Whalespotting 1: The Butanding Adventure in Donsol, Sorsogon

It has been raining real hard the past several days out in my area. Just a couple of nights ago, it rained the whole time, with lots of thunder-rumbling and lightning strikes in between. AND IT’S STILL SUPPOSED TO BE SUMMER WHAT THE. So I suppose that means summer is coming to a close. Before the month of May ends, though, let me make a series of summer-y posts. It’s a throwback of sorts, since it’s about the first time I saw whales for the first time. In their natural habitat.

Incidentally, I am about to leave in a couple of hours for a work-related trip (with a side trip, of course. You know me. *wink wink*)

Remember when I posted about our Mt. Bulusan climb a couple of years back? Check out the posts here, here and here. What I failed to elaborate on was what we did the next day, the side trip that was spontaneous. Kinda.

When they said we were gonna swim to be able to see the whales or, in the local dialect, the butanding, the first thought on my head was “I CANNOT SWIM”. But my reservations were assuaged quite easily later on.

(Disclaimer: All photos are mine, except for those with watermark on them courtesy of Hazel.)

On The Way To See The Whale Sharks

At 7:30 AM, we left Legazpi City, where we stayed for the night, on a rented van that will take us on that considerably long trip to Donsol, where the famed butandings are.

Two and a half hours later, we arrived at the Donsol Tourist Center. (Check out their website for more information.) If you’re hiring/renting a van out of Legazpi, the driver is likely to know where it is. If not, it’s just along the national highway, so you can’t miss it if you just keep your eyes peeled.

One helpful sign would be to look for the offices of the Bicol Dive Center. The Tourism Center is right across the road from it.

The butandings come to Donsol and stay there during the months of December to May. Around May, they start to leave before the rainy season comes. This probably explained why, that day, May 2 (which was a Sunday, too) there were many tourists that came to do some whale-watching. So we had to join a queue, as they only allow 30 boats to go out to sea at a time.

The first thing you should do when you go there is to register at the Donsol Tourist Center office. That’s where we also paid the fees. One boat, which is good for a maximum of 6 people, costs Php3,500. (Their rates haven’t changed the last time I checked. I could be wrong, though.)

There were 7 of us – 4 females and 3 males. And no, they won’t allow 7 people on one boat, since there are also the guide and boatmen. The price would be too steep if there’s just the 4 of us on one boat, and the 3 of the guys on another.

So the 3 guys looked for another boat to join in. Fortunately, two other ladies were looking for a boat to join in, and that completed the 6 of us.

After registering and paying, there was a ten-minute video presentation about the whale shark interaction, just to let us know what to expect, what to do and not to do. A short orientation followed.

It was here that I was put at ease, considering my lack of swimming knowledge. There’d be vests, they said, and the guide will be there to….err, guide us. So my excitement levels just went strrrraight up.

But we still had to wait for some of the boats that went out earlier to come back.

So what did we do while waiting our turn? EARLY LUNCH. This was in a restaurant behind the Donsol Tourist Center.

On the left is the famous “Bicol Express“, described as “pork cooked in coconut milk with shrimp paste and chili peppers”. On the right is “kinunot”, which is “flaked fish in coconut oil”. I remember loving the kinunot so much I largely ignored the Bicol Express.

It was such a beautifulllll day! Just look at all that blue!!! Days like these, I am reminded why it is my all-time favorite color.

All Aboard!!

Finally, at 11:00 AM, we were summoned. Before that, we already got changed into our swimming gear, rented some snorkels while we’re at it.

Meet our guide-slash-dive master, Kuya Henry. In this boat, he is King. The 6 of us, and his 3-person crew, are his mere subjects ergo followers.

Looking at the fine weather, it was hard to believe that, the day before, Mt. Bulusan had an episode (translation: emitted some smoke and gave signs of erupting soon).

The weather was also nice enough to give us a glimpse of Mayon Volcano in the other direction.

And so it began. And this is how it goes.

The boat will take you far out to the sea, there’s a spotter usually taking his spot (no pun intended) high up on the boat, using his eagle eyes to seek out where the whale sharks are. Once he spots one, he’d give the signal to the captain, who will then steer the boat to that direction.

Since we’re talking several boats out at sea at one time, it’s literally a race.

If you’re lucky, you’d be the first at the spot, and you can see the butanding before the “crowd” drives it away.

What happens when the boat managed to position itself above or near the butanding?

We jump.

We’re obedient so, as instructed, whenever the spotter gives the signal, we take our seats at the side of the boat, ready to jump at a moment’s notice. When Kuya Henry tells us to “Jump, jump, JUMP!” We do.

During the first jump, I hesitated a bit.

But then I spotted the giant butanding moving down below, and IT WAS EVERYTHING. (At that moment, at least.) In the two or three other times he yelled “Jump!” I was in the water before he could say the word for the third time.

Here’s the thing: we don’t have action cameras or underwater cameras. So all we have are our eyes and the snapshots that we captured with our eyes and stored in our hearts and memories. (Naks!)

There were two butandings in the area during that time, and we jumped a total of five times. We were in the water for close to two hours. We could have stayed longer, but the butandings have already moved further out to sea, where the boats can no longer follow.

If you’re wondering how we were able to catch up with the butandings when I didn’t know how to swim…. well, that’s all Kuya Henry. Imagine him pulling a bunch of girls who can’t swim with just a buoy. XDDDD That’s us.

It was worth the money to see these gentle giants, even from a distance. When you look at them down below, you’d have this feeling as if you are being swept along when, in reality, it’s the butanding moving, and you’re (well, us who can’t swim) are just stuck there, floating and flailing.

By the way, if you availed of the Butanding Interaction experience, you’d get a certification at the end.

We felt so blessed to have been able to spot the two butandings especially since it’s the end of the season for them to be in Donsol. Seriously, the money paid was more than worth it, and I felt great to have added another precious memory in my “memory bank”.

In fact, I enjoyed it so much that, when given the opportunity to do it again, I grabbed it. And that will be in my next post. See ya then!