On Sunday we woke up during the dark hours for our trip to La Paz for whale shark snorkeling and diving with sea lions in the Sea of Cortez!
We arrived at the diveshop before 6:00 am to meet our fellow explorers, a Canadian couple with French accents, and Dave, who we discovered is also staying at The Bungalows Hotel. Our fearless leader for the day was Julio.
The three of us were somehow under the impression it was a two hour boat ride to La Paz, so we were pleasantly surprised to find out it was a two hour car ride. And we were in a cozy van. No school bus business this time.
Not gonna lie, I was a little nervous along the drive. Everyone was snoozing, even the driver. I felt I had to stay awake and watch his eyes and headbobbing in the rear view mirror. Someone had to yell “WAKE UP!” if he started drifting off of the road. The problem was there was a lot of drifting while his eyes were open as well. Very little relaxing for me during those two hours.
We arrived in La Paz around 8:30 am. Julio loaded up the dive boat and prepared our gear. The first stop was whale shark snorkeling.
The winds were still a little bit rough post storm, and the sky was overcast. We suited up in our wetsuits for the ride out. I was required to wear a long suit, and boy was I glad I had one. Between the wind and choppy water throwing seaspray at us, it was mighty chilly.
We had 90 minutes for our whale shark adventure. Julio gave us the park rules and safety tips. Basically, stay 6 feet away from the whale shark. Don’t swim above it, below it, behind it, or in front of it, lest you get eaten.
It didn’t take long to find one. Other boats had descended upon it. The operation ran like a well oiled machine. A well oiled and exhausting machine.
Because there were 6 of us and only 4 could swim with the whale shark at a time, we split into 2 groups. Curtis, Kristen, and I were the first to have our turn. When Julio yelled water, we jumped in. And there it was.
The gentle whale shark.
Photos courtesy of Curtis, as I can’t be bothered to dive with a camera anymore.
It was a baby whale shark. And by baby I mean small. And by small I mean only 12 or so feet. I gave it a Goog and it was probably about 5 years old. I’ve wanted to see a whale shark for 12 years. It was definitely a bittersweet moment, in more ways than one. But it was so cool to see. And it swam so. fucking. fast.
We swam with it for a few minutes. Then Julio stopped us, passing the torch to another boat of waiting snorkelers. Our boat picked us up, and the second group waited for their turn to take a swim.
We did this a couple times, and then we were the only boat. Here’s where the exhausting part set in. We’d swim with the whale shark. Sometimes he was drifting with the current (yay!), and sometimes he was swimming (whyyyyy?). After a few minutes, Julio would have us stop. He continued with the whale shark while the boat dropped the other group near him. Then the boat came back and picked us up. We’d take off our fins and climb in the boat, put our fins back on, take a few breaths, and Julio would yell at us to jump back in. Exhausting.
After five-or-so rounds of this I was more than happy that we were done. As much as I’d love to look at the whale shark all day, it was a lot of work. Between bouncing on the boat, bouncing in the water, swimming hard, and the mouthful of saltwater I took in (I forgot that the snorkel tube can’t be submerged, okay?), I was beginning to feel a bit sick.
Overall it was a great experience. Maybe someday we’ll get to see one of the big ones!
Once we finished the snorkeling, we headed to dive with the sea lions. We weren’t able to go to the original dive site because the water was too choppy, so we went to a closer one.
The boat ride was miserable. Choppy, windy, cold, wet. It lasted approximately 30 minutes. Again I was thankful to be wearing the wetsuit.
After diving with the sea lions, we cruised to a beach and had a shoreside lunch. It was such a gorgeous area. I’ve never seen cactus and ocean side by side.
Our trusty boat captain, Cory, made the best fish ceviche! We relaxed and warmed up in the sun as we ate, and then headed back to the La Paz marina.
The boat ride back was much nicer. The wind broke and the sun came out. It was smooth, dry sailing. I was able to sleep somewhat uncomfortably on the two hour drive back. It seemed to go by fast enough.
That night we ventured out for dinner at Jo’s Garden once again for pizza 2.0, this time with a non-puking Kristen in tow.
All in all, a successful end to a day of adventure!