The Gentle Butanding

From my article Philippine Places To Go To, I lamented that thirteen years after the butanding sighting was documented in 1998, I have yet to see the butanding.

For this article, I have researched and interviewed Angie Duran-Agnes of the Sorsogon Eco Tour Service.  It would have been better if I have gone to Donsol for first hand info and whenI do so in the very near future, that would be a new topic to be discussed in this blog.

What is the butanding?  Butanding is the local term used to refer to the whale shark with the scientific name,  Rhincodon typus.  It is believed to have evolved 200 million years ago.  They are massive, between 18 to 35 feet in length and weigh 20 tons.  They could be easily recognized with the white dots on their backs that they are called dominos in Latin America.  They feed on plankton, krill, shrimp, small crabs and small fishes.  They reach sexual maturity at thirty years and a life span estimated to be between 70 and 100 years.

The butandings are migratory, travelling across the warm waters near the equator and are sighted in Donsol, Sorsogon from November to May.  Though there are also news of sightings in Australia, Tanzania, Belize, Belize and Honduras, it is in Donsol that  large concentrations have been observed.

The name whale shark could be misleading but butandings are gentle creatures.  They are playful, docile, and allow people to swim alongside them.  Be careful though of the unintentional blows from the tail which could be dangerous.

Before the butanding sightings, Donsol is just one of the sleepy towns of Sorsogon.  It is a third class municipality that depends on agriculture and fishing for its livelihood.  All this changed when David Duran and three of his diver-friends discovered the butandings.  They even took a thirty-minute footage of David riding on the back of the whale shark.  This account as the first butanding interaction.  Clueless on the kind of fish that they have uncovered, they showed the video to David’s aunt, Ms. Eggie Apostol of the Philippine Daily Inquirer who in turn showed it to WWF.  The succeeding butanding interactions put Donsol on the world map of must see places in the Philippines and became the town’s major income generator up to the present.

Prior to 1998, the population of whale sharks in the country was on the decline because they were being hunted for sale to Taiwanese fishing firms and Hongkong restaurant owners.  In that part of Asia, whale sharks are delicacy and aphrodisiacs.  Contrary to our knowledge that sharks are predatory, the whale sharks are on the other end of the line, being the preys instead of predators.  It is a good thing that the Philippine government has taken steps in 1998 by declaring the whale sharks as endangered species that helped put a stop to whale-shark hunting and exploitation.

It’s still the peak of summer and you, my dear readers, have still a month left to see these gentle creatures before they leave Donsol for other places.  Go pack your bags and board the first plane or bus for Sorsogon.

 

Holy Week in Sorsogon

Today is Maundy Thursday and my family and I are here in Quezon City.  For the longest time we spent our Holy Weeks in Bicol, a major part of it in Sorsogon.    There are a number of compelling reasons why we opted to stay here in Metro Manila this year.  I miss the hustle and bustle, though, that are attendant to this trip that has become second nature to me.

This annual trek to the province starts on a Holy Tuesday.  We try to avoid the rush by going earlier by one day.  Usually Metro Manilans leave for the provinces on Holy Wednesday after the close of office and business.

Sorsogon: Butanding Country

Rempeolas, one of must see while in Sorsogon City.

At exactly four in the morning, we board our vehicle, a pick up.  My eldest daughter, Nina, leads the praying of the rosary for safe travel as the usual prayer leader, hubby Jun, is busy driving.  Done with the morning prayers, the children, all three of them, go back to their sleep.  I keep Jun company so he will always be alert along the way.  Listening to music from my Ipod keeps me awake.  Various snack foods and drinks are ready in the trunk should one of us get thirsty and hungry.

First stopover is Lucena City for an early breakfast.  We don’t usually eat breakfast at seven in the morning on vacation but have to as the next stopover where there is suitable meals is a good two hours drive from Lucena City.  At the Grand Central Station, there is Jollibee and Chowking at the far end plus small local eateries in between the two biggies. My usual breakfast fare are Jollibee’s tapa and Chowking’s almuchow.

Just before noon, we are already in Naga City after hours of traversing the countryside dotted with large tracts of land planted to coconuts and rice.  Though not yet hungry from the snacks and drinks taken while mobile, we order traditional Bicol dishes from one of the local restaurants that sprouted on Magsaysay Avenue.  Instead of going to one of branches of the known food chains, we look for a nice and clean local restaurant.  This is one way of giving tribute to the locals for standing up against big businesses.  Our usual order:  laing, taro leaves cooked in coconut, pritos or fried fish and soup that goes so well with laing and pritos.  After Jun has regained his energy, we continue driving for another four hours to our final destination, Sorsogon City.

Mt. Bulusan as seen from the Rempeolas

When in Sorsogon, we proceed to the ancestral house of my father situated within walking distance from my school, Colegio de la Milagrosa.  Tita Babie, my father’s sister welcomes us and offers coffee, juice, lanson (local puto), bread, binut-ong (another local delicacy), and sinapot or maruya for non-Bicolanos.  She knows exactly what to offer us upon stepping foot in Sorsogon:  food that we missed eating while living in Metro Manila.

Ancestral house of the Jimenezes

My old school, Colegio de la Milagrosa

We spend the following days with watching or participating in the processions on Holy Wednesday and Good Friday.  Religious floats or carrozas bedecked with flowers depicting the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ  go around the city with devotees interspersed in between floats.  Most of these floats have been around since the Spanish times so they are so priceless in terms of  monetary value and history.

Aside from processions, reunions with relatives and classmates mark Holy Week.  Food, lots of it, singing and lots of catching up are the spice that make these get-togethers memorable.

With classmates from elementary: Amadeo Briones, Ritta Monje, Tootsie Cubias, Liz Luciano and Chona Eco-Brijuega

Come Black Saturday, we hie off to Naga City to visit Jun’s relatives and spend the night there in preparation for the long trip ahead of us back to Metro Manila.  We attend the Easter Mass at any of the four cathedrals in Naga City.  My children prefer an English Mass as they don’t understand the Bicol dialect.  After a hearty breakfast we head home to Quezon City.  Back to reality.

 

Hello World!

Welcome everyone to my blog.  I named it after the famed Bicol dish because it doesn’t fail to associate it with the land and its people.  Bicol Express did it for the Bicolanos what Chicken Inasal did for the Ilonggos.