In at the deep end in the Philippines
Jill Grieve didn’t have a university gap year so she and her friends are travelling the world as grown-up gappers. All qualified divers, one of their main purposes in visiting the Philippines was to dive with whalesharks. Her tale is probably somewhat sanitised (to protect her mother’s sensibilities), but it does give a flavour of their time there. Maybe she’ll share her experiences from Australia in the next edition?
Planning a backpacking trip to a country made up of over 7,000 islands requires a lot of focus. I had the perfect travelling companions (two school friends, Kate and Rachel, Rachel’s husband Ian and sister Jane), the perfect red lipstick (Lancome), the perfect high heels (gold, LK Bennett) and was raring to go. Of course I was taking red lipstick and gold heels backpacking – one must never to let standards slip.
I wasn’t apprehensive at all about the trip – after all, it was going to be a great adventure with friends – but I was certainly intrigued. I had never been this far from home before and had no idea what to expect.
Flying into Manila was a shock to the system – a long flight met by absolute chaos on landing at this busy airport so the only possible solution seemed to be beer and videoke while we got our bearings.
First impressions of Manila ...
It’s a city of sharp contrasts – Western-style advertising hoardings for luxury goods towering over shanty shacks with entire families living in squalor. While it is true that most cities will house luxury and poverty cheek-by-jowl, this was the most extreme example any of us had ever seen and it made us realise how immensely pampered our lives are in the West.
We were soon heading out of Manila on our way back to the airport – destination: Malapascua Island off the northernmost tip of Cebu. After a long and bumpy ride, strewn with traffic-pest goats, we were delighted to be ushered aboard an old fisherman’s boat for our short hop over to Malapascua.
The island turned out to be a revelation and we loved it. Cheap and cheerful accommodation, charming locals (see picture) and beautiful beaches.
Apart from the generators being turned off at 9pm each night (except on Saturdays when they were redirected towards the village karaoke machine), the only other catch was that the tail-end of the typhoon which had recently wreaked utter devastation in Burma was now blowing through. Our grand plans for diving to see thresher sharks were on hold as no dive centres were willing to risk going out.
Good news travels fast
Still, on Malapascua Island I discovered I had become an auntie again, a little brother for Freddie. Imagine – thousands of miles from home on a remote island where there is only electricity for part of the day, but the text messages still got through – as well as a picture of little Harry. Modern technology!
On leaving the peace of Malapascua it was a shock to the system to be back in bustling Cebu City and on our way back to Manila, then Legaspi, where it was a short hop to Donsol: whaleshark territory. How the shark spotters saw it I will never know, because the whalesharks cruise along about six metres below the surface, but after three hours of searching it was still a mad rush to jump off the side of the fishing boat.
In the water, the guide turned to me and simply said “look down”. I complied, at the exact moment as a baby whaleshark (probably about 12 metres long – the adults grow to about 20 metres) swam directly underneath me, only about three metres below my feet. It was one of those moments you know will stay with you forever; what a privilege to be in the company of such a beautiful and gentle giant – these endangered filter feeders.
The two weeks passed in a blur of San Miguel, pork adobo, tuktuk taxis and charming Filipinos who were so keen for us to enjoy their beautiful country. I can’t wait to go back – I just hope no one else discovers it in the meantime. And yes, I most certainly did get to wear the heels and lipstick!