A PHILLIPPINE FAIRYTALE - Whale Sharks & Waterfall - 13 December 2022

Yesterday morning, when giving me a ride to the Yap Sandiego Ancestral Home, Jonathan had told me that he does trips to Oslob with guests for the Whale Shark viewing. Even though I had initially decided to hire Jay R for 4500 PHP, he sent me a message saying that his car had to be taken to the workshop and hence, would send me a friend of his with another car.

This was the second time he was palming me off to other drivers. So, I politely refused his offer and contacted Jonathan for the duty, which he readily agreed to. His charge was slightly higher at 5000 PHP, but the car was far superior, a 2.8 litre, superbly maintained Toyota Innova. Moreover, I found Jonathan to be easy to chat with and full of information.

We had agreed on a 3.30 am start. On the dot we left Marco Polo Residences. I was adequately armed with extra clothing for the shark viewing tour and a visit to the Tumalog waterfall.

Jonathan and his nonstop conversation ranging from economics to politics, family to jobs, development of new age businesses to industrial and agricultural transformation, food to liquor, I found him an amazing conversationalist. Naturally, his first job was as a salesman for more than 15 years. I could fathom that he was quite successful at what he did. For the past twelve years he has been driving a taxi and building friendships with most of his guests.

Jonathan is a good natured person and a very keen student of history and politics. His knowledge of Filipino politics is astounding. We discussed presidents from Magsaysay to Marcos to Aquino to Duterte. He explained how Naga city, which neighbors Cebu City, was transformed from a municipality to a city due to the hard work of a single person who brought in power plants, cement plant and generated infrastructure and jobs.

We reached the whale shark viewing area close to 7 am. Oslob is a tiny seaside town located on the southernmost edge of the Cebu mainland. It has lately become a popular tourist site due to whale shark expeditions.

While there are year-round whale shark sightings, the best time to visit is supposed to be March to April when the highest concentrations of these magnificent fish come to visit. The time for whale shark viewing, the year around, is from 6 am to 12 pm. Lots of people had reached the viewing area by the time I reached there. I collected what I needed for the tour such as waterproof footwear, comfortable clothing and GoPro.

I went to the enclosure to go through the four step process to get a boat; registration, payment, number allocation, briefing. Instructions are strict about how to conduct oneself in the company of Whale Sharks. Diving and snorkelling are time-and people-limited activities that are done in batches. Each group is given 30 minutes to see or swim with the whale sharks. I was given a safety vest to wear and was asked to wait for the call. I had chosen 'swimming with the sharks' option.

When I was called to a boat it had three crew and eight guests. We cast off and less than a hundred metres from the shore we were asked to fix the goggles and get off the boat for viewing the gentle giants. It was 30 minutes of unadulterated fun. The sharks seemed totally at ease with the human trespass. Their huge mouths seem frightening. I handed over my GoPro to one of the crew and asked him to film me underwater. The large guys passing by your side, sometime even brushing you, was an unreal experience.

Once I came ashore I had a shower and changed. I was ravenously hungry by then. Jonathan and I had breakfast at the WinWin restaurant close to where the car was parked. I had beef noodles and chicken adobo and a cup of coffee while Jonathan had a portion of rice and eggs.

Tumalog waterfall is a turnoff just a few kilometers on the return to Cebu. The steep drive to the car park of the waterfall is about a three kilometers. But the road was a newly laid concretised one. Beyond the car park there are motorcycles that ferry guests to and from the waterfall. I hitched a ride in bike 11. He told me that he would return when I was through with my session at the waterfall.

Weather wise the best time to visit Tumalog falls is supposed to be between December and June. The water at Tumalog falls isn’t too deep, so even a person like me, who isn't a swimmer, felt confident and comfortable because I could touch the floor of the fall pool at all times. The fall is approximately 100 metres and the water is relatively cold. And, since it was hot and humid I did not mind the cool water at all. In fact, I was reluctant to come off from the pool.

Guests, particularly young girls, use the falls and the pool more for photography and less for the glorious time in the water. I went right under the falls and felt the sharp thuds of water on my neck and back. It is supposed to be therapeutic in a sense for those with neck and back pain. A rainbow added to the ambience.

The water from the falls cascades down a few levels and flows though in a narrow stream beyond the falls limit. There are toilets and changing rooms as well as a dining deck at the entrance to the falls. After the fun time I had in the falls I changed clothes and took the motorcycle ride with number 11 back to the car parking area. There I paid 50 PHP for the motorcycle ride and was told that entrance fee to the falls of 50 PHP is waived for senior citizens!

Almost the entire trip back to Cebu I dozed off and woke up about 30 km short of Cebu. The traffic was incredibly heavy and that seemed to get under Jonathan's skin. He cursed at times and weaved expertly to make it to my next tour station, the Taoist Temple, built by the affluent Filipino-Chinese population of Cebu in 1972.

At 110 meters the temple has glorious views of the city and the vast areas beyond. The multi-tiered, many-hued temple is open to both worshippers and non-worshippers alike, who have to follow a strict set of rules while inside the holy premises. Photography of the altar and anything rendered holy is prohibited. There is curious custom of washing one's hands, lighting a joystick and dropping a couple of wooden blocks on the ground to find an answer to one's question before the altar. The 81 steps to the temple represents 81 chapters of the Taoist scriptures.

Once the temple visit was done Jonathan dropped me back to the residence, where I paid him the fare. I also requested him to drop me off at the Mactan International Airport on 16th morning for the first leg of my flight back to Chennai.

In the evening, while on a stroll to find something to eat, I chanced upon a Japanese eatery, the Ori restaurant. The seafood noodles and mixed mushrooms were fantastic. A couple of cans of San Miguel Light later I was ready for bed.