Donsol Whale Shark Adventure

February 28, 2013February 28, 2013 / wrightsolution / Leave a comment

Mount Mayon taken from the airport arrival in Legaspi. Hello big guy!

We set off a couple of weeks ago to Legaspi, about an hour flight away from Manila and home to the very visible, omnipresent Mount Mayon, an active volcano. I was taking a group of 40+ people to see the gentle, giant whale sharks that pass through the Philippines at this time of year. But I’m starting this post with Mount Mayon as its the first and last thing you see in Legaspi. And it watched us all day as we hunted for the whales. Its renowned for its perfect cone shape, and has erupted quite often in recent years. This was the best picture I took as other days the clouds obscured the summit.

About an hour ride away from Legaspi, is the town of Donsol, where we stayed at the Vitton Resort. There’s no much there except for a small town, and a resort built around the tourism from the Whales. After a really early start, we arrived at the resort around 11am and headed out immediately for the first watch of the day. Everyone was put in groups of about six on to traditional filipino bancas. I was quite surprised how large and comfortable they were compared to other bancas I’ve been on, and there was plenty of room for six Western-sized passengers. Plus we had a crew of four or five: a captain, a spotter, a Butanding Interaction Officer (official tourist guide, Butanding being the filipino word for Whale Shark) and one or two lifeguards depending on the composition of the group. The BIO guy gave everyone the swimming protocol, which involved listening to him, reacting promptly and avoiding the uncovered rudder underwater. The spotter’s job was to spot the whales, although it was my impression they spent a lot of time watching each other too. There was some secret signaling system where one spotter would see the shadow of a shark and all the other boats would be alert and head over, full speed, to that location.

Boatman and spotter in action

On that first day it didn’t happen very often. We were out at sea for three hours, just puttering up and down the coast, watching another 25 boats doing the same thing. We had a potential sighting twice, but the boats scared the shark away. After a while, my eyelids started to get very heavy, and along with the 4.45am start, and the gentle putt-putt-putt of the engine, my eyes closed and I drifted into a nap. So not much happened, but it was relaxing, good to be away from Manila and out at sea.

The next day I was primed for a really early start, as with nature, an early start is always best, right? Well, not so here. The word from the last few days had been that the later departures were seeing better sightings, and the whales were affected by other forces such as tides and the weather. So, our departure was scheduled for 10.30am, and true to the recent pattern, the day was much more active. After only half an hour the sightings began and ran continuously for the remainder of the three hours we were at sea. A call would go out and all the boats would race over to the sighting:

Shark alert! Everyone race over!

It got pretty congested at times. I saw more than one game of chicken, as boats vied for maneuvering space in such close quarters.

Sometimes the boats got a little too close for comfort

Once the call had gone out for a sighting, the boatman put the engine on its highest speed and, as we raced over, our group had to get ready to jump in the sea. On went the snorkeling gear and flippers, and at the BIO’s call, we settled on the side of the boat ready to jump in:

On standby to jump in the water

Then the BIO guy gives the signal to jump! The boat is still moving and you hit the water running so to speak. The water was quite choppy and the visibility was limited, because of the high concentration of plankton in the water that attracts them to the area. I was still trying to figure out which way to go when one the lifeguards grabbed me by the arm, pointing ahead and telling me to swim hard. Just as I got my face in the water, I saw it. I huge,spotted mass, swimming a few feet underneath him. I was able to keep up with him for about 30 seconds before he out swam me and disappeared into the cloudy water. Thanks to him, I was the first person to see a whale from our boat.

It was an amazing day, very active and a little dangerous. I could see the safety efforts were in place, but it was all too easy to get hit by a beam or someone else’s boat. It was the very definition of organized chaos. Here’s a little video that captures the sheer excitement/coordination/and chaos of it all:

So what’s all the fuss about? I didn’t have an underwater camera, nor the skills to capture what I saw while I was working so hard at staying up with the whale. But from others pictures on the internet, this most closely represents what it looks like when you’re out there:

Seeing the huge, spotted mass in the cloudy water

I’m also including this heavily photoshopped image from a tourist site somewhere, as it gives a good impression of the animals size in relation to a man.

I highly recommend the experience, but its not a passive activity. You are beat by the end of the day! The Butanding Tourist Office is a laudable attempt to put controls in place for both the whales welfare and the tourist’s safety. I never felt mobbed or mistreated and we weren’t treated like cattle. However, some of their own rules were being broken regarding the number of boats per whale because sightings have gone down in recent years, and I worry that so many boats make the experience less safe for us, less attractive for the whales, and potentially unsustainable if sightings continue to drop because of other environmental challenges. But at least some effort is being made to balance the needs of man and nature. An amazing weekend.

Sign Language: Think!

February 25, 2013February 25, 2013 / wrightsolution / Leave a comment

This informational sign was posted at the passenger ferry port in Dumaguete. We were stuck there for over 2 hours and there was pretty little else to look at after a while. Its not the first time I’ve seen a sign like this, especially in public places. I think its a sneak peak into the prep talks that you see going on everywhere around the country at shift changes, and an important glimpse into the Filipino mind set on community responsibility. It also reminded me of this sign I’ve seen around everywhere in Manila:

This sign gives its origin away. Most of the ones I’ve seen don’t include the Rotary logo. I kept seeing it over and over and wondering where it came from, until I finally figured it out thanks to the Google Oracle. He’s a picture of Mr Rotary himself, holding the original 1943 sign. I never noticed it around in the States at all, but its alive and well in Manila.

Siquijor: A Review of Coco Grove Beach Resort

February 18, 2013February 18, 2013 / wrightsolution / 2 Comments

Finally, a short word about where we stayed in Siquijor. We had booked our accommodation back in February when I first learnt my family was coming for Christmas, and we managed reservations from the last few rooms available. It had been recommended to me by friends as one of their favorite places in the Philippines and, as a result, I had high expectations. But I was still pleasantly surprised when we arrived. It was very, very pretty. And large.

The resort is spread out along almost 2kms of beach, with two restaurants, two swimming pools and and cottages widely spaced in different settings. I loved the restaurant tables, where you could get a table in a little private hut, far away from others. Everything was well cared for and the service was good. The clientele was from all over the world, but there was a high percentage of families from Europe. This was reflected in the menu, which offered a lot of European dishes with potatoes, not rice unless you asked for it, and European service standards. Additionally, there were many customs and typical Filipino protocols that weren’t followed either. If you haven’t lived in Manila, you wouldn’t notice their absence, but we did. Staff were trained quite differently. The Filipino standard Mamsir form of address was replaced with first names only, which they took the time to learn. Starters were brought out as a first course, not along with or even after the entrée, a common practice here. Entrees came out at the same time, so everyone ate together, rather than just delivering the dishes as they were prepared in the kitchen. Even the plate clearing was handled differently. Giving good service in a Filipino restaurant means clearing empty plates away as quickly as possible. This can be awkward to Westerners who don’t like their plates cleared so quickly, leaving the other diner eating alone. Here plates were cleared when everyone had finished. A small detail that makes a big difference to Western manners.

We quickly learnt that the way to get efficient service in the restaurant was to preorder your meal. If you go down to the restaurant earlier in the day and let them know where you would like to sit (the best beach tables were booked a couple of days in advance) and what you would like to eat, the food arrived hot and prompt. If you didn’t, you went straight to the back of the line as everyone else pre-orders, every meal, every day.

In the main, the resort did everything very well, and it was a pleasure to be there. At Christmas, it was full with families – the noisiest of guests – but we rarely really felt their presence. You could walk on the beach or through the grounds, see others but feel enough personal space that they never took away from the relaxing experience. The pool was probably the only place I sometimes felt other people’s presence intruding on mine, but the pool was an optional space. So if you felt crowded, you could just walk away. There were plenty of quieter spots that were comfortable with pretty views. We did have to fight the German’s tendency to reserve every pool chair with their towel, holding the chair for hours for their exclusive use. Fortunately none of us really wanted to hang out around the pool too long anyway.

Coco Grove was that rare find in the Philippines so far… an affordable resort, with excellent service that took advantage of its beautiful location. I don’t think we’ll have a chance to return, but it would be a wonderful opportunity to go again.

Beautiful Siquijor

January 24, 2013January 23, 2013 / wrightsolution / Leave a comment

I really liked Siquijor. It was small enough to miss the traffic, noise, congestion and sprawl of a larger island. But large enough to explore, with lots to see and do. We only got to see a corner of it, but if I had time, I would love to go back. Paul and Nikki managed to have their own adventures, exploring the town and a Mangrove swamp. Paul took some fabulous pictures which I’ve included in other Siquijor posts, but many didn’t really have a place in any of my stories. Here’s a few more that he took that I loved, and that really help capture the spirit and feel of the place. They all look better when you click and enlarge them. Enjoy!

Bridge across Mangrove Swamp, Siquijor

Not a kitchen restaurant I’ve eaten from (I hope)

Filipino Market Stall

Typical Filipino Covered Market. This one’s in Siquijor but looks like so many others I’ve visited

Whats’s for sale today in the market

Dried Fish in Siquijor Market

Just hanging out in Siquijor

Siiquijor boat at sunset

People Watching in Dumaguete

January 23, 2013 / wrightsolution / 2 Comments

Dumaguete was only on our schedule as a point of arrival and departure at the airport. It was supposed to be a short drive from the dock over to the airport and back to Manila for a couple days of touring Taal and perhaps some more shopping before Paul and Nikki had to leave. However, we woke up on our last scheduled morning to a tropical depression and a canceled ferry. The pages of the newspapers the next day showed people in the sea with life jackets being rescued from another ferry that chose to sail Our canceled ferry meant that we would miss our flight and the rest of the day was spent calling, faxing and emailing the airline to try and solve the problem of rebooking our flights. It was a problem that needed constant feeding. Philippine Airlines were not cooperative, and we very grateful to have a travel agent to assist us. We never really got to enjoy our extra day at the resort because of the stream of airline demands and Manila arrangements needed canceling too.

The next day we took the first ferry out, which meant an unscheduled afternoon and night in Dumaguete. The short drive from the port to the hotel was enough to make sure I wasn’t too excited about going out to explore. I’d been around enough small, poor towns here to feel uncomfortable and almost voyageristic walking around. There’s usually nowhere to really eat, drink or hang out and you often get mobbed by beggars or small children. But I decided to venture out with Nikki and Paul anyway, thinking I could just turn back. But Dumaguete was a small, college town worth a look around.

Nikki and I let loose in Dumaguete

I stumbled upon a fabric store. Perfect timing to buy some fabric for new tablecloths

We drew a circular route down the main street, and then back along the tree lined coast road to the Mexican restaurant where we planned to eat that evening. Latham and Robert joined us at our last destination and we watched the world go by for 2-3hrs, through the rush hour traffic along the coast, and on into the early night. It was fun looking at all the different passengers on the tricycles, trucks, cars and bikes that paraded by. School kids, people coming back from work, college kids, families, goats and chickens. Paul sat and clicked away at the procession and we drank margaritas and ate funky nachos. After the evening traffic died down, the street vendors came out and a makeshift street restaurant just materialized down by the water. It was a little bit of unscheduled fun salvaged from our disrupted plans and I was grateful for it. Sometimes its nice to have something unexpected in the mix.

Watching the tricycle traffic in Dumaguete

Family after family on bikes heading home

Every tricycle told a different story. So fun to watch everyone commuting back and forth

Young passenger waiting for Dad to come back

As always, kids are often the best subjects

We watched so long the traffic subsided and darkness started to fall, with a little peace returning to the coast

Seaward side of the coastal road. Boats lined up on the beach reminded us that island life wasn’t far away

Apo Island: Adventures with Turtles

January 22, 2013March 12, 2013 / wrightsolution / 3 Comments

Apo Island is a small island destination about 1.5hrs away from Siquijor by boat. We had originally tried to book the boat privately to take us over on our anniversary as a way of marking the day and making it extra special for everyone. With our own boat the idea was that we could stop somewhere else along the way, or have a picnic lunch in a quiet cove somewhere. We really didn’t know what to expect on Apo and it seemed like a way to avoid what could be another one of those nightmarish vendor-infected scenarios. There’s never anyway of telling in advance. But hiring the boat didn’t seem to offer us any advantage. There was probably a way to do make the way you wanted it, but without inside help, I gave up.

So we took the group boat, which was fine. Its always annoying to wait for (really) latecomers who can’t get themselves out of bed in the morning, but the boat was clean and comfortable, and not too crowded. We sat on the back deck watching the waves and water spray up on to the deck.

Beautiful wave sprays as we headed out

About an hour later, the island came into view and our boat slowly manouvered on to the beach.

Apo island coming closer

Our boat docked on the Apo Island beach

Apo island has a small, attractive resort right on the beach. It would be a lovely place to stay and a way to enjoy the peace of the island after the daily boat (us) has left. Maybe next time….

Upon arrival everyone has to pay a small environmental fee. Hopefully this is going toward the job of preserving the reef and beaches. It was certainly kept unspoilt. It actually could have used a little development, though, to help protect the shoreline and the visitors. A small wooden dock extending into the water a little would have made entry across the spiky coral much easier. But Apo is still very pristine and low key. I would never have picked that particular shallow, coral beach covered in algae and rock pools to enter into the water and explore. But they were right….it was totally worth it.

Nikki held back a little. She was the last in the water, but the first to see a turtle. I wish I had been there to witness it. As she worked on her resolve to enter the water, a turtle head poked out of the water to get air. I can only imagine the scream! To her credit she got in anyway, and we all managed to see and swim with the turtles. I didn’t see one for a good 10 minutes, then Latham started signalling me to turnaround. I turned, expecting to see something the size of a large tortoise, but no, it was the size of a small kitchen table, swimming around just a foot or two away. It was kind of disturbing that something so large was so near and I had only just spotted it.

Smaller, but beautifully coloured turtle

My first turtle…and it was a big one!

Yes. It is what you think it is….don’t tell Nikki!

The Apo Island snorkeling beach.

Not exactly a beach I would choose to snorkel at…and yet it was great Turtle territory

After about an hour or so, we had had our fill and headed over to the resort for lunch. We could hear the drummers playing from a distance, our entertainment for the meal. On the way back across the beach, we passed this excellent Christmas tree, that is made from fallen, dried palm fronds, driftwood, and discarded tourist gear. Loved it!

Drummers entertain while we enjoyed our beach lunch

Apo island was a great location, and still undeveloped enough that everything was pleasant and friendly. I sure it will become more popular in coming years and I hope that they continue to care for their environment as well as they do now. Responsible tourism attracts responsible tourists. And I got to swim with turtles…..!

Sign Language: Temporary Contraceptives

January 16, 2013January 13, 2013 / wrightsolution / Leave a comment

Sign on the back of a Mobile Health unit parked in Dumaguete. I’m not sure what “temporary contraceptives” are? I can guess at what they really meant but, on a symbolic level, this is an old sign. A new sign would offer permanent contraceptives since the landmark passing of the Reproductive Health Act last month despite heavy opposition from the Church.

Its a very important change for the Philippines, allowing free access to contraceptives, instrumental in decreasing the exponential birth rate here, and an important component of the country’s development in the next few years.

Siquijor: Rasta Tree!

January 13, 2013January 10, 2013 / wrightsolution / Leave a comment

Ancient Balete Tree

On the way home from our Cambugahuy trip, we stopped at an amazing old tree by the side of the road. It been called the Century Old Tree, or “centuries old” I’m sure that no one really knows. But I could easily believe it was 400 years old. It had a massive girth, amazing hanging roots, and huge crawling roots that spiraled out from its base. It sits next to what must be a natural spring, and probably the reason for its longevity. Kids were jumping and playing in the water.

Amazing roots (dreadlocks) hanging down!

We walked around marveling at the thing, and circled around to the back of it. Latham climbed up the roots to get a closer look. Then I saw the tshirt he was wearing. Rasta guy in a rasta tree. Way, cool man!

Rasta in a Drealock Tree!

Siquijor: New Year’s Eve 2012

January 12, 2013January 13, 2013 / wrightsolution / 3 Comments

Serving Lechon on New Year’s Eve

New Year’s Eve is often an anti-climax for us. After all the pre-Christmas activities, Christmas, and birthday and anniversary stuff…by New Years Eve we’re usually ready for bed at 9pm. However, this year we were in no place for an early night. Coco Grove had a big dinner buffet planned and a self-proclaimed show extravaganza. Who were we to say no?!

We got a great table near the front, ate a very decent buffet dinner and everything was so pretty with lantern, candles and flowers. It was, however, nearly impossible to get a drink. But that’s big party events for you. Almost no one does them right….! I waited 30 minutes for a bottle of oxidized white wine, sent it back and ordered red. Half an hour later, we got a bottle of chilled red wine….but I digress…let the show begin!

Traditional dance routine: wonderfuly colouful, deeply cheesy, and joyous all at the same time!

…and then some….(note: click on the photo to get a close up. It’s worth it!)

Plus a little bit of earth music made for a very entertaining show.

But what I liked the most were the wish lanterns. Its a Filipino tradition to light them and make a wish, and set them airbourne carrying your wish up into the sky. They are simple paper lanterns with a wire base that holds a wad of fuel-soaked cotton. It takes a little practice to make them take. They gave instruction, but most people needed more assistance and most lanterns crashed and burned after a few seconds. However three did take off and soar, floating and throwing their light like traveling stars until they were no longer visible. Latham’s was one of them:

Lighting wish lanterns

I loved the focus and lantern light as everyone tried to make it work

Latham’s lantern rising about the sea. Hope his wish comes true…

Siquijor: Tricycle Adventure to Cambugahay Falls

January 12, 2013January 10, 2013 / wrightsolution / 2 Comments

Cambugahay Falls

Day two of our Siquijor adventure was our 25th wedding anniversary. I had struggled to plan something special for the day from afar, but it was proving to be too difficult. I had tentatively reserved a private boat, but it quickly became clear that the considerable extra cost wouldn’t get us much value over taking the tour with everyone else. Some times you wish you had made a plan, other times an ad hoc approach is best.

It quickly became clear today was an ad hoc kinda day. Robert took the impulsive decision to rent a tricycle. Nikki and I immediately couldn’t see how the five of us could crowd on to the tiny bike. But we were wrong. On we all crammed. Destination was Cambugahay waterfalls, but just like life, I found the journey to be the interesting part.

Yep. You can get five on a tricycle. Easy peasy!

Watching the world fall behind us from a tricylce

The Falls were a fair drive away, about an hour I think. But the driver and the road surface were good, and it was reasonably comfortable. (At least for me.) Locals watched and waved, chickens crossed the street, other vehicles overtook our overloaded bik and we passed a few interesting spots to stop on the way back.

Lazi was an interesting town, and we stopped at the wonderful St Isidore Labradore church. It was huge and surrounded by ancient acacia trees. We snuck inside and took a look inside. It was cavernous and seemed way too big to me for the location. It was build in the 1850’s and parts of it looked at least 150 years old, but other parts like the roof, altar and floor were well cared for. Other parts were crumbling. I loved the mix of old and new, it gave it a special kind of feeling. Like we were discovering something old and abandoned but secretly cared for.

Inside the Church. Beautiful wide wood floors, brand new pews and a well cared for altar. Huge!..

Convent next to St. Isidore Labradore

Outside of St Isidore Labradore church

Less fixed up in here…which looks like the font room

Looking out through the old windows

After that energizing side trip, we traveled a little further along and finally made it to our Cambugahay Falls destination. Upon arrival, it was clear we were in a tourist location because the vendors descended. Paul and Nikki got their first taste of vendor chaos as several vendors approached at the same time, all selling the same drinks. We ended up in total confusion with multiple drinks purchased for the same person. It took 10 minutes to break away from them and start the descent down the stone steps to the falls.

It was midday and we were not alone. There were some tourists from our resort and local kids playing on the vines, diving into the water. Not swamped with people, but a bit crowded for my liking. Early morning would have been the best time to come. Paul, Nikki and Latham followed our taxi driver to a spot higher up where no one else ventured and they had a waterfalls pool to swim in alone. Much nicer!