One of my Top 10: Swimming with Whale Sharks - the Biggest Fish in the Sea

I have wanted to swim with whale sharks for decades - since I found them in Australia years ago (but they were on the West coast, and we were on the East - and Australia is as enormous as these fish....so I never met up with them there, and only became more enamored of them).

I was amazed and excited when I read that these were in the Philippines when I did my due diligence before accepting the Peace Corps offer.  Little did I know that my assignment would put me in close proximity to these creatures.  Donsol, in Bicol - about a 12 hour bus ride from Manila (which is a 1hour, 4000 peso flight from here) is the renowned tourist spot for swimming with these sharks - and friends who have swum with them there - and here - say that Palawan is far better - primarily due to the crystal clear waters and the fact that currently, only one boat tour even does this.  In Donsol it is similar to being on safari in Kenya, where 7 jeeps full of tourists huddle round a poor cheetah, panting over his kill, bothered by humans snapping photos - somehow not exactly a National Geographic moment.  In Palawan, The Last Frontier, only 12 people fit in the boat, which leaves at 7am from Puerto's "Baybay" (the promenade along the bay), skippered by Toto, owner of the boat. 

I had found Toto somehow, and texted him that I would like to go sometime and asked if he might call me to give me some information on how it worked.  One day later, Friday, as I was in a multicab on my way to work, he called and said they would go out the following morning - that butanding (Tagalog for whale shark) had been spotted by fishermen - Did I want to go?  OMG OMG  OMG!!  I texted Rich, Matt and Krystal, Will and Petra explaining things.  Cost was steep for us:  1,500 for 6 hours, including lunch (my daughters howled when I told them this - that equates to about $35 US)...but for us on our  $200/month, it is a big chunk of change.  I've talked to volunteers who live in the middle of nowhere, who save their money simply because there is nothing to do - not even a place to eat out.  Here on Palawan, there are many adventures to eat up your pesos - and I am SOOOO thankful that I am here!!!

Rich and his girlfriend Alina responded quickly, and Matt and Krystal soon thereafter...Will and Petra were both busy (kawawa at sayang!).  So, the 5 of us prepared our masks and snorkels - you don't scuba dive with the sharks as they are afraid of the bubbles - and they swim slowly enough that you can swim alongside them....although not as slowly as I assumed.

I awoke about 2am to huge thunder and lightning and torrential rains....so sad.  Matt texted about 5:30 figuring the trip was canceled, but around 6am I reached Toto, who said the clouds were lifting and we were a go!!  We all convened at the boat at 7am, and then waited for 3 guys from Pakistan who had returned here to finish off their vacation - divers all, they were young and enthused.

The trip began leisurely enough, making our way out of the harbor, through the colorful fishing ships....

seeing the maritime vessels of the Philippine Navy - WWII vintage ships that looked like our small boat could outrun them

    

...past the squatters, of the ethnic tribe "Badjao", sometimes called the Gypsy of the Sea here.  This group originated in Mindanao, but due to the political unrest there, were forced away.  Oddly, because they are primarily sea dwellers, they are not covered under the laws for indigenous peoples - the definition of which requires land possession.  So, these displaced and poor - I mean POOR - people drift and land wherever they can, seeking a way to live near the sea as the only livelihood they know.  As we motored deeper into the sea, we could see the airstrip at the edge of the bayan, and we headed north, toward Honda Bay, but far offshore - perhaps an hour out.

The crew told us that the butanding are plankton- and krill-feeders and the way they are often found is that they come to the surface, especially on sunny days, to feed.  Spotters look for birds flocking and diving for fish, as well as the churning of water with fish. 

 I'd never seen anything like it - the waters actually churn with flapping tuna, and krill and plankton accompany those larger fish.  Our spotter climbed to the top of the mast and balanced there...we went from churning water to birds to fish jumping out of the water - remember, we are way, way offshore....not as though we are in the shallows - the amount of fish and the splashing about was incredible.  The spotter sighted a butanding and told us to get ready, explaining that we were to wait until they told us to go - they would get the boat as close as possible - we were then to dive in and swim as hard as we could to catch up to the shark.  I am a decent swimmer and thought it would be a breeze compared to other people.

Hah!!  They told us to get ready....wait....wait...GO! GO! GO!   I launched into the ocean and swam as hard as I could toward the shark....good grief it was a long way off....good grief, I'm pooped and need to catch my breath!   I did see the tail as it left me in the dust...um, krill.  Whew!  So much for that.....I wondered if I would ever get close enough to really see it.  I thought swimming would be easier than this.

We had only seen one shark (well, someone had seen it - not me!) and we had been out nearly 2 hours....I hoped we would see another - but there are certainly no guarantees.  We trolled for another 40 minutes - and Toto communicated with the fisherman using a short wave radio - had they seen any?  where?  etc etc.  Then, there was another!  We followed it - again, our spotter up on the mast, telling the captain which way to turn...you could almost do it yourself - just follow the flapping fish....somewhere underneath was the shark, feeding.  You can see from the picture, how we waited on the pontoons of the boat - sailing through the water.  Actually, one of the Pakistani dudes didn't hold on well and was brushed over the pontoon by the force of the water - he would have bruises tomorrow, but at least he didn't get knocked out or lost.  Again, it was "wait.....wait.....wait"   then GO! GO! GO!   I got closer this time, but still not very close...but how exhilarating it was!!!  And, how exhausting!  Not only did you swim as fast as you could - you had to return to the boat, and then climb up back onto the pontoon, and then on up into the boat.  This lovely shot shows you how you had to leverage yourself to clamber up the pontoon.

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The third time was a great swim and I finally saw the beautiful fish - a beautiful animal - with a strange rounded mouth - no teeth, but still, a fish 20-30 feet long coming toward you with an open mouth....gives you a scare.  The body is a bluish gray and the markings are like starbursts, which become more distinct as you approach the head, where the starbursts become more of a purple color - really beautiful.  And in the clear waters of Palawan - Grabe!!

At this point, most of us were really tired and we had an early lunch - but the lunch was like no other - the freshest fish you've ever eaten - Toto radioed one of the fishermen close by and he put-puttered over alongside of us and sent up two huge tunafish!!!        Our cook made us delicious sashimi with kalamansi and soy and then cooked the rest.  We had mangoes and bananas, rice, talong and this amazing fish.  It would have been nice to sit on the pontoons longer and float for a while.....but they spotted another shark!!!  

And this one was the most amazing dive of the day - I dived right on top of it, and although I didn't have a camera, this is what I saw - only closer, swimming alongside its right eye.  Absolutely incredible

Be sure to play this full screen (press the arrow thing in the lower right).  He swims very close to the surface, and although he swims slowly, with one flick of his tail, he's gone.