One of my volunteer jobs here in the Philippines is my work as a VP for the Peace Corps Alumni Foundation for Philippine Development (PCAFPD), whose work here is supported by Peace Corps volunteers [plus some others] who served in the Philippines. 
PCAFPD supports college scholarships for deserving students. 
In Manila, we helped set up the PSAA or Peace Corps Scholars and Alumni Association. With this group we developed plans to begin making visits to “clusters” of scholars and alumni to help them develop into mutual support groups. When we started talking about visiting the “Bicol Cluster,” I right away decided that this would have to coincide with the Butanding season (January-May) when these giant whale sharks can be sighted in Philippine waters near the province of Sorsogon in the Bikol region. Not only do you get an opportunity to see these huge fish but you can swim with them. Of course, I had to give that a try.
PCAFPD supports college scholarships for deserving students. 
In Manila, we helped set up the PSAA or Peace Corps Scholars and Alumni Association. With this group we developed plans to begin making visits to “clusters” of scholars and alumni to help them develop into mutual support groups. When we started talking about visiting the “Bicol Cluster,” I right away decided that this would have to coincide with the Butanding season (January-May) when these giant whale sharks can be sighted in Philippine waters near the province of Sorsogon in the Bikol region. Not only do you get an opportunity to see these huge fish but you can swim with them. Of course, I had to give that a try.
We had planned to drive down there and do sightseeing along the way. However, at the last minute, Noel changed his mind and so two of us took the overnight [12-hour] bus trip from Manila to Sorsogon City where, after meeting with the scholars on Wednesday, we proceeded on to the town of Donsol later that same afternoon. We stayed overnite at a very nice beach resort and early the next morning walked to the next-door tourism office to register and arrange for our whaling trip.
Thankfully, we were on one of the first boats out and soon spotted our first whale shark. We quickly put on our fins and snorkeling gear and jumped into the water. Sadly, the water is not all that clear and you have to swim around a bit to find the fish. I certainly did – I managed to swim right into him (or her?) and could not avoid a collision. Sighting and touching were almost simultaneous … I’ll never forget looking right at that huge animal and only then realizing we had collided face to face, staring each other down. Luckily, they prefer to dine on plankton so I’m still around to tell about it.
Thankfully, we were on one of the first boats out and soon spotted our first whale shark. We quickly put on our fins and snorkeling gear and jumped into the water. Sadly, the water is not all that clear and you have to swim around a bit to find the fish. I certainly did – I managed to swim right into him (or her?) and could not avoid a collision. Sighting and touching were almost simultaneous … I’ll never forget looking right at that huge animal and only then realizing we had collided face to face, staring each other down. Luckily, they prefer to dine on plankton so I’m still around to tell about it.
Our first butanding measured probably 30 to 40 feet (they can get up to over 50 feet); it really is difficult to grasp the size of it -- suffice it to say that it is huge and awesome. According the literature, they are the largest fish in the world. After seeing some eight of them, I can only agree with that description. The underwater pictures you see in this blog are not mine but were copied from various internet sites.
By the way, the cone-shaped mountain in one of the pictures is the famous Mout Mayon Volcano.
Later, when we returned to our hotel in Sorsogon, we noticed two ladies watching a video on a computer. After a few minutes, they turned it off and I said it looked like nice footage.
It turned out that one of them was a producer for ABS-CBN television in Manila doing a whale documentary with one of the well known local female TV hosts (Karina). Actually, we had seem them from our bangka, filming the whale-watching scene. The clip will air tomorrow evening and then we can see if we can identify our boat among the 10 or so that were in that area.
It turned out that one of them was a producer for ABS-CBN television in Manila doing a whale documentary with one of the well known local female TV hosts (Karina). Actually, we had seem them from our bangka, filming the whale-watching scene. The clip will air tomorrow evening and then we can see if we can identify our boat among the 10 or so that were in that area.