Dive in Mexico: May 2012

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

The whale sharks are back in Mexico - snorkel with them and learn more about this giant of the sea

Year after year thousands of whale sharks migrate to the warm waters off the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico, offering us an amazing spectacle. From mid May till September the areas of Isla Mujeres and Isla Holbox are two of the favorite feeding spots of those giants of the sea.

Whale sharks are not whales at all but rather the world's largest fish, measuring up to 45 feet (13.7 meters) in length and weighing more than 47000lb (21.5 tons).

Despite their size the diet of whale sharks consists of plankton, small shrimp and fish. Although having thousands of teeth whale sharks are filter feeders who can neither bite nor chew. They can stretch its mouth to four feet wide and suck a huge volume of water and plankton. The water is strained through spongy tissues supported by cartilaginous rods between the whale shark's gill arches. The plankton, trapped in the gill rakers, is then swallowed. Whale sharks on average spent approximately 7.5 hours a day feeding at the surface. A whale shark can filter thousands of liters of water an hour when feeding.

It was widely believed the whale shark reproduction process and whale shark birth was like other fish. Then in the nineties a team of scientists found a female whale shark off the eastern coast of Taiwan that had been killed by a fisherman. There were about 300 embryos inside the pregnant whale shark. Due to this discovery we know that a female whale shark keeps her eggs inside her body until the babies are ready to be born (ovoviviparous). Whale sharks have never been seen mating or giving birth. It is thought that less than 10 percent of whale sharks born survive to adulthood.

Sexual maturity in whale sharks does not occur until they reach about 30 feet (9 meters) long. This means a whale shark reproduction maturity age of about 30 years old. It is thought that whale sharks could possibly live up to 100 to 150 years!

Whale sharks are slow swimmers (3 miles or 4.8 km per hour) and very gentle fish. They pose no threat to humans, which makes swimming with whale sharks in their natural habitat a must-do for every true adventurer.

We invite you to enjoy this lifetime experience in the Mexican Caribbean. Come to snorkel with those beautiful creatures, which bless us with their visit every year.

For further information about this tour please contact us at:

info@phantomdivers.com

or visit us on:

www.phantomdivers.com

Saturday, May 26, 2012

Mahahual: Part of the Mexican paradise in the Caribbean!

If some day you think of a remote place on earth where the weather is perfect and where you just have to wear your shorts and walk in sandals, the right place to go is Mahahual.

Mahahual is located south of Playa del Carmen, about 310 km from Cancun, in the Yucatan Peninsula.

Mahahual has beautiful and completely accessible beaches you can enjoy. Besides spending a very nice day enjoying the natural abundance on and around the beach Mahahual also has dive spots which are really worth knowing.

Pictures taken in "Punta Tum" reef in Mahahual.

If you are an explorer who is looking for new adventures the best option will be a trip to Mahahual where you can enjoy some incredible dives and marvel at more than 46 coral species. Absolutely amazing!

PHANTOM DIVERS can organize your diving trip to this area leaving from Playa del Carmen. We help you to put together your diving package and we can recommend you accommodation as well!

Enjoy the Mexican Caribbean, it's a magical place!

Write us to get more information: info@phantomdivers.com

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

IT'S TURTLE DAY!

Dive with turtles in Playa del Carmen, Mexico

Which diver does not like to see turtles on a nice reef dive and observe them swimming at a leisurely pace or eating peacefully. The best place to enjoy those beautiful creatures here in Playa del Carmen is at Tortugas Reef or - translated into English - Turtles Reef, which is just a 15 minutes boat ride south of Phantom Divers. This reef is constantly visited by sea turtles, mainly by Hawksbill Turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata).

Hawksbill Turtles at Tortugas Reef, Playa del Carmen

But turtles can not just be seen at Tortugas Reef since the Riviera Maya is visited every year between May and October by two endangered species of sea turtles: the Loggerhead Turtle (Caretta caretta) and the Green Sea Turtle (Chelonia mydas), which occasionally can also be seen while diving in the Playa del Carmen area.

Loggerhead Turtle

The turtles come year after year to build their nests and lay up to 150 soft-shelled eggs on the beaches of Quintana Roo. Sea turtles may lay eggs several times during a single season. After a two-month incubation, the young turtles hatch and instinctively head for the water, using the light of the moon for navigation. On their way they have to face attacks by a variety of predators like birds, crabs, fish. Only 1 to 2 % of the baby turtles will reach adulthood.

Sea turtles are one of the Earth’s most ancient creatures and unfortunately endangered or threatened internationally.

Hawksbill Turtle

Please respect the turtles here in the Mayan Riviera as well as in any other place on earth you might be lucky to see them.

Don’t touch or grab turtles while enjoying them!

Loggerhead Turtle

Let us show you these amazing creatures and much more on your next dives in Playa del Carmen.

Send us an email for your reservation:

info@phantomdivers.com

Or visit us on:

www.phantomdivers.com

Saturday, May 19, 2012

Diver? Yogi? Lifestyles in Playa del Carmen.

The adventure starts here!

Text written by Laura Torres

There has been spoken lately about the connection between diving and yoga since the two activities converge on two factors: the breathing and the constancy of the practice.

The main rule of diving is to never stop breathing, the same as in yoga where the control of breathing is of big importance to reach the main goal.

The positions you realize while exercising yoga exert a big influence on divers.

Recent investigations have shown that there are favorable results in many aspects for divers who exercise this activity.

As it is well known you can reach physical and mental strength through yoga.

On the other hand divers are different from people who do not dive since they have perceived and experienced a life that is completely different from the terrestrial life and that's what amplifies their vision. Amplifying the vision is what happens also to people practising yoga and starting to go a way that is hard but full of information: a way to themselves.