget.

Unfortunately, the moment passed too quickly. On the other hand, I was also glad that we didn't disturb the animals for too long. By the way, there is a regulation that (if I understood it correctly) no boats are allowed to go out to the sharks every third day in order to give nature a break.

On the way back, we got to go snorkeling in an area off Holbox. There, I saw some stingrays, large colorful parrotfish, a pufferfish, and even a turtle! We had our lunch (fresh ceviche) at Mosquito Point, where the seawater flows through the island like a river. It has picturesque white sand and turquoise-blue water. To end the excursion, we saw a huge flock of flamingos on the coast from the boat. The day ended with a beautiful sunset at the beach, and I even discovered some bioluminescent plankton in the water...