It was a funny looking class that I was suddenly found myself in. It seemed like one of those movies where newly enlisted army applicants come in with different hairstyles and clothes, and after a few production line stops, end up all with same horrendous buzz cuts and identical uniforms. Filing in the tourism office of Donsol, we could have not been more disparate; some young, some old, some with long hair, some cropped, foreigners and Filipinos, but within minutes, all of us sat huddled in matching issue of bright blue fins on our feet and bright yellow diving masks strapped tightly on to our foreheads that it felt like a communal facelift was happening.  Constricted blood flow seemed only distant thought however, because in about five minutes of prep time on a speeding outrigger, most of the instructions buried in the roar of the accelerating engine, we would be jumping into the sea to be voluntarily thrown to the sharks…. whale sharks that is.

 

With a sudden decrease of the sputtering engine, we finally in position and with a smile he shouted the last bits of exciting details. We were informed that it would be as big as a bus and moving at an average speed of five kph. This would not be so threatening, except all of this would be happening underwater so to follow some simple rules and avoiding an accident by not finding yourself directly in front of the oncoming animal, and for those with a more adventurous spirit, not to touch its skin or hitch a ride on the dorsal fin least one gets a first hand experience of meeting a powerful dorsal tail. Then as in a prayer, there fell a silence as we all followed his gaze to his companion that had now climbed up a three meter mast of the banka and was peering into the open waters.

 

Then just shot makes a sprinter move from stillness to a frenzy of movement off the starting blocks, the engine suddenly burst to a start as the spotter began pointing excitedly at a small break in the water about a hundred meters in the horizon. Then in an anticipated haste, we all checked our fins, masks and snorkel and with the signal from the instructor, we all dove over the side of the boat with an awkward splash to the sea below. Mildly disoriented by the rush of cold water and the surrounded by a wall of bubbles, it took me a moment to gain my bearings. My eyesight had just started adjusting and as I peeked my masked eyes into the distance, I had but a seconds notice to see the biggest fish I had ever seen, mouth fully extended in its one and a half meter gape.. heading in a straight line for me.

 

My mind kept reminding me that there was nothing to fear as these filter feeders have the not the slightest bit of intent to take a bite or swallow humans. Despite having 350 rows of fine teeth, they use this not to grind bones and tear sinews of flesh from prey, but to filter small plankton from the seawater they take in. The name is misleading as they are more akin to whales that are associated with this filter feeding diet, than sharks which are known to be more aggressive hunters. Whale sharks are sharks, not whales; although they look like whales, not sharks. Maybe it was my own hubris, but I stayed without moving till the animal was but four meters away, but still navigating a straight as an arrow direction towards me.

 

While my mind filled with reason not to panic, my legs and arms took on a decision completely of their own and began furiously thrashing from the path of the oncoming giant. Putting my head down, I headed for the surface, with all my might; arms and legs fully engaged. Yet, it was not enough to avoid hitting a bit of fin, dorsal or tail, I could not tell, from hitting a bit of my back. It was not much, but it was like I had brushed against a moving wall of sandpaper, its skin rougher than it seemed and as proof, a long surface gash of about four inches marked my skin.

 

On my first try, I actually got hit by a “bus”!! And as the huge fins disappeared into the turbulence, but instead of fear gripping me, I climbed up the railings of the boat with a sense of awe and admiration at the magnificent creature that I had literally come in contact with. Instantly, I found myself staring back into the water absolutely mesmerized, like a drug had just entered my bloodstream; making me hunger to jump as quickly as I could for more. It was mind numbing to realize I had just been in the presence of the most amazing creature I had ever had the chance to bump into.

 

I was now in anticipation, and looking at the crew member perched on the mast scanned the horizon for the telltale shadows hovering just under the waters. The size of whale shark and speed made it easy to spot when they came to the surface. Whale sharks swim very slowly because they use their entire bodies to propel forward, which is uncommon in fish, but allows you to move along side for a few seconds with a vigorous pace of paddling. The second, is that the size of the whale that we were chasing as it was looping around in a feeding pattern was about forty feet in length and about three feet wide, yet relatively small for a shark reportedly could grow to a full sixty five feet giant. The sun was now in preached right above so visibility of what moved beneath even at a distance was even better.

 

The droplets on my back had still not dried when, a new commotion happened among the crew. Instead of spotting the first whale shark that we had just encountered, it seemed like there were about five other larger ones that had now surrounded the boat and like a kid in a candy store, it was suddenly a moment of hesitation to find the best one in the shop’ or in this case, the largest shadow.

 

Within less than a minute, the decision was made with a loud call, and we were in the water in a flash. This time, the water was clear, and when I  caught sight of him, started to swimming in parallel to pick up momentum even before he reached me. This time I had a chance to take a closer look at his peculiar make-up of yellow dots covering his whole back in unique patterns, his blunt head with eyes at what looked like they were placed on the tips of table corners, and studying his powerful tail as it made powerful turbulence with each stroke through the water.

 

For the next hours, it seemed like an eternity as I spent free diving, bouncing between the surface and about 15 feet below admiring these beautiful creatures in flight. Respecting it. Reveling in its presence. It was as if each time we came in the presence of these giant of the seas, it would leave each of us overpowered with some feeling of deeper respect for all living things; of Mother Nature. It was if there was a communication of some sort that happened as coming to be with this creature created an energy flow that moved from them into us.

 

There were about 15 encounters with the whale sharks, each about ten minutes in the water interacting and when one got on board, mostly there was not even time to take out ones fins before a new call from the spotter who would yell,” Get ready, Ready…. Jump!”

 

There were moments I would feel that there was some sort of curiosity with the whale shark as when I was gliding beside and he would purposely swim slower and closer to my side than I had anticipated. It would be so close that I would peer into their dark eyes as they looked deeply into me, studying me. Yet, I had to be careful because they would move towards me instead of away, contrary to the stories I heard from other divers, less than a foot sometimes and I would almost feel the push of the water off their backs and had to take evasive maneuvers before the tail reached me again. Swatting me to the side one more time as if to remind me how tiny I was in comparison.

 

I often would just stay suspended in mid-water, not moving’ not chasing about as my other companions, but admiring these huge apparitions coming out of the depths and quickly disappearing and appearing in these curtains of light that streamed down from the surface. There was no need to chase them as by now there were about six or seven that were orbiting around the area and as one would vanish into the darkness, one would come lumbering into the brightness. The sight was as amazing up close as in the distance as if it was like looking at magically coordinated symphony of movement, with each opening and closing these enormous caverns of meter long opened mandibles, as they were singing a secret song as each would sweep by me to harvest a mouthful of microscopic food. This was what it must feel to be in complete peace and ecstasy.

 

Eventually my lungs tingled as it filled with spent breath, so as much as I wanted to not leave this amazing spectacle,  I collected myself and broke the surface to see my other companions already in the boat, all smiling and enthusiastically chatting about the almost spiritual and transforming experience that had just occurred. As the captain grabbed my arm and helped me on board, I saw his eyes twinkling as he understood what he must see everyday, someone who had just undergone one of the most amazing experiences of his life and needed a second to get his heart started again and begin to breath.

 

By now, it was getting late in the day and the one clear blue dome above us was turning into fiery red with the bright copper sphere began sinking into the horizon as dusk approached. So reluctantly we gunned the motors again and headed back for the shore.

 

I could not help but smile to myself as I recalled the almost surreal events of the day. Diving with the Whale Sharks is truly a mind boggling experience whoever you may ask who has had a chance to tick this off their bucket list. Slowly as the darkness settled over the land, I drowned another round of beer over my salted lips and jumped into the cab. As I was starting to loose myself in exhausted sleep, I could only think of one thing; being weightless in the blueness of the sea among the whale sharks swimming in an endless dance around me.