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Experiencing certain natural phenomena can be an experience like nothing else. Witnessing a solar eclipse, for instance, that happened to me in Chile. I still remember it well and it was one of the most special things I have ever seen. Watching an erupting volcano or a roaring tornado also strikes me as one of those unique experiences. Encounters with animals in the wild can evoke a similar feeling. There is a difference between simply seeing an animal and truly experiencing an animal.
Birders are good at keeping lists. The lifelist comes first (obviously), then often also a national list and then there are a number of regional lists. Birds are excellent for keeping lists because their ability to fly always gives an element of surprise which make your list keep growing. For mammals there are also some fanatic listers, but that takes a whole different approach. For birds and mammals I also like to keep a list, but if you really want to be a serious competitor you need to pick either one of the two and completely aim your trip towards those species. For me however it’s more about seeing very beautiful and attractive species. That’s why seeing a Whale Shark was high on my list. The whale shark is the largest fish on the planet and a beautiful animal. So I definitely wanted to invest some time in that one, although it didn’t count in the lists that I keep.
On June 15, 2022, my plane landed at the airport near Cancun in Mexico. I hadn’t seen this trip coming long in advance because quite unexpectedly I had a new job! However, I still had two weeks of vacation days to spend from my old job and of course I wanted to go somewhere abroad. Coincidentally, I had read up not long before about the possibility of seeing Whale Sharks in Mexico. June should be a great time for this. So I set seeing Whale Sharks as my main goal and in addition I would also go deeper into the jungle for a few days to try and score a new wild cat.
Although the Netherlands is not known as a typical destination for snorkeling, it is certainly possible to see beautiful underwater life here without too much effort. Since I was going to Mexico in a few weeks to do a lot underwater photography, I thought it would be a good idea to practice and test everything out. Not far from me is the Veerse Meer where there are a number of spots where the water is quite clear. At Geersdijk I went into the water and swam around for an hour. I focused on photographing the jellyfish with beautiful evening lighting and the crabs were also a nice subject. I could go to Mexico reassured and I got some nice photo’s out of it!
