'I felt a slimy texture brush my face': Man describes being swallowed by whale

Kayaker Adrián Simancas’ first clue that he had been swallowed by a whale was the slime.

"I spent a moment realizing I was inside something’s mouth, wondering if it had eaten me — maybe an orca or some kind of sea monster," the 23-year-old shared with BBC Mundo.

For a brief time, Adrián thought about how he might survive inside the humpback whale, imagining a scenario like Pinocchio — before the creature spat him out.

The Venezuelan kayaker had been paddling through the Strait of Magellan, off the Patagonian coast of Chile, with his father when something suddenly "hit me from behind, closing in and sinking me."

His father, Dall, managed to capture the surreal moment on video, just a few meters away.

"I closed my eyes, and when I opened them, I realized I was inside the whale’s mouth," Adrián recounted.

"I felt a slimy texture brush my face," he said, explaining that all he could see was a dark blue and white blur.

"I wondered what I would do if it swallowed me, since there was no way to fight it anymore," he admitted.

Then, just moments later, Adrián felt as though he was rising toward the surface again.

Adrián Simancas, still reeling from his close call, was initially worried about holding his breath. "I didn’t know how deep I was, and it felt like it took me forever to come back up," he said. "I surfaced for a moment, and then I realized the whale hadn’t swallowed me."

Meanwhile, Adrián's father, Dall Simancas, was witnessing the shocking event from a nearby kayak. The two had just crossed Eagle Bay, south of Punta Arenas, Chile, when Dall heard a loud crash behind him. "When I turned around, Adrián was gone," he recalled. "I panicked for a second, but then I saw him coming out of the water."

At first, Dall saw what he thought was a large body in the water. "I immediately thought it must be a whale because of its size," he explained.

Dall had mounted a camera on the back of his kayak to capture the rising waves, which recorded Adrián's extraordinary encounter.

Watching the footage later, Adrián was astonished by how massive the whale had been. "I didn’t see its back or fin at first, only heard it, which made me nervous," he said. "But when I saw the video, I realized just how huge the whale was. If I’d seen it in person, I might’ve been even more frightened."

For Adrián, the event wasn’t just about surviving; it felt like a "second chance." The experience, in such a remote part of the world, made him reflect on what he could’ve done differently and how to appreciate the moment.

Wildlife expert Roched Jacobson Seba explained why Adrián was able to escape. Humpback whales have narrow throats, about the size of a household pipe, designed only for swallowing small fish and shrimp. "They physically can't swallow large objects like kayaks, tires, or even big fish," he said. "It was simply impossible for the whale to swallow the kayak, so it spat it out."

Seba speculated that the whale likely engulfed Adrián by accident. "The whale was probably feeding on a school of fish and unintentionally scooped up the kayak with its meal. If whales surface too quickly while feeding, they can accidentally hit or swallow objects in their way."

He also warned that this encounter serves as a reminder to avoid using silent vessels like paddleboards or surfboards in areas frequented by whales. Boats used for whale watching and research are required to keep their engines running, which helps whales detect their presence.