In our week here in Mexico we’ve only gone swimming in the ocean twice. The challenge is to get past the roiling surf to the calmer water beyond. The oceanic push of the incoming waves and the powerful back-pulling of the water as it returns make just wading into the sea a chore.
We were further discouraged to try the water after discovering the kind of creatures we were sharing it with. A few days ago, sitting on the beach with drinks to watch the sun go down, we were surprised by the sight of a large fish suddenly leaping out of the water, just behind the breaking waves, it’s body twisting exuberantly in the air as if filled with the joy of the moment.
This was not just any fish. It was at least four feet long, with a streamlined, predator-like body and a white belly. It was a shark. Over the next half-hour we saw it leap into the air four more times – apparently just for the hell of it. The next night, again at sunset, we saw the same fish (presumably) do the same again.
Eight years ago Troncones made the news when three surfers were attacked by sharks, all within a month’s time. Two of them died. The suspected culprit was a 10-12 foot Bull Shark. I couldn’t find any reports of shark attacks here since that time. I also found no reports of sharks in Troncones making a habit of playfully leaping out of the surf at sunset.