FettSolo
Contributor
I've been surprised by the dearth of information on SB regarding Big Fish Expeditions. For those of you unfamiliar with BFE, it's a small company run by photographer Andy Murch, specializing in shark and whale encounters (as well as other large animals).
I did my first trip with Andy three years ago in Scotland, where we searched for basking sharks amongst the Scottish Hebrides. That was a great trip, and I enjoyed the way it was run as well as spending time with Andy himself.
I have wanted to see whale sharks for years, and so Isla Mujeres was always on my radar. Having done the research, however, I wanted to go with someone who could give me long days on the water, and not just an hour or two with the whale sharks. Andy's trip seemed to fit the bill, so I signed up and headed down to Mexico last week.
Unfortunately, the day I arrived (Sunday, August 5), we found out a tropical storm was going to hit that week. Andy quickly mobilized alternate activities for us; we went cenote diving on the mainland on Monday, and dove MUSA and another local Cancun/Mujeres dive site on Wednesday (Tuesday was when the storm hit, so we really couldn't do anything that day). While these obviously were not quite as exciting as whale sharks, they were still enjoyable, and I appreciated having some dives to do while we waited out the weather.
Finally on Thursday, the seas had cleared up enough that we could head out. A boat picked us (group of 8 people on this trip) right from the beach at 730am, and off we went. We found the whale sharks around 830am, and it was amazing! We were one of the first boats there, so I had quite a few incredibly close encounters with multiple whale sharks. We stayed out there until about 230pm, and even then only because we decided everybody was tired and had their "fill" of whale sharks.
So, even though we only got one day of actual whale sharks in, that day was so amazing that it made up for the weather misfortunes (which obviously were beyond Andy's control).
I'm happy to go into more detail about any aspects of the trip, but here's why I did this second trip with Big Fish Expeditions and why I'm sure I'll do more in the future:
-From start to finish, a trip with BFE feels incredibly personalized. Not that you're being waited on hand and foot, but things like having a boat that will stay out as long as YOU want is just great.
-I like Andy a lot, he is a great guy; passionate about wildlife and a skilled photographer. He also seems to attract a certain kind of people on his trips who bond easily and feel like a family. As someone who typically travels alone, this is greatly appreciated.
I did my first trip with Andy three years ago in Scotland, where we searched for basking sharks amongst the Scottish Hebrides. That was a great trip, and I enjoyed the way it was run as well as spending time with Andy himself.
I have wanted to see whale sharks for years, and so Isla Mujeres was always on my radar. Having done the research, however, I wanted to go with someone who could give me long days on the water, and not just an hour or two with the whale sharks. Andy's trip seemed to fit the bill, so I signed up and headed down to Mexico last week.
Unfortunately, the day I arrived (Sunday, August 5), we found out a tropical storm was going to hit that week. Andy quickly mobilized alternate activities for us; we went cenote diving on the mainland on Monday, and dove MUSA and another local Cancun/Mujeres dive site on Wednesday (Tuesday was when the storm hit, so we really couldn't do anything that day). While these obviously were not quite as exciting as whale sharks, they were still enjoyable, and I appreciated having some dives to do while we waited out the weather.
Finally on Thursday, the seas had cleared up enough that we could head out. A boat picked us (group of 8 people on this trip) right from the beach at 730am, and off we went. We found the whale sharks around 830am, and it was amazing! We were one of the first boats there, so I had quite a few incredibly close encounters with multiple whale sharks. We stayed out there until about 230pm, and even then only because we decided everybody was tired and had their "fill" of whale sharks.
So, even though we only got one day of actual whale sharks in, that day was so amazing that it made up for the weather misfortunes (which obviously were beyond Andy's control).
I'm happy to go into more detail about any aspects of the trip, but here's why I did this second trip with Big Fish Expeditions and why I'm sure I'll do more in the future:
-From start to finish, a trip with BFE feels incredibly personalized. Not that you're being waited on hand and foot, but things like having a boat that will stay out as long as YOU want is just great.
-I like Andy a lot, he is a great guy; passionate about wildlife and a skilled photographer. He also seems to attract a certain kind of people on his trips who bond easily and feel like a family. As someone who typically travels alone, this is greatly appreciated.
