We experienced interacting with the Butanding inhabiting the quiet town in Donsol, Sorsogon, the so-called famous “Gentle Giants”.  The whale sharks can group up to 40 feet in length, considered as the largest fish on the planet. In search of warmer waters, the whale sharks migrate to the waters of Donsol during the months of December to May to feed on tiny plankton which flourish on this kind of waters (they don’t feed on flesh so, they are perfectly safe, I wonder why they are called sharks anyway). Over the years, and with the help of WWF, the small fishing town has brought millions of pesos through Eco tourism.

Upon arrival

After spending the night at Albay, we left early to head straight to Donsol, travel time is around 1.5 hours from Legazpi City, Albay to Baranggay Dancalan. It’s quite awesome to see the signs leading to Sorsogon from Albay, it says “To Visayas”!, we drove to a nice paved road, the we have to turn right to a narrow but concrete road leading to Donsol proper . Upon arrival, we registered at the Tourism office to rent a boat and pay the necessary fees. A boat that can accommodate up to 10 people costs 2,500php for a typical 3-hour “interaction”, we also need to pay 300 pesos each for the entrance fee. We also rented out snorkels and goggles which are needed to get an up close interaction with the Butandings.

The Interaction, sorta.

A BIA (Butanding Interaction Officer) is assigned for each boat, ours was Kuya Arnel. We also shared the boat with two spotters, the stand at the highest part of the boat to serve as lookouts to where the Butandings are, a boat man, and two strangers from Iriga City (we split the cost of the boat to 7 instead of 5 so it’s ok with us). Before boarding the boat, we are required to watch a short video explaining the rules of engagement. During the hunt, Kuya Arnel told us several trivia regarding the Butandings.

The Donsol peninsula where the most number of Butandings concentrate, is a small, almost enclosed body of water, the waters is calm, and the boats are quite fast, they can go around in less than 30minutes. We’re told to get ready as the Butandings can come out anytime. Minutes later, a medium-sized butanding passed below our boat, but it was too fast to dive.

After we spotted our first Butanding, it turned instantly into a chase, a couple of boats raced into it scaring whale shark away. Normally, the ratio of boats and butandings are 1:1 sometimes they even outnumber the boats. Unfortunately for  us, they might already left, even if its still May. We experience suspense, excitement and disappointment, we had several attempts and, it looked like a frenzy of boats chasing the butanding.

We searched for a couple of hours, Kuya Arnel and his crew were very apologetic since we didn’t have an actual “interaction”, I thought we’re fortunate enough on seeing a Gentle Giant, as some boats weren’t  able to catch a single glimpse. They took us to an area where we can snorkel and swim instead.

We’re starving

It was past lunch time when we get to Vitton Beach Resort, the usual drop-off point, where we had our shower and changed our clothes. There are several resorts if you’re planning to stay overnight, they are lined up along the beach. Room rates at Vitton Beach resorts are, 1,700 good for 2 persons, and 3,500 for a family room good for 4 persons, 200 for extra persons. Establishments doesn’t accept credit cards, so prepare your cash. Check-in time is 1PM, checkout is 12NN.

We treat ourselves with a nice authentic Bicolano meal at Momy Nem’s Resto, typical cost per order is 80-120php each.

Aside from whale shark interaction, you can also try the river cruise and firefly watching for 1,250php, I can only imagine how romantic that setting is!

Tips

• Go there at the peak months, from December to April, 95% of the time you’ll interact with a Butanding, sometimes up to 6 of them.
• Come early, especially if you’re coming at the peak months, arrive earlier unless you’re planning to stay there overnight.
• Bring some food, especially during the boat ride.
• Bring an underwater camera.

Contact Information:

Vitton Beach Resort: Call or Text 0927-912-6313 | 0917-333-3699

If you have any comments or inquiries please feel free to leave us a message.

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