Travelogue: Donsol, Sorsogan.
Mission: See the Butanding, up close and personal.
Operation: Success.
This is perhaps the coolest thing I have ever done. I've done and lot of fun things, and seen a lot of interesting places, so it's kind of hard to compare (I know, I live a rough life sometimes) -- but having a shark 30 meters long swimming less than a foot from me was a-MA-zing (sorry, Nancy, just had to say it :) ).
Donsol has a history of eco-tourism, with pretty strict rules about whale shark "interactions" - no touching, no flash photography, only three hours on the water per group, and (supposedly) just one boat per shark. In our case, though, that last rule was lifted because it had been five days with no shark sightings = some very sad tourists. Which is how we felt the first day when we didn't see any (though we did see some dolphins jumping and manta rays).
Hence the title of this blog. Greg and Wm started calling: HEEEERE Fishy Fishy Fishy!
The next day, though, two sharks seemed oblivious to the 25 boats skimming around the bay waiting for them and they kept on coming up to the surface again and again. One shark we could tell was the same because he had a little clip in his back fin.
The first interaction was my best. Greg and our BIO (Butanding Interaction Officer - a local fisherman who has training from the local tourist department; BIOs are required to accompany each boat to make sure all rules are followed) jumped off the boat to see the shark - and Wm was about to, but as he was getting in he freaked out (as a normal five year old would jumping off a moving boat) and he clung to my leg (I was still on the edge). A boat guy helped Wm back into the boat, and by that time, our boat had passed the shark. We circled around a bit, waiting for our BIO to signal for the boat - and before I knew it, the boat guy yelled at me: JUMP NOW!
I jumped. I cleared the propeller of the boat. I looked down in the water -- and the whale shark's mouth was right there. Yes, I screamed into my snorkel, not having expected it to be RIGHT THERE.
Worried I would accidentally touch it, I tried to put a little distance between me and the shark, swimming the entire length, frantically trying to stay far enough away from it's back fin.
The next few times we jumped in, I was much more calm and was able to swim along with it for awhile (until other boats of people came, crowding). Our BIO told me that usually the boat drivers are much more respectful of not dumping four or five boats worth of people at the same place. But, with the five days of no sightings, all the drivers were worried it might be their only shot to have their paying customers see the shark - so hence the madness (Greg got kicked by a fin, our BIO ran into a bamboo pole of one of the boats).
We stayed at the Vitton resort, which was fine - pretty standard Philippine resort, perhaps a bit upscale since our room had A/C and hot water - and it had a pool. Not a Taj hotel in India, but clean and $50/night for a double.
The only bad part was lack of naps - all three boys were screaming on the plane ride back and all the way home. Took me a bit after we arrived home to remember that the previous two days were a once in a lifetime experience, and I should just block out the three hours of tantrums.
Mission: See the Butanding, up close and personal.
Operation: Success.
This is perhaps the coolest thing I have ever done. I've done and lot of fun things, and seen a lot of interesting places, so it's kind of hard to compare (I know, I live a rough life sometimes) -- but having a shark 30 meters long swimming less than a foot from me was a-MA-zing (sorry, Nancy, just had to say it :) ).
Donsol has a history of eco-tourism, with pretty strict rules about whale shark "interactions" - no touching, no flash photography, only three hours on the water per group, and (supposedly) just one boat per shark. In our case, though, that last rule was lifted because it had been five days with no shark sightings = some very sad tourists. Which is how we felt the first day when we didn't see any (though we did see some dolphins jumping and manta rays).
Hence the title of this blog. Greg and Wm started calling: HEEEERE Fishy Fishy Fishy!
The next day, though, two sharks seemed oblivious to the 25 boats skimming around the bay waiting for them and they kept on coming up to the surface again and again. One shark we could tell was the same because he had a little clip in his back fin.
The first interaction was my best. Greg and our BIO (Butanding Interaction Officer - a local fisherman who has training from the local tourist department; BIOs are required to accompany each boat to make sure all rules are followed) jumped off the boat to see the shark - and Wm was about to, but as he was getting in he freaked out (as a normal five year old would jumping off a moving boat) and he clung to my leg (I was still on the edge). A boat guy helped Wm back into the boat, and by that time, our boat had passed the shark. We circled around a bit, waiting for our BIO to signal for the boat - and before I knew it, the boat guy yelled at me: JUMP NOW!
I jumped. I cleared the propeller of the boat. I looked down in the water -- and the whale shark's mouth was right there. Yes, I screamed into my snorkel, not having expected it to be RIGHT THERE.
Worried I would accidentally touch it, I tried to put a little distance between me and the shark, swimming the entire length, frantically trying to stay far enough away from it's back fin.
The next few times we jumped in, I was much more calm and was able to swim along with it for awhile (until other boats of people came, crowding). Our BIO told me that usually the boat drivers are much more respectful of not dumping four or five boats worth of people at the same place. But, with the five days of no sightings, all the drivers were worried it might be their only shot to have their paying customers see the shark - so hence the madness (Greg got kicked by a fin, our BIO ran into a bamboo pole of one of the boats).
We stayed at the Vitton resort, which was fine - pretty standard Philippine resort, perhaps a bit upscale since our room had A/C and hot water - and it had a pool. Not a Taj hotel in India, but clean and $50/night for a double.
The only bad part was lack of naps - all three boys were screaming on the plane ride back and all the way home. Took me a bit after we arrived home to remember that the previous two days were a once in a lifetime experience, and I should just block out the three hours of tantrums.
2 comments:
I call BS on "usually boats are more respectful" -- when we were there last year it was easily about 10-15 boats PER whaleshark. It was a fun experience (I also ended up a foot from the mouth of a whaleshark and had to quickly dodge out of the way so the dorsal fin wouldn't hit me), the crowds definitely ruined it for me. Too many people pushing, shoving, hitting me with their fins...
I don't know, Carla, when we went in 2011, there were plenty of sharks and one boat per. It was so great. I remember distinctly how uncrowded it felt. Probably just dependent on many factors.
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