Have you ever dreamed of swimming with the biggest fish in the sea? Stop dreaming and grab a flight anytime between May and June, during the whale sharks mating season. The fishing village of Donsol is located all the way at the southern tip of Luzon island in the Philippines. This quaint little village transforms itself into a big tourist hub during this time. The locals have adjusted their lifestyle and legislation to both protect and profit from whale sharks. In the past, whale sharks in the area were carelessly hunted down and killed for their prized shark fins. Unfortunately this still goes on all over the world with shark fin dishes popping up all over the Asian food scene.
If you are not aware of this cruel unnecessary hunt just imagine you are a whale shark swimming around minding your own business, when out of nowhere you are dragged out of the water onto a boat. Someone slices all of your fins off just to throw you back to sink to the bottom and drown. The money gained by killing them far outweighs what they were worth alive.
Lucky for us and the whale sharks there is a happy ending or new beginning to this story. The locals and the government have teamed up to put a stop to the killing and develop a new industry centered around tourism. Creating rules to protect these sharks realizing they can be worth much more alive than dead. There are rules like; only 30 boats on the water at one time, one boat per shark, no touching sharks, 5 minute exposure time, etc.
Arriving in Donsol and excited to swim with these great giants we went straight to the tourism center to book our trip. After a short video outlining all the rules to keep the animals and their environment around for everyone to enjoy. Afterwards, we found our bungalow right next door.
Waking to roosters we were greeted by a beautiful sunrise. Slapping on sunscreen and gathering up our snorkeling gear we then walked down the beach to the whale shark interpretation center.
We met up with our guide, captain and spotters as well as 4 other clients on our boat. A couple from Germany and 2 guys from France. We hit it off right away and started swapping stories on the boat. The captain climbs down under this big V8 engine in a hole near the stern with a rope in hand, my curiosity peaked. With the help of some of the crew and one end of the rope wrapped around the main pulley of the engine he started it up. That’s one way to do it, who needs batteries?
- Waiting to jump back in the water
As our excitement and anticipation grew, we were starting to worry that maybe we would be one of the unlucky groups that do not encounter whale sharks. Unlike some other whale shark tourism program’s they do not feed the sharks therefore there is no guaranty that we will see them. The spotters stood up on ladders to get a good vantage point scanning the horizon. They spot one!
- Keeping a lookout
Just like that the action starts and the captain brings us in for a closer look. From the surface the whale sharks can look like a large dark spot on a blue background. Almost like a submerged rock but with white spots showing up as the shark moves closer to the surface. “Everyone get ready” our guide says.
Mask, snorkel, and flippers on we wait for our queue to hop in and swim next to this giant beast. “Go, Go, Go, follow me” He yells. We all of course chase after him into the murky plankton filled water. This guy can swim, I’m thinking to myself trying to catch up with our guide occasionally popping my head out of the water to be sure I’m still heading in the right direction. Kicking fast through the sea of murky plankton I abruptly ran face to face with a giant mouth. Marveling at this amazing animal as it effortlessly moved through the water now under me.
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- Big Mouth
Floating just above this amazing fish as it breezed past lightly moving it’s tail side to side. Any fear I might have had quickly dissolved, realizing this was no beast but a majestic beauty of the sea.
After our time with that shark we spotted and swam with a few more. Some for a brief while before the shark became shy or had enough and swam deeper out of sight. While other interactions were longer giving me the sense that the shark wanted to play. Every interaction left us with a sense of gratitude and left me in awe.
- As I asked the guide if these jellyfish could sting me he just put one in my hand. There’s my answer.
When we got back to shore we all got together and exchanged pictures with our new friends from our boat. Even got some tips for our upcoming travels. Snorkeling with whale sharks was one of my highlights of our trip. Lets all work to keep them around as long as we can. Say No to Shark Fining! Also check them out yourself.
Live Wildly Intrepid!
Carpe Diem
Cory
