The knock on the door came before 6 a.m. Outside, a voice said: "Come. Is time for the boat."

A few minutes later Capt. Angel Mena¿think Robert Duvall with a bushy gray mustache¿cranked the dual outboards on his skiff, and we set out from Isla Holbox, at the very north tip of the Yucat¿n Peninsula. The water was choppy and we bounced along, startling hundreds of flamingos as they waded in the muddy flats off Punta Mosquito and took raucous wing against the lemony dawn. Every now and then, a school of dolphins would zoom in, draft our bow, roll up on their sides, smile their inscrutable dolphin smiles, and then zoom away.

"Is a good day," Captain Angel yelled over the whine of the motors.

Yes, I said, it was a good day. Maybe even a great one. A perfect day for jumping in the water with the biggest fish on the planet.

For more, pick up the March 2004 issue of ISLANDS Magazine.