Butanding Festival

For those of you who are planning to visit Donsol anyday on April 28 - May 5, that will be a good time to witness the annual Butanding Festival organized by the local folks. As a sampler, here's a good youtube video made a friend of mine, Yogi.

The Fireflies of Donsol

Down the river at dusk to see the fireflies when its completely dark

The first time I witnessed the fireflies of Donsol was more than four years ago. Then I got the opportunity to see them again about a month ago. The experience was really out of this world. Many would say that nothing could compare to the whale sharks (which are also found in Donsol). But for me, the fireflies would equal the rewards of the giant sharks. Swimming with the whale shark is an adventure, even a heart-thumping one (especially when water visibility is less than four feet and you would worry about bumping into the head of worse, the tail of the giant). But the fireflies offer serenity, well I could safely say spirituality.

For how can you explain the feeling of seeing thousands of glowing insects that form into throbbing balls of light, or cascading ribbons that engulf a tree, and yes, like Christmas lights covering another tall tree. Nobody can paint to you the whole picture of firefly watching unless you experience it yourself.

Some info about the fireflies:

There are more than 2,000 species of fireflies

Its also called lightning bug or glow worms (but only the larvae - this is quite different from the glow worms found in New Zealand)

Not all fireflies glow (only all the larvae). Most of the fireflies in the temperate countries do not glow.

Many of the fireflies species in Southeast Asia (which includes the Philippines) are known to glow like Christmas lights.

The Whale Sharks of Donsol

When AA Yaptinchay (he was then connected with World Wildlife Fund or WWF) approached me to help them out in their project on whale shark conservation in 1998, I was a bit hesitant. I could not imagine that a tourism product based on swimming with the world's biggest fish could become a tourism product. And I could not imagine doing it myself!

But it was already in a dire situation. We knew before that whale sharks were being hunted basically for their huge fins to sate the craving of people looking for shark's fin soup in expensive restaurants. In one island in the Visayas, we walked on the beach littered with discarded whale shark parts. Donsol can go the way of that Island and we needed to act fast. Two whale sharks had already been killed since the news of the presence of the animals found its way to the media.

So off we went to Donsol to develop an ecotourism program designed to help save the remaining whale sharks in the area.

It was a very good day for us because we found out that the Donsol folks did not want to kill the whale sharks and have in fact, started protecting the animals from getting fished out. So we went developing a management plan designed to protect the animal and at the same time provide economic livelihood to the people of Donsol.

Now, ten years later, I can definitely say that the Donsol folks are on their way to succeeding going the way of ecotourism. Its not perfect yet, there are times that whale sharks get crowded by boats and some visitors leave the area dissapointed. Much work will still have to get done.

But Im sure of one thing when Im asked how the effort has been. Its a year-to-year measure of success. Every year that the whale sharks come to Donsol waters and the people try their darnest to manage the tourism industry, then it is successful for that year. If we let the fishermen to harvest the newly discovered whale shark waters in 1998, then all the sharks would have been gone nine years ago.

Photos courtesy of Carina Escudero.

Ticao Island, Masbate

Although this new discovery is within the province of Masbate, its nearest tourist jump-off is Donsol, Sorsogon (where the Butandings are!).

Together with the guys from Donsol and volunteers of Bantay Kalikasan, we made a very good discovery in the almost unknown island of Ticao. We actually saw and bathed in a beautiful waterfall whose cascades flow down several cataracts and eventually to the sea. Yep, Its how beautiful that site is. Apparently, we were the first "tourists" to the site and we selfishly named it "Voltes V Waterfall." The Gen-X readers would have an idea about my age on this one, ha ha! Well, it seemed appropriate, there were five visible falls and basins, the last one being a pool that formed by the sea. It was really a great, great moment. We (there were almost 10 of us including the boatmen who also saw the waterfall for the first time) acted like kids. Some went on impromptu yoga under the water, some jumped to the lowest basin, the others trekked through the highly inclined walls to see the headwater. We also got another bonus when we visited a fishing community that never saw tourists in their midst. As usual, it was an absolute baby-making machine with laughing children dominating the scene. Really nice and happy community living in extreme hardship. We bought banig (sleeping mat made of leaves), a giant squid (not that giant, but a 4-kilo tinter minus the guts and the head/tentacles). Would have wanted to visit the spring source but night settled in. While some in our group drank rhum with the locals, we got another surprise just beside a house and saw one tree filled with fireflies! Some other highlights of that trip - some of my companions snorkled near the waterfall and saw night-time corals that are active in the middle of the day. Did some birdwatching and saw a nesting site of rufous night heron on a rocky pinnacle along the coast. Bought 2 small tunas from local fishermen and had a great lunch on an islet with white sand and interesting rock formations (almost similar to the one in Apo Island in Negros Or.) . This is just to show you that a few minutes beyond what must be your best destination, there could be a better one.

What made us go beyond the established tourist spot? We were trying to help make Donsol into a multi-day destination and for it to be able to offer more highly interesting attractions for the tourists to spend more time in the area and thus make tourism a real economic driver in that municipality. I guess, the people of Donsol are on their way there.

Below are photos of the first waterfall and our lunch on a small island.

Oh, a small caveat. Intense summer lessens the volume of water cascading down the two waterfalls. You may either have to live with this fact or drop it and snorkel instead and go island-hopping.

Another oh! Photos courtesy of Carina Escudero of Bantay Kalikasan.

For people who want to experience the whole thing in Donsol, here is one very good itinerary:

Day 1

AM (probably 7 AM) - Arrive in Legaspi City. Take a tricycle to the Satellite terminal for the van to Donsol.
- Arrive in Donsol (check-in the lodge in the town proper or tricycle to the Visitor Center for nearby resort accommodation)
- Go whale shark interaction

PM
- Firefly Watching

Day 2
- Island Hopping, snorkeling, and visit the waterfalls in Ticao. If you're lucky, you might encounter dolphins along the way.

Day 3
- Depart Donsol
- Optional tour of Albay
- Back to Manila