Off the coast of Belize we signed up for a 100 foot dive to look for the biggest fish in the sea, whale sharks. Apparently they come from the deep to feed on the eggs of the spawning snappers, who do a mating dance under the full moon. The Cubera and Dog snappers come by the thousands to the plankton rich waters of the Caribbean Sea. Our three tank dive would give us plenty of opportunity to spot a whale shark, or so we thought. The dives were serene, floating in a thousand feet of water suspended in crystal clear azure blue. A Silky shark swam past, perhaps 6 feet in length, not the 40 foot whale shark we were hoping for. Then a school of dog snappers appeared below, thousands hugging the sandy bottom in 200 feet of water. Out of the middle of the school a spiral of fish rise up in a column, round and round they go. Walt is close by and gets among them doing the snapper dance. What a thrill to witness this behavior.
It is enough to squelch the disappointment in not seeing a whale shark.

When we arrived in Isla Mujeras, Mexico, just a few weeks later, tour guides were taking small groups off shore to snorkel with the whale sharks, and guaranteeing a sighting. We were excited to perhaps finally spotting the biggest fish in the sea. Steering twenty miles off shore in a small boat looking for whale sharks is a bit ominous. How are they going to spot a whale in this huge sea? But lo and behold the whale sharks come to the same coordinates day after day to filter feed on the microscopic plankton during the months of May, June and July. Our guide said he has seen as many as 100 sharks at one time. Today we would see ten. The tour boats jockey for position as each boat disperses a guide and two snorkelers for about a ten minute interaction with the sharks and we get to do that twice. It is difficult not to touch the sharks for they are so close; intentional touching is forbidden. Two giant manta rays are filter feeding along with the sharks as well as a school, 20 species, of sting rays. Later when I was downloading my pictures I realized that what I thought to be a the school of sting rays actually were baby mantas or a similar species called devil rays that only grow to less than 4 feet. A first sighting for us.

What a great way to end our circumnavigation of the Caribbean Sea. Currently we are headed back to North Carolina where we started eleven years ago. Sailing up the east coast of Florida, stopping along the way to see how things have changed in eleven years. It is nice to have red and green markers lining the channels. Hard to imagine but the seven mile bridge in the Keys is only the second bridge we have gone under in our travels of the Caribbean. The other bridge was crossing the Rio Dulce River in Guatemala. Now I understand why it was such a tourist destination for the local Guatemalans. People would stop on the bridge to take pictures of the view, all the while blocking traffic. Big and tall bridges are apparently an anomaly.

We will be planning the next adventures of Will-O-the-Wisp.