After the visual thrill of the cenotes of the Yucatan Peninsula, we continued our expedition to the island of Isla Mujeres. Up until about six years ago, it was a very sleepy fishing village, with zero to very little tourism. Then, along came marine conservationist and underwater filmmaker, Shawn Heinrichs, who was the first to document the annual whaleshark aggregation in the Isla Mujeres waters. Not just a few whalesharks, but hundreds gather in these waters to feed on the bonito eggs floating in the water. This may very well be the largest aggregation of whalesharks on the planet! Not wanting to be left out from the feeding frenzy, manta rays, mobula rays, dolphins and sailfish also made an appearance. This experience is snorkel only, and highly recommended before more restrictions are put into place by the government.
Using a fisheye lens plus a 1.4 teleconverter and available light only, these images depict these docile giants in their natural habitat.
