We have a new toy, the GoPro camera, that takes high-def video footage, and Ian has mastered the DVD-making software. Here is our whale shark montage!
http://youtu.be/467tDpOmzJQ?hd=1
Isla Holbox: Treasure of Humanity!
Ahhh.... And there were two lovely men who brought drinks regularly.
Looking down the beach from our hotel. You can't see them in the picture, but in addition to the lounge chairs, they had those curtained beach beds on hammock-ropes. There were always children playing on them so I didn't get a chance, but they looked awesome.
Unlike the rest of Mexico, Isla Holbox was filled with Pancho Villa and Emiliano Zapata paraphernalia. We never figured out if it was for a particular reason, i.e., Zapata slept here!, or if locals figured US and EU tourists would recognize the names.
This creepy little gecko was on the inside of the curtain (between the curtain and the glass) in the first restaurant we ate at in town. It didn't stay long. I should explain that I developed a strong dislike of geckos in Gracias, Honduras, when several came into my hotel room one night and chirped all night long. Geckos are harmless, but I can't stand them.
In addition to cheeky, chirpy geckos, there was a shy crab. I left it in peace after the photo.
You can spot the whale sharks by the herds of tourist boats on the ocean.... The good citizens of Isla Holbox apparently decided some years ago that there was more money and more sustainability in developing whale shark tourism than in fishing their waters empty, so there are a lot of tours that leave from there. You can also head out from Cancun and Isla Mujeres.
And here's the whale shark! It's feeding by pulling in gallons of water and plankton. This is only one shark, and you can see its head, dorsal fin, and tail in this shot. They are the world's biggest fish, growing up to 60 feet. Nobody really knows much about their habits and migration, but a group of them comes to the waters of the Gulf of Mexico/ Caribbean between June and September every year to feed on the plankton-rich water. This is the only place in the world that we know of where people can snorkel (instead of scuba) with the whale sharks. Our guide was very good and prioritized good behavior with the sharks and safety. He also knew how to help clueless tourists (me!) deal with being in the ocean with sharks (!) and get the most out of it.
Feeding! This is prime jumping-in time: the shark is coming straight towards you and feeding. It takes some getting used to, but really they're not interested in people. The water was thick with plankton, the sharks' preferred food.
Big head!
Here the shark is opening its mouth to begin the scooping process. Can't believe I got this picture!
The shark's gills, slightly less than fully extended. They closed with a kind of ripple action.
Recovery.
That's Ian next to the whale shark, second from the top/ right. It gives a sense of the size of an average one: gigantic.
Ian and his fancy red snorkel mask!
Love that water!
If nobody looks good in a wetsuit, nobody looks bad either, right? Note to the fashion police: pigtails are a necessity right now because of the length of my hair. This is not, I repeat not, a fashion statement.
Happy boy with his lucky wildlife attraction shirt and photos and video of real, live whale sharks!
Post-whale shark recovery: a michelada and a margarita. Note that Ian had removed his lucky wildlife attraction shirt by this point.
I discovered that the sand in front of our hotel had a very cool pattern. It was consistent the length of the beach that I checked and recovered quickly if anybody (like me) put their foot on it to test it.
Sunset!
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Big lizard! I like these better than geckos, and it's a good thing - they were everywhere!
The beach just down from our hotel was almost entirely made of shells. It reminded me of collecting shells with my niece on the Oregon Coast just a year ago.
Ian and I walked about 30 minutes from our hotel to see flamingos! They're a beautiful color, but they're very shy (normal, I guess). On Holbox they can be seen on a sandbar just off the coast. We splashed out to the sandbar, and these ones objected. Here they are flying away!
Almost there, their feet are still splashing....
And finally airborne!
Yes - I thought about croquet. It's only normal!
We weren't really that far from civilization, but it felt pretty removed. You could not see the flamingos from the hotels, so those visitors unwilling to slog for 30 minutes along the seashore missed out. Suckers!
Hangers-on and wanna-bes. They're not as pretty as the flamingos, but I'm willing to bet they make a prettier sound. Flamingos squawk, no other word for it.
A flamingo poses with the ocean - the colors were really extraordinary.
We saw kites in the muddy bottom on our way to and from the flamingo sandbar, but thanks to Ian's good eyes and solid marine-life knowledge, we slid our feet and managed to not step on any!
The horizon - turquoise and teal as far as the eye could see. I didn't really believe in this until my first time to Cancun last year, and I manage to forget it every time I leave. It's a welcome surprise every time we go!
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