after checking out, we headed to Donsol to swim with polka dot whale sharks. at first i thought we were going on a big boat and saw them being exposed to the world with their huge tails. but i was wrong. we were going to swim and chase after them!
this is the hotel we stayed last night.
and the road in front of the hotel.. and yes, it did look like bali in the village when they had a ceremony.
what is this?
it's a water heater! you just plug it in and sink it into a tub. not long, you can have a hot bath. i've never seen it in Thailand and wanted to buy one. next time when Siena comes to Thailand, i will ask her to buy one for me. it's portable and we can have a hot bath anywhere anytime!
getting ready for the beach
i am going to take my word back saying that we were not going to be a fan of 'Jollibee' here. first morning in Legaspi, we had our first drive-thru breakfast at 'Jollibee' again!
coffee for Cindy
hot choc for Chachie and Lawrence
and some bread and buns for us (what exactly we ate that morning?) i just don't know how to call it. but we ate it hot in the car while on our way to Donsol and Lawrence was forced (by his mommy) to eat the whole pack!
this road made me think of Bali again.
after an hour drive, we arrived interaction center in Donsol. Butanding is a local name for whale shark. the local people like to call them 'polka dot whale shark'.
how to swim when seeing them. but i tell you what.. you definitely forget all the rules when they are right under you, huge and charming and SCARY!!..
i was bit sorry that i didn't rent these. i would swim faster and have a better view wearing those fins.
around the center
paid carpark
watching and understanding how to act when in the water
waiting for our queue and eating our food supplies. again, we bought them for an army.
long lost sisters (above)
big sister and little sister (below)
my partner in crime
finally, around 10 am, we jumped into the spider boat.
look at Lawrence when seeing my bruised thigh. i had no idea where that was from.
there were 5 boatmen in each boat, helping each other looking for the whale sharks.
before jumping into the water, the guide (wearing orange top) gave us a prep talk. when to jump, when to look down and how to do when in the water. while leaving the shore, he told us that he wouldn't guarantee that we would see those huge but gentle creatures. we had to prepare our mind for that too..
one boatman rode the boat around looking for a whale shark. when we were near, the guide told us to get ready. my first jump. excited. excited. excited!
where is Siena??
when he said 'GO GO GO', we jumped!
and swam as fast as we could after the guide who wore a big pair of fins..
and i saw it!! i saw it!!! at my first jump i saw it!! wow!!! i could feel adrenaline rushing through my veins. it was an incredible & scary experience. i didn't know how to react when seeing it. i just swam as fast as i could along with other tourists, trying not to stay too close but kept following my first whale shark. gosh! it was astonishingly HUGE!!
at my second jump, i was dragged by a guide from another boat. he wore fins and went incredibly fast after the whale shark, so i could see it as long as i wanted to, and so up-close. he let go of my hand after the shark swam deeper into the ocean and realized that i was not one of his customers. but he nicely asked me if i enjoyed it. oh! sure i did!
on the jump before my last, it was only tang and i in the water. the guide was still in the boat, convincing Siena to jump. we swam blindly to the direction the boatmen told us. then they told us to look down, oh my goddd, oh my goddd!! it was so huge right under us!! its dotted mouth was just a meter under us!!! and there were only tang and i in the ocean with this big big creature.. it was appoarching us! we were scared to dead and held each other's hands so tight!!.. it felt like i was having goose bums underwater!! the boatmen kept yelling at us to swim after it but hell, NOOO! it was enough seeing this close and just the two of us. eerrrrr!!!!
if there were other swimmers, we would eagerly swim after it but when it was just the two of us, we let it swim away easily.. while we swam back to the boat, i still felt goose bums on my neck and my arms.. i knew you were gentle but i was still scared of you!!
in this jump, the guide managed to convince siena to jump and he quickly dragged her to chase after the whaleshark. while tang and i swam back to the boat, siena and the guide could follow it and managed to grab its big fin and ride along it for 10 mins.. how fun! aww! i was jealous again! but i was so glad for her to have such experience.. you've made it, girl!
gosh! i had the best experiece in the open water ever!! Thanks Siena and Cindy!! we will do it again when we have a chance!!
our kind guide. i like talking to him. he was so informative and always made sure that we enjoyed the trip.
i want to be in that water for ever!
i love the Philippines!!
getting back to the shore, we took turns taking shower, packed into the car and left for Legaspi. it started to rain slightly. but before leaving Donsol, we stopped by to take photos of wall painting. it's everywhere here and i like it loads.
goodbye kiss! i will be back, i promise!
arriving Legaspi an hour later, we stopped to have late lunch at Bigg's. everyone, except Cindy, woke up from their ride nap once we parked in front of Bigg's.
Bigg's is our fave haunt here.
the gang and i
inside Bigg's, first and second floor
leaving Bigg's, we went into a mall in town for tang and i to exchange money. i left my bag with my passport in the car, so tang inevitably had to use her passport. she was whinning about this bc she was paranoid that the lady at the counter would laugh at her name!
after the mall, we headed to Lingnon Hill again, to have another ziplining..
i would never forget this trip! Cindy and Siena, you gave me incredible new experiences!
i love the 'weeeeeee' sound while i slided along the wires.. never did it before.. secretly i hoped that someone nice and handsome was at the other end waiting to catch me! ;] haha!! it's just a girl's dream!
when it was darkening, we headed back to Naga City. tonight we were going to meet Siena's mom and going to stay overnight at her home.
it was around 7.30 pm when we approached Naga City. the roadside was dark but the road was still full of cars. we stopped by at Bigg's on the outskirts of Naga City to buy takeaway dinner and then furthered our ride to Siena's home.
yep, 43 is big. bc of 43t that i and Venus met.
while looking at the US's map on the back, Siena told me that she was going to land a job as a nurse in the States. after the review, she will start looking for a job overseas; Ireland or the States, i wish you BIG luck, girl. so we can travel together again..
we arrived Siena's home around 8.30-9 pm. met with Siena's mom. ate dinner with her and talked some more before we retreated to our room on the third floor. it was another night that i have a very tight sleep. not too hot and not too cold it was just perfectly comfy!
