To swim in shark infested waters isn’t always a bad thing. The magnificent whale shark can grow to the size of a school bus and weigh ten times the weight of a Great White, but the experience of being in the water circled by these giants of the sea is magical rather than frightening.
The sunlight dances over the mosaic patterns of spots and waves that adorn the skin of the whale shark as it moves slowly through the water. Its mouth stays wide open as it draws in plankton and small fish.
These are filter feeders and despite having a mouth wide enough to swallow a man whole, they won’t do that. I know because, diving from a boat once, I accidentally got in the way of a whale shark as it was feeding. Its wide open mouth vacuumed in water as it moved towards me, but then, just an arm’s reach away, it closed its mouth and turned to avoid me with what I maybe only imagined was a look of slight annoyance.
Whale Sharks can be spotted be in warms seas in numerous places around the world, but despite their size they are not always easy to find. On my first search for whale sharks a number of years ago I spent the entire day in a boat without seeing anything in the water larger than a sardine (though a vortex of sardines can be quite impressive too).
But at other times and at other places the experience has been amazing. Sometimes there are whale sharks everywhere.
The Philippines may be the best place in the world to see whale sharks as they can be found throughout the islands in relatively large numbers. At some locations in the Philippines they even come close to shore. Some of the best places to see them are in eastern Luzon near Legazpi and Donsol as well as off the islands of Cebu and Bohol.
A 40-foot monster glides through the water below me, propelled slowly by the lazy movement of its massive tail. A shadow falls over me as another one passes above, temporarily blocking out the sun. They ignore me as they ignore the many relatively small fish in the water with them and for a moment I feel that I am on an alien planet.
Our world becomes so much larger when we step out from our limited place in it. Even a brief moment in a strange new world can remind us that there is much by which to be amazed.
ADVENTURE-SOMEWHERE.COM 