Donsol, Sorsogon, Philippines

Donsol, Sorsogon, is the  town where I came from in the Southern Philippines.  It is the place where you can see a lot of the friendly Whaleshark or locally known as  Butanding.

Donsol had been a town known for its existence as a popular tourist destination where, in the bordering sea, whale sharks can be seen. Donsol is considered the unofficial 'Whale Shark Capital of the World' with the largest number of recorded sightings of these gentle giants anywhere in the world. Swimming with whale sharks had been ranked as the Best Animal Encounter in Asia by Time magazine in 2004.

These creatures can be seen all-year round except when there is currently a typhoon, their presence is peaking between February and May.

Interaction with the whale sharks is regulated by the local department office. With the help of WWF strict guidelines were developed to protect the sharks. These include limiting the number of swimmers per boat (six), no scuba divers and staying further than three meters from the sharks. In practise this rule is almost never applied. As many as 14 boats at a time may 'mob' a shark, with up to 30 or 40 swimmers following the shark on the surface.

In recent years the number of male sharks have out-numbered female sharks by 20:1. The females that are seen are generally large mature adults in the 7m ~ 9m range. Increasing numbers of sharks show propellor marks on their backs. Anecdotal evidence from local fishermen suggests that prop strikes are from fishing boats in the off-season, rather than from tourist boats in the main Jan ~ May tourist season.

In 2006 five sharks were found dead on the surface, within 30 miles of Donsol. They had all been shot at close range. One shark had 13 bullet wounds to the head. The locals blame this on commercial fishermen shooting the sharks if they are caught in their nets. Mantas, which are also protected in the Philippines, are also over fished and sold in local markets in the Sorsogon area.

Tourism continues to develop slowly in Donsol. This is mostly due to the lack of any real tourist infrastructure. Groups from Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan and the Philippines make up the largest groups of visitors. Most book guided tours with dive centers familiar with whale shark interaction.

source of info

Below are photos  when we first  went for a vacation in my hometown with the kids.  My husband and son  have celebrated their birthdays there and we went  and tried diving and swimming with the Butanding or whalesharks.

The photo I took of the whaleshark isn't really clear but it's god enough.

Balikbayan Boxes

I have been meaning to send these boxes to my family since last year but wasn't able to collect the things that I wanted to send them. Finally, I gathered them all up and sent it last Friday. We dropped it off in front of the closed Giant Eagle near Robinson. We met up with Mang Bert there and gave him the boxes.

I took a photo of Mr. K while he was singing along in one of his favorite country music that was playing on the radio. He caught me and smiled lol.

We got there earlier so while we were waiting for Mang Bert, we had time to take some snaps.

Oner of the boxes will go to my Mom in Bicol and one will go to my sister in Cavite.

We decided to drive to Pittsburgh so we could buy some Asian goodies at Strip District. I took a shot of this interesting building structure while the traffic was slowing us down.

I was bummed out that Blogger was down for two days but also glad that we were able to do things. Hope everyone is having a nice weekend. Mine is pretty busy cleaning, rearranging, and changing beddings at our abode.

Mayon Volcano

I took these photographs while we were waiting for our flight going to Manila last July 5, 2009 . I captured one of the plane that was taking off with the view of the majestic Mayon Volcano. Mayon Volcano is beautiful but it is very active.

As most of you knew, I am from the Philippines. So my country's name and the Plane is perfect for P in ABC. Oh the name of the airline is Pacific Air.. PERFECT!

Whaleshark Adventure

These photos were taken when we first visited my wife's family in the Philippines. In the island where whale sharks are plenty, in Donsol, Sorsogon. We decided to celebrate my son and I's birthday together there with a bonus of swimming with the whale shark. Whale sharks are very friendly and you can ride on their back while they swim. Please click the photo to enlarge.

Picturesque

Here are some of the beautiful scenery that I caught into our camera during our stay in Donsol, Philippines. My wife's place is gorgeous, only that people don't know how to take care of it. A lot of garbage are just scattered in the seashore. Look how serene/calm is the sea water, so peaceful!

Ocean Shore in Donsol

 I am reposting this photos that we took when we had our vacation in the Philippines.   I busied myself taking pictures during our stay in the Philippines. I always take the kids and my late brother's kids to the ocean shore and let them play in the sand while I explore the beauty of the place taking photos with our new camera. This one is my favorite one. I call this a post card pic hehehe.

This one has an explanation to it, that no matter how big the problem that comes your way, there is always light. A light that will lead you in getting through the difficulties, and that light is GOD!

See how the dark cloud is getting separated, that means that God always guide us in taking the right path, all we need to do is to choose the right path. So it is up to us.

My wife love this formation of clouds which she visioned to look like a teapot.

During low tide, the shore look like this. My mother-in-law's house is just fifty feet away from the shore so we really had a great time exploring the place.

I just wish that there is a program for the people there to clean up the place. It could be a better place for the children to run around.

Sometimes there are people who are collecting clams and other kinds of shell for food in the rocks.
Thanks for browsing at my collection of photographs and for dropping by. God bless you folks!

Bathing Time at Grammmy's Place

I am grateful that our children get to experience the simple living out at my mom-in-law's place. They got to play with the kids there with no fancy toys and got to do the things that their mom experience then. Just like bathing outside the house using a basin and a cup or they call it tabo.. Our kids actually had so much fun with it. Here are some snapshots..

Thanks for coming by guys!

I Met the governor

When we flew going to Manila after my late brother-in-law's internment, a man talked to me in the plane. We had a little talk about why I went in Bicol and this and that. When I mentioned to him what province my wife is from, his face immediately brightened up. He told me that he is the governor in that province. My wife took a photo of us before we took off the plane. Nice talking to you governor!

Fun in the Ocean

I am so thankful that even if my in-laws live in a remote area, it is near the ocean. It is our main source of fun especially for the kids.. Here they are with my my late brother-in-laws two daughters.

My wife's Aunt join the fun.. She asked my wife about something but being ornery of my wife, she splashed her with the water.

Thanks for dropping by friends and for commenting..