Suroy-Suroy sa Sugbo*: Swimming with the Gentle Giants

Tired as we all are, I still managed to wake up by 5:00 AM without the help of an alarm. But it wasn't until someone in our room shifted that I decided to get moving as well. We changed into our whale shark watching outfits (i.e. rash-guard, board shorts, aqua shoes) and had a quick breakfast. By 6:00 AM, the tricycles we hired last night were already waiting for us. After a couple more preparations, we were ready to go.

The tricycles dropped us off at George Resort where a Kuya greeted us and introduced himself as our contact for the whale shark watching activity. We just said yes without thinking when he suddenly informed us that there is an additional Php 70/person fee on top of the Php 500/person whale shark watching fee. Php 70 for using the shower/toilets and queuing for us?? Kaloka, we were not informed! But since we were already there, we agreed just to get it over with.

Present!

After buying a couple of butanding magnets, we were ready to hit the waters! But not before going for a quick bathroom break. I was so nervous/excited, I just had to pee real quick before facing the gentle giants. And because of that little break, I almost got left behind which would result to our Misadventure #2. Good thing, they didn't forget about me. Hihi But still, that was close!

So we hopped on to our tiny boat and set sail. I got a little worried that we weren't wearing any vests but it turns out, we weren't headed to the whale sharks just yet. Our boat docked at the briefing station for orientation, and rental of life jackets and snorkeling gear.

At the briefing area.

It bothered me a bit that the locals seem dismissive about the guidelines for whale shark watching. They're supposed to be protecting these creatures, right? But it seemed to me they're more concerned about their profits rather than the safety of the butandings. :( After the really quick orientation, we were handed out life jackets and boarded our banca again. This time, it's for real! I'm not sure if I was more scared or excited.

The butanding and I.

What differentiates Oslob from Donsol (which is the more popular whale shark watching spot) is the assurance of seeing the gentle giants. You see, there are several small bancas scattered in the sea where the fishermen feed the whale sharks so they will always be there for the tourists. I'm not really in favor of that but I do want to see whale sharks so yeah, I gave in to my curiosity and thirst for adventure rather than my empathy for the poor creatures. :(( I just hope authorities are doing their job in protecting the butandings.

Just keep swimming! And eating. o.O

As we drew closer to one of the bancas, we saw the beautiful spotted creatures swimming around us. It was really breathtaking. Sure, I'm scared but I wanted to do nothing else but jump right into the water. Once you're there, excitement takes over everything else.

Don't panic!

Whale shark watching is only good for 30 minutes and the first few minutes will surely make you panic especially upon seeing its tail. I can't help but imagine it hitting my face and drowning me. But as time went by, you'll realize how harmless these gentle giants are. They just want to eat! So cute. I just wish there's a safer and kinder way to promote Oslob's tourism. :(

Brave souls.

We were told during the orientation to maintain a 4m distance from the butandings. But from where we're swimming, I don't think that's 4m at all! We were so close. Too close if I may say. And the funny thing is, we were the ones who voluntarily swam away whenever the butandings came close due to fear of getting sucked in along with the krill. Haha I especially love how the butandings didn't mind us at all. They just want the krill, to hell with these human beings panicking around me.

JAWS. Who needs sharp teeth when you can suck in like this?? :o

We were so fascinated with the butandings, we wanted to see them at a close (but safe) distance so we kept following them wherever they go. But there was this one time where the butanding suddenly turned around and swam towards our direction with its mouth wide-open! Sure, it looks cute with its silly toothless grin but it all changes when it's right in front of you. Very Jaws ang peg! Haha Imagine our panic as we scurried away from it and towards the banca. Good thing we didn't tip it over! I was panicking so much, I grabbed whoever was near me just to get away from the butanding. So sorry Tanj, Ty or Bry for pulling one of you. I just saw a blue life jacket and held on for dear life. Now that I think about it, we all looked silly running from the poor thing! But hey, it was during the first few minutes so that was kind of expected.

The aftermath. Ang itim kooooooo!

After what seemed like 5 minutes, the boatmen called on us to get back to the banca. I can't believe it's over. I've grown attached to these gentle giants. But yeah, we have other things on our itinerary so we need to get going. We rode the tricycles back to New Village Lodge where we prepared for check-out. I originally didn't plan on washing up because our next stop was supposed to be Kawasan Falls but due to the unexpected free time, we changed our itinerary so we can stop by Carcar for lunch before going to the falls.

Lechon here, lechon there, lechon everywhere!

It takes around 1.5-2 hours to get to Carcar aboard a jam-packed Ceres bus. Good thing, we brought along Angel's burgers for snacks! Upon arriving at Carcar, we took a trike to the public market which  was just a few blocks away. As in walking distance lang pala. Kaloka! While they got their lechon fill, I settled for Chicken Asado, Ginataang Langka, ice cold Royal, and a cup of steaming rice, all for under Php 50. What a steal!

Aboard our multicab.

After lunch, we went to some pharmacy to wait for the bus that will take us to Kawasan Falls. When it seemed impossible to catch a bus not overflowing with people on a Saturday, we asked help from a sidewalk vendor and she gladly helped us negotiate with a multicab driver to take us to our destination. When he agreed for Php 1,500 one-way, we just had to take it. Less hassle. I don't think I'd survive in a mala-T2 bus anyway.

All along we thought it would only take a few minutes to reach Kawasan Falls but after about an hour trying to find a comfortable position to sleep, we all wondered where we're headed. When we finally couldn't take it anymore, we asked Kuya how far we still have to go and he told us it's still pretty far away. We were becoming restless when we passed by a halo-halo stand that gave us second thoughts about going to Kawasan. We just wanted to eat something cool to beat the summer heat. After struggling with our low EQs (Ano bababa na ba? Kuya, wait lang! Ano bibili na? Sino may gusto? Uhh.. pwede ba drive thru? May halo-halo ba sa Kawasan? Kuya, may pagkain ba dun? Malapit na ba? Sige na nga, dun na lang!), we decided to wait until we get to Kawasan. Oh thank God for people with infinite patience. If I were Kuya Driver, I'd lose my cool trying to figure out what these brats want. Oh well, extreme heat + hunger does that to you.

After a couple of minutes, the real Misadventure #2 happened!  Early on in the ride, people near the front of the multicab (including me and my bionic senses) have been complaining about extreme heat around our feet. We thought it was coming from the multicab's booming sound system but we were wrong. A couple of miles away from the halo-halo stand, our multicab made weird (dying?) sounds before stopping in the middle of I-don't-know-where. By this time, we're pretty used to misadventures so it was no biggie. Funny though how we regretted not being stranded near the halo-halo stand. Di maka-get over?? Haha After a couple of minutes, Kuya got the multicab up and running again (after securing the battery) so we hopped in and before we know it, we're at the entrance of Kawasan Falls! Upon seeing how remote our location is, we hurriedly made a deal with Kuya to upgrade our multicab rental to round-trip. Thank God, he agreed!

Finally!

Before getting to the actual falls, you have to hike a little (or maybe a lot?). No need to worry though because there are several refreshment stands along the way so you can take a break whenever you want/need to. You can also hire a guide or just follow the trail on your own like we did.

Once we reached the end of our mini hike, we were greeted by the serenity of the falls. Just ignore the colorful umbrellas scattered around the place. Haha Nothing beats the feeling of traveling for hours and then ending your day by dipping into the cool waters. Ah~ definitely a satisfying reward!

Feeling Huckleberry Fin & Tom Sawyer.

I've been to a number of falls before but what makes Kawasan Falls different is that you can rent (BOO!) a raft that will take you inside the falls. First timer right here! So imagine our excitement as we got near the falls. Kala mo nasa amusement park lang kung makatili! The raft is big enough for our group so that was definitely a plus. Oh and if you don't know how to swim or you just want to feel more secure, you can rent a life vest for Php 50. I'm not a good swimmer but I trusted my batchmates to not push me (or save me if I accidentally slip) off the raft so I didn't rent one. Haha

Inside Kawasan Falls.

If you think a waterfall looks amazing up front, wait til you get inside. So surreal! It's like being in the eye of the storm without risking your life. Come to think of it, I actually felt like drowning when I stood under the falls for a while. Haha But at least you can always step away from it once you can no longer breathe or even open your eyes.

Let it rain!

We were already enjoying ourselves by just playing underneath the falls like little kids in the rain when the raftmen (??) instructed us to lie on our stomach. I had no idea why but they were all panicking so I just did what I was told. Only when I was already lying down did I realize that we'll be passing through the falls! I thought we were going to pass vertically so the water will hit us from head to toe all at once but I was wrong. Our raft went through the falls horizontally so we got a water massage starting from our head down to our toes. It definitely hurt! But the feeling afterwards was refreshing and relaxing. Truly an amazing experience!

Fresh water for a change.

So if you ever find yourself in Kasawan Falls (or Southern Cebu), I recommend riding the raft for Php 300. It's a bit pricey for a few people but super sulit for big groups. After riding the raft, we swam for a bit and then headed back to our multicab. But not without buying a huge cup of halo-halo, of course. Haha Sorry but when I crave for something, I just need to satisfy it. Low EQ e! I had no regrets though because it was probably the most sulit halo-halo I've bought ever. It had the usual ingredients plus corn, fruit cocktail, and ripe Philippine mangoes. Imagine my delight in finding those sweet yellow strips of heaven.

Next stop: Moalboal. Yup, more beach! I absolutely had no idea where we're staying but we agreed beforehand to stay away from White Beach's public area because of bad reviews. It's really sad how Cebu's image is being tainted by prostitution/child trafficking. Disgusting. I hope our government does something about it. *ASA*

Kuya Driver had no idea how to get to Ester Escabas (not our resort, only a landmark) so we asked a few locals for directions. It's infuriating how there were 2 stops asking for entrance fees or whatsoever. Bulok na mga style niyo no! We paid (though reluctantly) for the first one because they have a barangay ordinance churvaloo but still, they hesitated when we asked for an O.R. (which was not really an O.R. btw). But the second one looked totally sketchy. Parang mga tambay lang sa kanto e! No way in hell I'm paying for your fill of alcohol but since we had no choice, we paid unwillingly. Good thing, our organizers quickly realized we were at the wrong place! So yeah, we got our money back and after n tries, we found our resort - hidden among beautiful and expensive-looking ones. *le sigh*

I was a bit worried after learning we'll all be staying in one room when there are 11 of us. 11 people sharing a bathroom? Yikes! But I wasn't ready for the shock that came with finding out our room only has 2 double-sized beds and a single bed. There's no way we're going to fit in there unless we sleep sitting down, I guess. But they were kind enough to provide us extra mattresses so I quickly got over the shock because hey, it's just one night. Let's think of it as another way for us to get closer (literally).

After settling in, we started our search for a decent restaurant to get some dinner. The shoreline was really dark and a bit scary so we stopped by the first restaurant we saw. After checking the menu out, we decided to go for it since we were all starving anyway. They only had one chef that time but since we were the only people there, we thought he'll manage.

Dinner, dinner. Killer, killer.

To pass time, we played a modified version of Killer Killer. The rules are pretty complicated so it's hard to explain. You have to be there playing at least one round before you get it completely. We were having so much fun, we didn't realize we've already been waiting for an hour or two. See, I can't even remember! Haha In total, we were able to play 3 rounds of Killer Killer and I always ended up dead. Darn you, killers!!! Still, it was a fun game to play! Oh and in the middle of one of our games, the lights went out! Haha Thank goodness, I was already dead that time or else I would've panicked (even more) upon opening my eyes (yes, this Killer Killer version requires you to close your eyes for some time) and seeing nothing.

After killing each other (okay, that sounds wrong) and finishing up dinner, we headed back to the resort and figured out our sleeping strategy. Erin will sleep on the single bed because she wasn't feeling well while Vanie, Joan, Szet and I will occupy the 2 double-sized beds. Tanj and Ruel shared a mattress and slept on the floor. Ty and Bry slept on separate mattresses (uyyy bakit kaya) but still on the floor. And lastly, Ate Light and Mabel slept outside on the beach. Haha Problem solved! A bigger problem though was the bathroom schedule. Each person was only granted 10 minutes to wash up. Pretty easy, right? But time wasn't the only thing that was limited. So was the water! KALOKA! Misadventure #3, anyone? In summary, we all managed to wash up in under 10 minutes each while making sure to fill up the water drums in case the water runs out.

Before midnight, we all managed to settle down and grab some sleep. Tomorrow's another adventure and waking up early will be a challenge for sure but yeah, bring it on!


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Traveling party: Bry, Erin (organizer), Joan, Light (organizer), Mabel, Ruel, Sera, Szet, Tanj, Ty, and Vanie
Travel date: May 4, 2013 [Day 2]
Photo credits: Erin, Light, Szet, Tanj, Vanie

*"Suroy-Suroy sa Sugbo" is Cebu's current tourism slogan which means "Going Around in Cebu."