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After two days traveling from Cebu, we finally arrive at Donsol - the tiny fishing village but mecca for whale shark spotters! This is it, the place to see and swim with the Biggest Fish in the World: The Whale Sharks.
I will post about the sharks later, but here are my pictures of Donsol and the Whale Shark Swimming Expedition. Unfortunately, the water off Donsol is so nutrient-rich (the reason the sharks cluster here from December to April) that it appears green and limits visibility. This means I don't have any underwater pictures of me and beast. (Don't let this deter you, I made up for it with the last picture of this post!)
All in all, I swam with two whale sharks. The first, probably 10 meters long, we swam behind for maybe 10 seconds. What a shock it was when the skilled Shark-Spotter suddenly started yelling, "Go! Go! Go!" and we all jumped and flailed into the water, flippers on and holding our masks to our heads... And then, head under, the beast appears through the green murk. Kicking hard to keep up with it (and our guide), the shark disappears.
But an hour later, the second, much larger whale shark was spotted. It was an enormous 17 meters long, and swam right under the boat and right under me in the water. Silence descends as all your focus is directed at the beast, trying desperately to take in everything about the experience. The shark was huge and moving slowly, it's white speckled skin pattern filling my field of vision. I watched the fish for over a minute before it swam lower and disappeared. What an exhilarating and incredibly surreal experience sharing the water with something so big and powerful. I'll never forget it....
I will post about the sharks later, but here are my pictures of Donsol and the Whale Shark Swimming Expedition. Unfortunately, the water off Donsol is so nutrient-rich (the reason the sharks cluster here from December to April) that it appears green and limits visibility. This means I don't have any underwater pictures of me and beast. (Don't let this deter you, I made up for it with the last picture of this post!)
All in all, I swam with two whale sharks. The first, probably 10 meters long, we swam behind for maybe 10 seconds. What a shock it was when the skilled Shark-Spotter suddenly started yelling, "Go! Go! Go!" and we all jumped and flailed into the water, flippers on and holding our masks to our heads... And then, head under, the beast appears through the green murk. Kicking hard to keep up with it (and our guide), the shark disappears.
But an hour later, the second, much larger whale shark was spotted. It was an enormous 17 meters long, and swam right under the boat and right under me in the water. Silence descends as all your focus is directed at the beast, trying desperately to take in everything about the experience. The shark was huge and moving slowly, it's white speckled skin pattern filling my field of vision. I watched the fish for over a minute before it swam lower and disappeared. What an exhilarating and incredibly surreal experience sharing the water with something so big and powerful. I'll never forget it....
Donsol...
My first experience with the whale shark
Our shark-spotter (on the right) and the crew
Waiting for the sharks...
Mount Mayon, the most perfect cone volcano in the world, still active
Me and the whale shark!
Not-Me with a real whale shark (found this online to give you an idea of the experience!)Focus on Whale Sharks next...
4 comments:
I hate you so much! :-D
HOLY CRETACEOUS!!!! That's a big fish!! Remiscient of some armor fish of the Devonian period in size. Very cool. I wish I could've been there.
Peter, which theropod did you draw that skull from? Was it a T-rex or a Daspletosaurus?
holy cow....that thing is huge...sure you see it on NGeographic. but somehow that pic at the end there puts it in perspective.
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