I woke up around 3:30AM feeling well rested and awake. I tried getting back to sleep but didn’t have any luck. I went outside around 4:00AM to get some hot water from the machine for a coffee only to find out that they unplug the water machine overnight. No hot coffee for me. Sigh.
I noticed that they had a barrier across the entire entrance of the resort and I wondered how I was going to get out at 5:40AM. I neglected to tell anyone that I was diving at 6:00AM.
I went back to my room with a lukewarm cup of water and added some coffee to it. It was disappointing but the best I could do at that hour. Around 5:30AM, I headed outside to see if there was going to be a way for me to move the barriers to get my scooter out. As I headed down the stairs, two of the girls were awake and moving the gates from the entrance.
I headed out for my dive around 5:40AM. There were only two of us diving that morning with an instructor. By the time we got geared up and everything ready, it was almost 6:45AM. The whale shark area was crawling with people wanting to swim with them. I was hoping to beat a good majority of those people in the water though it didn’t happen which was slightly disappointing.
Oslob is known for whale sharks as the boatmen feed them krill. There is a lot of debate online about whether going there and supporting this activity is a good idea. A lot of people have suggested it’s not good for the whale sharks but then others have said that the boatmen aren’t feeding them anything outside of what they would find on their own. The owner of the Deep Zone Dive Center told me that people are allowed to swim with the whale sharks in the morning only as the animals go out to hunt in the afternoon.
People are warned about getting too close to the whale sharks or touching them and fines are in place if you don't follow the strict rules. I asked how the rules were enforced and my dive instructor said that marine biologists were in the area in boats and in the water with cameras. They would fine you 2,500PHP each time you touched the animals or got too close.
I actually contemplated for weeks about whether or not to go to Oslob to see the whale sharks. Most of the articles I found online suggested taking a miss because it's unethical but in digging a bit deeper I found other articles that said the people of Oslob aren’t doing anything wrong. I decided to give it a go in the end.
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| Diving with the whale sharks |
It was a shallow dive at 9.5 meters. The instructor said that if we lost him, we should stay where we were and he would find us. That worried me a bit as it went against everything I’d learned about diving. I probably stayed too close to my instructor and missed out on getting closer to the whale sharks.
It was amazing to be below the whale sharks. They are massive creatures! I thought they would be scary and intimidating but they moved slowly, gracefully and gently in the water. It was an amazing experience!
Before leaving on the early morning dive, I had given the dive shop another 4,000PHP to do two dives at a neighboring island called Sumilon Island, leaving at 9:30AM. Upon returning, the lady at the dive shop told me the other two divers didn’t show up and they wouldn’t go out on boat dives with only one diver. She said that they would be going to Sumilon Island the following day.
I decided to do another early morning dive with the whale sharks the following day before the Sumilon Island trip. The lady at the dive shop said someone would pick me up at my resort at 5:40AM.
The weather wasn’t looking great for the early evening or for the following two days. I was unsure whether or not we’d be diving in the rain. I gave the dive shop my WhatsApp, so they could contact me about any changes.
When I got back to my resort, I returned the rented scooter, as I wasn’t motivated to do much. I had a late breakfast/early lunch at the restaurant, which consisted of a mango shake and a simple ham, beef and cheese sandwich. (210PHP)
After eating, tiredness set in and I headed to my room for a nap. I didn’t think I had fallen asleep until I looked at my phone and it read 1:00PM. I felt disoriented so I got out of bed and went to the restaurant for a hot coffee. (20PHP)
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| Earnie the Cat |
I read my book and played with a local cat that has a bum ear. We became fast friends! He was adorable! I named him Earnie and wished I could’ve taken him home for a better life. He was a lap cat and we had more than a few cuddles!
Around 3:00PM, I decided it was happy hour. I went to the restaurant to get a San Miguel Light beer for 50PHP. I sat on my balcony and caught up on my journal.
At some point in the late afternoon, I had another beer and some noodles at the restaurant. (190PHP) I grabbed one more beer before heading into my room for the night to watch some TV. Once again, I retired early as I had a 5:15AM alarm set. The dive shop was set to pick me up at 5:40AM.
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