This year, we tried to get them (as well as Mother & Father) to go, but it was not meant to be. Adorable Ray*-B was too young for what we wanted to do. Besides, Mom-sy was apparently preggers so it might as well have been divine intervention that they decided to pass this year.
Father and Mother, on the other hand, have since declared that they will only join us if the destination is cold, and Bicol was far from cold. It was hot, hot, hot!
I suppose the trip this year is an offshoot of our failed attempt to go last year because cousin Dooders had to delay his flight home to June--by which time the whalesharks had already migrated to China.
Swimming with the whale sharks was therefore at the top of our list this year, followed by the Firefly River Tour along the Donsol River. As a concession to the Hubby, a trip back to CWC for 1-1/2 days of wakeboarding, swimming and hilot massages was also included. Oh, and yes, plans were also made to drop by Mayon for a personal experience of what must be the Philippines most iconic volcano. =)
Our itinerary would have been as follows:
THURSDAY, MAY 15: 8:30 a.m. flight to Legaspi. Since it would have been too late to go to Donsol for the butandings, we planned to go around Legaspi instead. Take the city tour and drop by Mayon, before setting out for Donsol after lunch in time for the Firefly River Tour at 5:30 p.m.
FRIDAY, MAY 16: Whaleshark watching in the morning, before taking the 3-hour trip to CWC after lunch.
SATURDAY,MAY 17: whole day at CWC
SUNDAY, MAY 18: Trip back to Legaspi for the 1:30 p.m. flight back to Manila.
Now, if there’s one thing that truly kept us in awe throughout this entire trip, it is that some Unseen Hand seemed to have been organizing everything for us.
Two days before our trip, Cebu Pacific wrote Sister Pusjing that the 8:30 a.m. flight has been moved back to 5:40 a.m. The red-eye flight. Countless trips to CDO on a similar plane sched has taught me that it’s not the easiest flight to take. Unless you're used to it, it can leave you groggy the entire day. Still, since we got our tickets at promo prices and could therefore not rebook, we just consoled ourselves with the thought that arriving in Legaspi by 6:15 a.m. will give us enough time to take the 1-1/2 hour trip to Donsol. We were hopeful that we will be able to go whaleshark watching that morning, go firefly watching in the p.m., then set out for CWC early the following day.
Hubby Sweet almost sung Hallelujiah while jumping for joy at the thought of two whole days at the CWC. Hahaha!!! ‘D
We arrived in Legaspi to find Mayon covered with clouds (yes, you're supposed to be able to see it from the airport runway). Not a good sign. They say the whale sharks "hide" everytime it rains. We held on to what little hope there was anyway. We thought a little drizzle wouldn't be enough to spook these gentle giants.
Unfortunately for us, there was no one at the Donsol Tourism Office when we arrived--for good reason. After a few minutes of waiting, a girl emerged from the back room.
"Ma'am, malabo po ang tubig. Umulan po ng ilang araw. Pag umuulan po kase, yung dumi ng ilog, umaagos papuntang dagat."
She was referring to the soil, of course.
"Malakas din po ang alon. Sayang lang po kung papalaot kayo. Mahal ang ibabayad niyo. Malamang, wala kayong makikitang butanding."
ACK!!! It was not exactly the kind of thing you'd like to hear after taking the red-eye flight to Legaspi and enduring a 1-1/2 hour ride from Legaspi to Donsol! And that's without traffic, mind you, so you can imagine just how far that is. =(
"Ate, mamayang hapon po kaya, pwede na?"
"Ay, hindi po. Kahit po siguro hanggang bukas, baka di pa malinaw ang tubig. Umuulan pa rin po kase. Sayang lang."
WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thing is, Donsol is not a first-class destination. It is a fishing village that accidentally discovered eco-tourism as an alternate source of income. Even the resorts are basic. While airconditioning is available in some rooms, there are no amenities to keep one entertained. There are no pools. Heck, I even found out that it's actually one of the few spots on earth where there is NO TV. If there are no whalesharks to swim with in the morning, and if the fireflies will only come out at night, the entire day stretched before us with literally NOTHING to do. It was time to adjust the itinerary. A quick call to CWC confirmed that the cabanas we booked (supposedly for the following day) was also free that night. We could therefore opt to drive all the way to CWC on that day and just come back to Donsol--hopefully to better weather--on Saturday.
After a quick breakfast, we were off.
Hubby Sweet couldn't stop himself from grinning ear to ear. =)
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More to follow! Have to work now. =)
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