CHASING WHALE SHARKS

It has been over 30 years since I last traveled to Bicol. I can vaguely recall that I last went there on a business trip, leaving Quezon City very early in the morning and returning very late in the evening. The most familiar memories involved the cemented roadway with numerous partially-collapsed segments, forcing one to slowdown abruptly or end up with a flat tire if not with broken tire rod ends. But what I remember clearly was when my parents took the whole family on a tour to Bicol via the Philippine National Railway (PNR) from Tutuban station in Divisoria. We rode the PNR’s air-conditioned coach, freezing cold even with blankets on. The train stopped in different towns along the way to transfer passengers and cargo. The tracks were a bit bumpy, but added excitement as we passed trough sea and countryside scenic routes still imprinted in my memory.

This time out, I traveled only with my sister Bobbie and our nephew Dominic Faustino. Bobbie arranged the logistical needs of our road adventure. Debating whether to travel on a weekend or weekday or by air or land, we chose the latter since we would have more opportunities to see interesting sites along the route. Our main destination was Donsol.

We hit the road before 5AM. The weather was cool and overcast, raining a little over Laguna. Upon reaching Quezon National Park diversion road, we pulled over the roadside that had a scenic bird’s-eye view of Quezon’s plains and shoreline. This was also where we ate our packed breakfast of croissant and hard boiled eggs. Unfortunately, the cemented roads on this route were horrific. The cargo trucks constantly plied this road left the roads in the same condition as they were 30 years ago.

After another half-hour, we found ourselves passing through Quezon’s lush landscape of rolling hills towered with acres and acres of age-old coconut trees.

Upon reaching the seaside town of Gumaca, we made a quick stop at the San Diego of Alcala Cathedral, reconstructed only in the mid-1800s after being burned down by the Dutch in the late 1600s.  The interior, already refurbished, still depicts the centuries of service it has given to Gumaca’s worshippers.

We later drove onward to Camarines Sur’s winding mountain road then down to Bicol, stopping by Milaor, Camarines Sur’s St. Joseph’s church.  Built in the 1700’s, this brick & stone structure was initiated by Franciscan missionaries from Spain. The belfry was finished in the mid-1800. Unfortunately, we arrived in the middle of the day so its doors were closed to visitors. After a few photos we drove on to Naga City, already hungry for a Bicolano meal.

Lunch was at the “Little Adam of Asia” in Naga City, a gourmet restaurant that included local dishes in their menu.  We ordered their version of Bicol Express, Laing, Kinunot na Pating, and some fried pork on the side. It was a delicious meal indeed.

We continued on with our journey, making a last stop over to another church in Daraga, better known as the Cagsaua ruins. The most famous among Bicol’s churches, Cagsaua church was built in the late 1500’s and was also burned by the Dutch adventurists in the mid-1600s. Rebuilt in the 1700s, this place of worship now lies in ruins due to Mt. Mayon. Its eruption in 1814 destroyed and almost completely buried its structure along with a thousand people inside, leaving only its belfry and remnants of its church upper walls. Today the mountain ironically forms part of its favorite tourist backdrop, reminding us of the unstoppable power of nature.

Leaving Daraga, we reached our final destination, Donsol at around 5:30PM. With all the side trips and photo-ops, our car’s odometer recorded 533 kilometers of driving, using approximately 45-50 liters of gasoline.

We stayed in AGM Resort, one of the several beach resorts lined along Donsol beach. Composed of two rows of single-story buildings and several cabins, the resort provided us with comfortable and decent amenities throughout our stay.

The following morning, the weather

remained overcast, with intermittent showers and strong winds blowing from the northeast (Amihan). Not bothered by the weather, we went ahead with our plan to see the Butandings (whale sharks). We took the tricycle to register at the Donsol Registration Center around 7:30AM. Surprisingly, dozens of foreign visitors were already queued in even on a weekday.

We paid the one time registration fee (good for 3 days) and joined three others on a boat (6 passengers max) and shared with the boat fee. A Butanding spotter/dive guide named Jack was assigned to our group. Although we brought our own mask, snorkel and fins, a private concessionaire also rents them out at a nearby stand.

The whale-watching area covered a small section of Donsol, from the mouth of the main river up to the nearest northern point. The overcast weather presented difficulty to our whale shark spotter especially when the tip of their long caudal (rear) fin did not break surface.

After several runs, our spotter finally saw a fin. Our boat and a few others sped up towards the swim direction of the whale, encircling it, slowing down to let us all slide over the side of the boat and swim towards the Butanding. Though the whale may seem quite slow to swim, its slow single caudal fin stroke gives it a boost of speed that is hard to catch up to. The water visibility wasn’t too clear, averaging 1.5 meters horizontally. Our spotter said that this was due to the plankton-rich water.

We were ecstatic to see this gentle giant. Even the first-time snorkeler in our party, who seemed reluctant to jump in the dark water, suddenly had a change of heart as she eagerly donned her gear faster than our spotter did.

After seeing one whale for a short time, we all climbed back into our boat and continued to search for another whale. We repeated this until the 3-hour tour limit was done.

The next day, the weather was much better with sunny, clear skies and a cool breeze. Several boats were already spotting whales in front of the registration center.

We saw most of the whales’ further out from shore where they tend to dive deeper as dozens of watchers swam towards them. But with clearer visibility one can dive and see all the details of the whale from tip-to-tip over and under. The best part was seeing the whale’s small eye look in on you and squint after.  One whale had its whole body covered with a family of Remoras, with the juveniles on top and adults underneath all feeding on the Butanding’s waste and leftovers.

Our spotters were very good swimmers and tended to their divers. They led the group right on top of the Butanding trying their best to get everyone see the magnificent creature.

 Although a written and posted rule of “1 boat, 1 Butanding”, there were at least 8 boats with a total of 56 snorkelers (including the spotter) chasing it. The Butandings must surely get the shock of their lives seeing numerous skin divers swimming beside it. This leads one to worry that we might accidentally lose one diver after a fast swim chase, or that a boat’s propeller could accidentally run over an unwary basking whale shark. The local officials of Donsol should probably look over the rules and regulations they have created and check whether it is being followed or enforced.

The influx of foreign divers have already marked Donsol as one of the world’s best whale shark site, therefore it is the responsibility of Donsol’s local government to preserve and protect the Butandings and its natural environment, enforce safety and security standards to all stakeholders, these includes both the foreign and local tourists, the boat owners & their crew, spotters, local business establishments and concessionaires, local transport and the community.

After the all morning’s adrenaline rush, our hunger needed to be filled. We ate lunch in Baracuda Bar & Grill (spelled with a single ‘r’). Located near the registration center, the bar offered excellent Mediterranean-style seafood dishes. For appetizer we ate fresh, lightly-marinated squid in vinegar, and for our main meal we had steamed long clawed blue crabs, specially marinated grilled prawns, pasta with pesto sauce and pasta with Baracuda’s tomato sauce.

 We left Donsol the next morning around 5:00 AM. Upon reaching Daraga, we stopped by its hilltop church and made offerings to the Nuestra Señora de la Porteria. Built in the late 1700s, the church later became the worship place of Casagua’s townsfolk after the aforementioned eruption in 1814. During the Second World War, the church was used as a local headquarters by the Japanese occupation, and was later destroyed. It was rebuilt again in 1971 in a similar style to its original construction.

Moving forward we made a quick stop at Bato where several stores along the highway were selling Bato Pancit (flat dried wheat noodles). They came in four flavours: squash, malunggay, carrots, and regular. We bought a few packs of each to satisfy our curiosity on how they tasted. The next stop was for breakfast at Nabua before we decided to take a look at Lake Buhi which was about 40 minutes past Iriga City. We drove west along the lakeside road and made a couple of stops to enjoy the view. The lake was a bit choppy then due the prevailing winds (Amihan).

 


















We stopped over for a roadside lunch at Eleanor’s Native Food House on top of Camarines Norte mountain range, one that was well worth our money.

Upon reaching Quezon’s National Forest, we decided to take the old road less traveled, passing through the park’s interior. The forest’s roadside view was beautiful, presenting its original old trees with thick foliage and hardly any coconut trees. Although steep in grade, this road was much better than the decrepit diversion road.

The trip to Donsol was well worth the drive. Southern Luzon’s country site is still gratifying making our road trip seem short, but would take decades to fade in our

memory.  Diving with the whale sharks in their natural environment and hearing the ecstatic laughter of the divers after each encounter were in it self a rewarding experience, an encounter not to miss.