If you look at a map of the area around La Paz you’ll notice a substantial bay to the North, perhaps 25 miles long with some islands marking the eastern boundary of the bay. In the winter weather patterns switch to northerly winds and this in turn pushes surface water down the Sea of Cortez with some of the nutrient rich surface water being pushed up against the beaches of El Magote (the Mound) just north of La Paz harbor.
Sometime around November, some visitors show up to feast on the small creatures in this nutrient rich water: Whale Sharks. Not just a few Whale Sharks – lots of Whale Sharks. Often these are juveniles about 18-20 feet long. There isn’t many places in the world to see Whale Sharks but they return to La Paz Bay every year.
The Whale Sharks swim slowly just beneath the surface in perhaps 15 feet of water and eat plankton for months, often within sight the beach. Each day 56 permits are issued to snorkel with the Whale Sharks and we went out with some cruising friends, Lance and Sherri.
With a windstorm coming and an expected closure of the La Paz port by noon we were told to meet at 7:20am to board a panga and go find Whale Sharks. By panga – I mean a 25ft open boat holding 13 people and two crew with a 300hp outboard. The swell was already pretty large with a building North wind. By the time we found the Whale Sharks the swell was taking a toll on some of the passengers, but over the last 3 months it seems we’ve become pretty immune to sea sickness so we just enjoyed the sometimes splashy ride. Finally, we found a spot with sometimes 4 Whale Sharks within sight of the boat while we took turns snorkeling.
Our first turn out, I barely caught sight of a tail but the second time the 20 foot Whale Shark was feeding and moving slowly and we were able to swim around and around him. It was incredibly cool! At one point the Whale Shark turned toward Bev and she felt the guide grab her from behind and pull her out of the path of the shark. While we were in the boat a pretty large Whale Shark was cruising along the surface with the top of his large open mouth visible from the boat.
If anyone comes to visit us during the Whale Shark season, this is a must-do activity! Bev and I would definitely go again!
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