Why You Always Check with a Local Guide Before Swimming

It’s sunny, you’re hot, and the water looks mighty refreshing, but before you go diving into turquoise waters, consult a local guide such as a tour guide or adventure guide; a few moments learning about the water (and what may lie beneath) may cost you several moments of blissful refreshment, but they may also save your life.

Wildlife guides not only know where exotic birds like to fly, and where you can spot turtles hatching, they also know where predators linger, waiting to get a kick out of spooking unsuspecting humans. And the following video, shot off the cost of Mexico‘s Playa del Carmen, proves just that. The bottom line: as an excited tourist, you may find yourself in a pickle if you don’t get the lowdown from locals before plunging into deceivingly calm bodies of water. In this case, the tourist was unaware that a 3-and-a-half-meter-long male crocodile lives underneath a nearby bridge, and when he went for the plunge, he got a nasty shock: a face-to-face with one of nature’s most dangerous reptiles.

Don’t be this chap, and seek your guide’s wisdom first; learning local knowledge is imperative when visiting another country.