of the spots on the Pass actually has
his name on it: RAC Point, another spot
known for manta ray encounters.
Our boat was a good indicator of
how Ticao is faring these days. Our
group was composed of four Filipinos,
the Swedish father-and-son duo and
three British divers. The Brits were in
Ticao on a diving stop before going
over to Donsol; two of them were in
the country specifically to see the
whale sharks. The Swedes go to the
Philippines annually for their winter
break: “It is our sixth time here in the
Philippines, but the first time in Bicol
and Masbate,” Robert says. They
all found Ticao, a drive and ferry
ride from Masbate City, while
looking for dive trips in the
Philippines, working the once-
obscure destination into their
itineraries.
The face of Ticao is changing
alongside that of neighboring
Donsol. In Donsol you often
find fishermen and townspeople
marveling at the good fortune
that tourism has brought to their
community, and the same is beginning
in Ticao. Our dive boat was one of a
small fleet hired from the fishing village
next to the resort; its boat captain
and crew are all locals. Rico and his
associate have made it their mission
and advocacy to PADI-certify all those
willing to take the training.
The long-term upshot to all this
is that the residents of Ticao might
find it in their best interest to better
preserve the marine life in their
waters, practising more sustainable
fishing methods to keep the fish
jumping and the tourists coming. And
it comes at a good time: scientific
reports on the Ticao and Burias
Passes hadn’t all been stellar prior
to this, and everyone bemoans the
noticeable drop in dolphin sightings
—
and in the sardine catches that the
fishermen used to rely on. But just as
114
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never having imagined what it was like
underwater before.
“
I see it this way: it’s hard to
care about something you don’t
understand. But once you’re
underwater, once you’ve come close
to an animal, once you’ve seen it in its
natural habitat, you understand what
you need to care for,” Rico says.
In the late afternoon, I borrow a
kayak from the dive center and paddle
out to the opposite shore to get a
view of Ticao from the water. The
sky is beginning to turn into
that deep pink-and-blue that I
can never see in the city. The
Swiss family with the three
young children are returning
from the beachside stroll they
take every afternoon, where
they are always joined by a
polite group of children from the
village. Guests from the resort
are enjoying the afternoon sun,
reading on hammocks and chairs on
the shore. The dive shop has about a
dozen wetsuits out on the deck, drying
for tomorrow’s run. I paddle out just far
enough to see all this and get a view
of Mount Mayon in the blue distance,
and just when I’m about to head back,
there’s something that catches my
eye. It’s a large eagle ray, playfully
breaching the water and jumping out
about a foot or two above the waves.
They’re out there somewhere, and
with any luck, they’ll stick around.
Cebu Pacific flies to Masbate from
Cebu.
the anglers of Donsol, who used to
shoo away the whale sharks with long
poles, are now trained “Butanding
Interaction Officers” who educate and
guide tourists in their town, so the
transformation can happen in Ticao.
“
Gusto mag-training para maging
divemaster!”
confides one of the
members of the boat crew to me. He’s
been diving for two years now, and
has an Open Water certification to his
name. He’s really interested, he says,
M A N T A R A Y S I N M A S B A T E
Ticao Island Resort
is a 25-minute boat
ride away from
Ticao Pass; (inset)
the manta ray has
a brighter future,
thanks to the surge
in tourism
PHOTO
COURTESY OF TICAO ISLAND RESORT
