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Butanding 20 feet long (gill part only)
Took this with a handy and disposable waterproof cameraI have long been fascinated about the whale sharks of Donsol. For more than a year, I have read quite a lot of writeups about these misunderstood yet Gentle Giants of the ocean. They are the largest fish in the ocean yet they do not eat fish! They are more like sharks than whales but are called whale sharks due to their enormous size. They are locally called Butandings. To me, they are one of the most adorable creatures of the sea. For many times, this trip has been rescheduled, but on the nth time, I refused. I gathered friends available for the long weekend and together, we created our own itinerary.
There were 5 of us: Mayet and Rommel, my college friends. Manny, my officemate (and loyal travelmate at GXS). Christine, my underwater hockey batchmate. We took a single-seater Isarog Bus from Ali Mall terminal at 800pm, April 28, Friday. It was fairly pleasant till I noticed we passed thru a rough road at around 1am. I don't exactly know where we were because all I see were tall trees and that one long stretch of barren dirt road. That’s when I recall my first trip to Sorsogon 8
years ago. I was still in college that time. It’s disappointing to realize the same dirt road has not been cemented till now!
We arrived 7am at Legaspi City. At the bus terminal we immediately bought tickets for Manila leaving on May 1. Most of the trips were fully booked so we settled for Philtranco (Php 756 leaving at 630pm, May 1, Monday). We took a tricycle and asked them to take us to a nearby food place. Smart suggestion for these folks, they took us to Biggs Diner - the most popular diner chain in Bicol. I had fried bangus, fried egg, and fried rice. The dinaing na bangus was very tasty.
Sorsogon, Sorsogon
We took a van from Legaspi City to Sorsogon. The 1.5 hours drive took us to Sorsogon, Sorsogon. We were about to walk to Fernando’s Hotel from the drop off point when we accidentally saw Villa Kasanggayaan, which was nearer. I recalled reading about that inn at the Lonely Planet so we decided to check it out. We realize it was a good decision because, thru this inn, we got in touch with the right person who brought us to Donsol. We
Mouth of another butanding
Sorry for the poor quality. I hope next time I buy myself a waterproof casing for my canon ixus 60. had lunch at Graceland, another local bakery and food chain in Bicol. I was fond of their combo meals because each meal includes a small serving of bicol express! I ordered their bestseller - Crispy Lechon Kawali with Bicol Express. Superb! (Note: Kasanggayaan, according to Rico, is a deep and now seldom used Bicolano word, which means happy or bountiful.)
Bacon Beach
We took a 20-minute tricycle ride to Bacon Beach. The view on the road was familiar -- rice fields, trees, narrow roads and a sign of Bacon Airport - which does not exist. Haha!
I was a bit disappointed with Bacon Beach. I thought it had coral reefs but there were none! I wish we arrived earlier so we could have taken a boat that will bring us to the nearby islands and some lagoon, they say. But it was already too late in the afternoon. We saw one resort with diving gear displayed on one corner. I approached the receptionist but they were not helpful. I was desperate to see more fish in this beach! I was so desperate I encouraged my friends to swim with me to the farther end and look for
This is how it's supposed to look like!
I took a picture of a picture hung at the Butanding Office at Donsol. At 630am, there were lots of people waiting by the office's yet closed door. some reef. It’s just funny that no matter how far we’ve gone -- my, we’ve really gone far far away from the shore -- still the water was only shoulder-deep and all we see is a sunken grassland! There were a lot of kelp floating in the water I had to shoo them with both arms while snorkeling. There were sea urchins, starfish, small silverfish, and a handful of jellyfish. I think I got stung again on my thigh but I tried to ignore it. I also noticed that the water was unsually warm and cold… cold and warm… the temperature changing and alternating as we go! This beach isn’t also very salty. This beach challenged my impression of what a beach should be. Rommel said something like this beach should be have been perfect for sea cows. Alas! It rang a resounding bell in my head! Yes! This place is a sea cow’s heaven! I can't wait to find someone to ask about this.
Tulong Gapo
Tulong Gapo means ‘three stones’. I read about this highlight of Bacon Beach in the internet and I thought it would a sight. Oh well, it was literally just 3 large
Masacrot Spring
No fuss. Lush vegetation surround a soda-water spring at Irosin, Sorsogon. stones that protrude from the shallow each of the beach. Atleast I was able to see some young bulb anemone, brain coral, some cleaner wrasse (alas! Some color! The one with blue rim on its body!) and a large (my largest sighting so far) school of sea catfish. I think I disturbed them and they swam all over the place so I left them alone immediately.
We had dinner at Balkon, which is walking distance from our inn. It is owned by the same inn we're at and our would-be butanding tour guide. At Balkon, we had Bicol food! Yey! Very spicy!!! Whew! Servings were small pulutan size though but we managed to have our fill.
- Bicol express (meat cooked in coconut milk and chili)
- Kinunot (pagi or stingray cooked in coconut milk and lotsa chili)
- Pinangat (or what is more commonly known as Laing) -- gabi leaves cooked with pork oil and coconut milk and lots and lots of chili
6 Butanding Interactions at Donsol, Sorsogon
We left the inn at 530am for Donsol. We hired a van and travelled with our butanding tour guide who basically did all the hassle
Kinunot at Balkon
Kinunot is stingray (or pagi) cooked in coconut milk, chili and sigarilyas. for us. His name is Rico Estrellado (mobile 09064518212). He was one of the pioneers of Butanding tourism in Donsol. He told us a lot of stories about their discovery of butandings in donsol and how they lobbied for a regulated ecotourism system at the local government.
We arrived at Donsol at 7am. There were already lots of people waiting at the butanding office... foreigners, local travelers aplenty.. young and old, clad in rashguards. We filled out some forms and in no time, we rode a boat. We were assigned one or two spotters, one BIO (Butanding Interaction Officer) -- the only one with mask, snorkel, and fins -- and off we go! YEY!!!
8:00am
In just 30 minutes, we had one interaction! I swam as fast as I could to keep up with the BIO. It was 15 feet! Oh, it was just me who saw the first butanding. I have been trying to go down with it but in no time, it swam deeper and deeper. My ears can't take the depth of more than 6 feet with only my snorkeling gear.
From a distance we saw a dozen dolphins leaping into the air.
Bicol Paella at Casa Dominga
My Favorite! You must try it. It was a pleasant sight! A bonus, the guide said. I asked the guide if we could swim with those dolphins but he said we can’t. Dolphins born in the wild are too aggressive. They tend to nip on people’s ears and noses. Oh well….
8:30am
Another butanding, 20 feet long! Then one sighting from the boat -- its dorsal fin exposed from sea level. It was too fast we didn’t have time to swim with it.
9:05am
Rommel was getting depressed already because he hasn’t seen any whaleshark yet for the last 2 chances. So the moment our BIO said “Go!” he scurried out of the boat and swam with me towards the spot the spotter was pointing at. I didn’t find any so I looked back to the spotters then they told us to swim the other direction because the gentle giant moved there already. So we did… Lo and behold… we saw another 20 foot butanding swimming below us from head to tail! Rommel had the time of this life. Shocked. This is our boat’s third interaction with the whalesharks. This time I planned to find more detail about this creature so I
Shrimps in Aligue at Casa Dominga
Another favorite!!! Shrimps in creamy and spicy crab fat sauce... Hot hot hot!!! decided to swim on its other side. To my dismay, I found 3 huge scars on his dorsal fin. He has probably been hit by a boat propeller before.
Then another sighting just from the boat. It could have been 25feet long!
10:15am
Christine, another hockey player, also took pictures of the sea creature using her own disposable underwater camera. Mayet has had her share of interactions and was very happy with it. By this time, Manny is the only person who hasn’t swam with a butanding. So on this the spotter’s holler, he swam with the BIO and finally saw his first! It was a 7 foot whaleshark. Small, but not bad at all.
An hour has passed and we haven’t seen any more butandings. I wanted to see more but I guess that’s just it for us, for now. There were 60 boats going around as well, all trying to spot these amazing creatures. So we decided to have lunch. Our guide brought us to Amor Farm Beach Resort. There were obviously a lot of people in the resort that some had to pitch their own tents. The food was warm and tasty. We
Pinangat at Waway Restaurant
More pupularly known in Manila as Laing, this dish is a nice blend of gabi leaves, chili, meat and coconut milk wrapped in gabi leaves and tied securely with coconut leaf. All natural! had buttered shrimps, fish, and chopsuey.
Masacrot Spring
We spent the next three hours in the van traveling from Donsol to Irosin. Tired. Sleeping in the van. Exhausted chasing the whale sharks. So dipping into this cold spring was really refreshing! Our guide was right, the spring water felt like soda water… with a slight fizz! This spring has been naturally carved from the Bulusan soil. The guide said he has been to this spring when he was a kid and it remains the same. No fancy cottages. Just plain picnic tables. No tiles. No cement. Lots of trees around. No fuss. Pure nature. The water was so crisp and clear. My snorkeling gear had an instant thorough rinse from the salty waters of Donsol.
Casa Dominga
As Casa Dominga, we had the best dinner of our stay in Bicol. This was by accident too. Initially, we asked the tricycle driver to take us to Mango Grill. It was closed when we got there so we asked him to take us somewhere else they know of. Little did we know that he was about to take us to our best bicolano dinner.
I love love
Daraga Church
Daraga Church is made of volcanic materials. It's the oldest church in Legaspi City. On the right is Mayon Volcano whose perfect cone peak cannot be seen due to cloudy weather =( love Casa Dominga’s Bicol Paella. I love love love their Shrimps in Aligue (Crab Fat). Very yummy. Very tasty. Spicy!!! We also had the usual Bicol Express and Ribs on the safe side. Their version of Bicol Express however, was interesting. It had the usual pork, lotsa green chilis and coconut milk, but it also had pineapple! Aloha Bicol Express? Tee hee. After all the Bicolano meals I have had in this trip so far, I learned one important lesson: Always have a sweet fruit shake during the meal. Plain water is not enough! (Unless you want to burn your precious brain cells.)
Legaspi City
Early the next morning, we checked out from our inn (where we stayed at for 2 nights) and took a van (60 pesos each) that took as to Legaspi Bus terminal. We passed by Cumadcad, Castilla and I snapped more pictures along the 1.5 hour drive. We took a tricyle that took us to Gaisano Mall where we checked in our luggage. Rain poured while we were taking silly pictures with the big balloon of San Miguel Beer. But as soon as the rained stopped, we hired a jeepney that took us
Cagsawa Ruins
The sunken church. That's the belfry on the right. On the left is Mayon Volcano whose perfect cone peak cannot be seen due to cloudy weather at already 2pm. around the city. So much for backpacking travel style… okay okay, I’m not a backpacker, so what? Hehe… We have then decided to call ourselves Comfort Backpackers from then on.
Daraga Church
Daraga Church is atop a hill. It has a nice view of the Mayon Volcano. Lonely Planet says, this church was built with volcanic rocks. It's almost 200 years old, the oldest in Albay. It's obvious how old it is from the outside due to the etched medallions and gothic columns. But inside, it looks very new. Atleast the outside has been preserved. There were 4 medallions, one for each of the 4 gospel authors: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
Cagsawa Ruins
It's a good thing we hired a jeepney for us to go around Legaspi. We did not know that going to Cagsawa Ruins was quite a long distance from the main road. The kids at the tourist spot were helpful in giving us information about the place. They even volunteered to take our pictures and were very well acquainted with our digital cameras. They were ofcourse hoping that we buy their overpriced postcards. Some of us bought their postcards but I chose to just give the kid a tip.
The Ruins were an interesting sight. The first floor of the church was totally buried during the 1814 eruption burying thousands of people. We were actually walking over the second floor of the building, with the belfry left protruding from the ground.
Mayon Volcano however, was not cooperative to us the whole day. Its peak was covered by clouds! Waaaa.... but we managed to take funny pictures of us by Cagsawa anyhow. It has been very cloudy the whole day. We tried to wait for the clouds to move aside but we were too hungry already. We took our late lunch at Waway Restaurant (again, thanks to Lonely Planet). It was 2:30pm and there were quite a lot of tourists in the same resto. Lonely Planet said it has Php 90 Bicolano food buffet... but when we went there, they no longer have that. It's just an open menu, served ala carte.
It was drizzling when we left the restaurant. No wonder Mayon Volcano has been cloudy all day long. We went back to Gaisano Mall to kill time and pick up our luggage. At 630pm, we were at the Legaspi City bus terminal and it was raining hard. Solb! Arrived Cubao at 530am the next day.
(Notes on Philtranco: Bad. We had to travel elsewhere in Bicol to pick up families who reserved for seats in the bus. We had about a dozen stopovers. The last stopover where we had dinner was a creepy canteen! We decided to just have instant cup noodles. The bus was shaky and I hardly slept in the 11 hour ride. Mine and Christine's seat shook like hell and I thought we were about to fly out the window!)
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Yoli
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What an adventure!
Grabe ah, inggit ako dyan. I must try this when I come back home. The food also makes my tummy growl. Thanks for sharing your adventure.