For now, I’m not taking any photographs. I close my eyes and listen to the soundscape of the ocean. My wetsuit hoodie muffles a lot of the sounds around me, and I’m not sure if I’m imagining things. Once again, music soars out from the blue and there can be no mistaking it. A humpback whale. The song starts with a series of high and eerie notes before plunging to deep, rumbling tones. I open my eyes and look west, away from the reef behind me with its beautiful Pavona coral colony and resident juvenile Cortez angelfish that, until just a moment ago, monopolised my attention. The whale sings on. I know its song will have travelled for miles, but it sounds so close. I imagine a giant dark shape materialising from the miles of teal of water, knowing it is unlikely to happen. I see a flash behind my left shoulder. The Cortez angelfish still patrols its range. It darts left and right and then settles on its coral perch. It too is looking west. I wonder if it is also listening to the whale. It must be.

A fortuitous combination of a commercial assignment and an invitation by a friend brings me to Careyes, a resort on the south coast of Jalisco, Mexico. A stunning section of the West Mexican coast just two hours south of my hometown, Puerto Vallarta. My friend and host Marco eyes my wetsuit incredulously. “Estas seguro?” he says. The water is 30 degrees celsius. But past experiences of jellyfish, sharp corals and long dives has taught me to never dive without a wetsuit. Watching the swells rise over a rocky point of a nearby islet I know I will not regret my decision.