Bicol Adventures!

Legaspi & Donsol. April 2007.

For this trip, our group was composed of three families -- the Presas, Legaspis and Gambans. There were 7 of us in all, 4 kids and 3 adults. Our main destination was really Donsol, to give the whale-shark encounter experience a shot. But of course, since we were there already, we decided to also spend sometime in the town of Legaspi to go around and see the sights.

Needless to say, the Butanding experience was A-W-E-S-O-M-E!!!

But I'm getting ahead of myself.... let me back track a bit. We stayed at the Vitton Resort, right beside he tourism center. The whole process was very efficient -- there was a place where we signed up and were made to watch an orientation video. Then they assigned us to a "Butanding Interaction Officer" and a "Spotter" who led us out to a boat. After a few more tips from them, we sped off into the open waters.

These men were definitely experts, as they could spot the whale sharks several meters away! We went down into the water mostly in pairs, so that our two guides could help us without worrying about the rest. Eventually though, we all went into the water at the same time.

Let me say it again: coming face to face with a Butanding -- the LARGEST FISH in the world -- was simply A-W-E-S-O-M-E!!! :-) It was breathtaking swimming above, behind or in front of them! We had a total of about 7 sightings between us all. Sigh. Whattanexperience!!!

Anyway, after two nights in Donsol, we went back to Legaspi and went around the standard tourist spots: Cagsawa Ruins, where we had a great view of Mayon; Hoyop-Hoyopan Cave; and ate in a local store that reportedly had excellent Halo-Halo, DJC.

The whole trip was super fun and being with our kids (daughters/niece) made it all the more memorable!

Let our pictures tell you more about our trip! (click on the first picture of the slideshow for captions)