WATCH: Swimming With 30-Foot Whale Sharks in Isla Mujeres, Mexico

I live every week as if it’s Shark Week, so when I found out that I could actually go swimming with whale sharks in Cancun, I didn’t hesitate.

Cancun Shark Whale Tours is the operator I chose to take me on my adventure. There are plenty to choose from, but the TripAdvisor reviews were solid, and if I’m going to be out in the middle of the ocean diving with large animals, I want my guides to have some experience. It’s true, I wouldn’t be in danger the way I would be swimming with great whites. Whale sharks are filter feeders, so they prefer to dine on plankton instead of humans. Either way, I decided not to tell my mom I was going — just in case.

Seeing their fins first made me a little nervous. It was very reminiscent of “Jaws.” (Photo: Brittany)

Related: WATCH: The Most Terrifying Shark Attacks…Ever!

My short safety session consisted of one rule: Don’t touch the whales. Then we were whisked aboard a small boat that traveled for an hour out into the middle of the ocean. As I looked around, I experienced my first tinges of anxiety. There was no land in sight, and if something went down, I was on my own.

I slipped on my wetsuit, fins, and snorkel and prepared for instruction from my captain, Raul, who also only had one rule. “All you need to know is that when I say go, you go,” he said. So I sat on the edge of the boat, dangling my feet in the water, and waited for the word.

Whale sharks have a lifespan of about 70 years. (Photo: Brittany)

“Go!” said Raul, and I jumped into the great unknown. Much to my surprise, I landed just two feet away from a gigantic 30-foot whale shark! As I swam alongside my new friend, I could see its mouth was wide-open gathering plankton, its gills where large and flowing, and its tail was as big as my body. This was, without a doubt, the most thrilling moment of my life.

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I got to dive down two more times during our session, rotating turns with a lovely Danish family; my boyfriend, David; and a woman from Panama. On my second dive, a mammoth whale shark smacked me in the face with his tail. (I still have a small bruise.) And on the third dive, I did what any millennial with an underwater camera would do: I took a selfie with a whale shark. Obviously.

Whale Shark selfie because — duh (Photo: Brittany)

I would also like to mention that I did all of this epic diving while experiencing a wicked case of seasickness. So in between swimming with whale sharks, I spent a fair amount of time leaning over the back of the boat losing my breakfast.

That aside, this was truly a one-of-a-kind experience. Getting so close to such a massive creature reminded me how small I am in the grand scheme of things. Literally, those whale sharks weigh more than 21 tons, so it made me feel really skinny.

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