Under the sea with whale sharks in Cebu

By Wendell Gaa

The severe winter storms which several regions in the U.S. have been experiencing these past days should serve as a perfect incentive for people to take a holiday break, however short or long, to a much warmer tropical climate rich with opportunities to bask under bright sunlight and palm trees.

What better destination could there be than right in our very own motherland the Philippines. It has countless sunny spots where you can enjoy everything from the beach to the sea waters, and one particular place which stands out for me is Oslob, Cebu. It’s where I recently got the once-in-a-lifetime chance to literally swim with enormous whale sharks!

For a quick lesson in zoology, whale sharks are not actually whales or sharks in the strictest sense. They are the largest fish species in the world, with the biggest on record having had a length of 61.7 feet. They can be found in the open waters of all tropical oceans in the world. Despite their immense size, they are extremely gentle and docile creatures and even though they can open their mouths very widely whenever they feed in the waters on plankton, krill, fish eggs and small fish such as anchovies and sardines, there have thankfully been no known records of them swallowing up human beings whole!

Obviously before traveling to Cebu from Manila with my company for the whale shark swimming encounter, thoughts about the biblical tale of Jonah and the Whale kept recurring in my mind. I prayed fervently that what happened to Jonah wouldn’t happen to me or anyone else in my tour group.

After our plane trip to Cebu City from Manila which lasted for only an hour and 20 minutes, we spent an entire day leisurely touring the historic sites of the Taoist Temple, Lapu-Lapu Shrine, Magellan’s Cross, Fort San Pedro, Basilica Minore del Sto. Niño and Casa Gorordo. As nighttime fell, we then comfortably settled into our hotel at Mactan Island.

Early the following morning, our tour shuttle fetched us at 3:30 a.m. to begin our 3-to-4-hour trek to the coastal municipality of Oslob which is located right at the southern tip of Cebu island. We were informed that the reason that we needed to travel at this ungodly time was that the early morning hours was the only time of the day when the whale sharks would wade right near the beaches of Oslob during their feeding time, which would be the best opportunity for visitors to swim right along them. 

Having had only a few hours of sleep was of course a hassle, but a necessary one I felt as a traveler seeking to experience this rare occasion. Once we finally arrived at Oslob at around 7:30 a.m., we got off to one of the beach resorts where we could already see a few tour groups preparing to dip into the waters, including some Australian and French tourists.

During our briefing with the resort guides, we were provided life jackets and some swimming tips when encountering the whale sharks, including to keep a proper distance from them while at the same time not to panic in case they would suddenly approach right near us with wide open mouths as we were reminded that they were absolutely harmless to humans.  We were even advised not to place sun block lotion onto our skins as the chemicals would be biologically harmful for the whale sharks. Thinking about all of this, I was more concerned about what I might accidentally do to them than what they might do to me.  

Having been properly indoctrinated, we were then led to our small bangka boats which took us just a short distance from the beach shore where we could already see a couple of the large whale sharks feeding right near the shores as some boat men were throwing from buckets what appeared to be krill or small fish.  Surprisingly, we were told that these specimens were only babies, and that to experience seeing full-grown adult whale sharks, one would need to venture further out into the open ocean. Nevertheless, getting the chance to get off the boats and swim right near these gentle mammals was a moment I am proud to have included, and then checked off, in my lifetime traveling bucket list!