Holy S*%#, Wow!

The title of this post represents my exact words in response to our next adventure.... whale sharks. This is a very difficult blog to write, because no matter what I say here I don't think there is any way I can describe the absolute and complete wonder of swimming next to these massive creatures. I had heard about them, seen pictures, video, I didn't get it, I even considered skipping over this part of the trip. Gabe said we had to go, I had to experience it. He was so right.

We flew into the town of Legaspi where Gabe immediately wrangled up a minivan and a couple of new friends for us to share it with on our trip to Donsal. Donsal is a tiny little fishing village that is speeding it's way into Philippines tourism fame due to the discovery of whale sharks in the neighborhood. The tiny Barangay consists of a single road with rice paddies and grass huts on one side and guesthouses popping up along the other. We settled into a room and made our way out to Barracuda with our new friends Kelly and Jeff for a night of pesto, Tanduay and incredibly out there stories from the extremely chatty bar owner.



Despite a late night we were all up with the sun the next day. The local government does a very good job of regulating the tourism and protecting the whale sharks and their environment. After an educational video we were assigned to a boat with 5 other marine explorers, 4 whale shark spotters, a guide and a captain. We spent a good hour trolling the open ocean and I was beginning to wonder if we were going to be disappointed when the boat slowed and our guide jumped in with a backwards shout of follow me!

Gabe on the lookout, beneath the lookout.


We are so ready!




The seven of us splashed in after him but I didn't see anything...then our guide grabs my hand and points directly underneath me. Out of the blue abyss a massive spotted shape forms. It was like staring at a magic eye picture the way it suddenly appeared just a few feet beneath me! I ducked down and swam with the gigantic beast, no thought of my need for oxygen as I kicked alongside in absolute wonder. When I realized that I didn't have gills and I had better make my way up I burst to the surface, took a deep breath and shouted "Holy S*%#, wow!" Gabe got a really big kick out of that :)



We all got back onto the boat with grins lighting up our faces, adrenaline pumping through our veins. The next trip into the drink brought a shy shark who quickly exposed his belly to me as he dove sharply into the deep. Following him was the massive beast that nearly surfaced directly beneath me! We were the first boat out on the water but slowly more and more joined the chase until we counted 17 others in hot pursuit. We searched for the tell-tale shadow, jumped in, swam along an immense gentle creature until it chose to leave us for more exciting adventures down below, then back in the boat and over again. Our final dip brought it all home when we left all the other boats behind and joined a 40 foot giant for a languid swim. It was bad ass.

Kelly's face say's it all.


Our dreams fulfilled in Donsal we left that very afternoon. On our way to North Luzon...