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D O N S O L
T
he water is as smooth as glass and
the wind barely a whisper as we
motor out to sea from the Elysia
Beach Resort. The noontime sun feels hot
on my skin as I fidget in my finned feet, my
right hand clutching my snorkel mask so
tightly that my knuckles are white.
I’m on a journey to see the
butanding
(whale sharks) but the prognosis is
bleak. “No sightings for three days,” says
our guide fromDonsol Eco Tour, a Bicol
region specialist and the organizer of our
trip. Thirty-five boats went out each day,
only to return with their disappointed
passengers clutching waterproof cameras
that had gone nowhere near the waves.
I know the feeling. In January 1998, I
was part of a media group organized by
WWF Philippines to interact with these
gentle giants. I’d heard a few unforgettable
stories from friends who had swumwith
the butanding. Once, a friend jumped into
cloudy water and fearlessly freestyled
Awhale of a fish
LOW EXPECTATIONS AND HIGH HOPES MARK
A DREAMER’S QUEST FOR WHALE SHARKS IN
DONSOL. BY MAYA O. CALICA
towards a pod of whale sharks. When the
visibility improved, he was jolted by the
sight of a butanding’s eye locked on his
own from just ten inches away.
Such stories had me fixating on the
idea of swimming with the whale sharks
myself and, ideally, having my own tale
to tell. For three days, we set out with
theWWF Philippines crew in hopes of
spotting a few but, unfortunately, came up
empty each time.
As I undertake my second expedition,
I feel the same anxiety that gripped me
15 years earlier. “Don’t worry, everyone’s
having fun,” my husband Nigel tells me.
Everyone — his mother, his uncle, his
brother, his best friend and his girlfriend,
and my stepdaughter — had flown to
Donsol fromNew Zealand and Australia,
traveling on three planes and two boats
to reach the island. It was a long journey
and I hope that — despite the odds —we’ll
see what we came for. So I bargain with
From top: get
up close and
personal with
these gentle
giants; row out
to butanding
territory in a
banca; some of
them grow to
50ft or more
SUMMER UNDERWATER
DOUBLE FEATURE
MAIN PHOTO
STEVE DE NEEF
OTHER PHOTOS
TOMMY SCHULTZ
