Donsol and Whale Sharks - Sometimes it's good to just travel.

As travelers we often have certain things we want to do when we visit places. Sometimes it’s just to make a tick on the “to-do” list. Other times, it’s because we really, really want to do those things. Swimming with the whale sharks at Donsol belongs to the latter category. I really, really wanted to do it. I was curious about what it would be like, ever since a friend back in Australia told me that there’s a place in the Philippines where you are almost guaranteed the chance.

Fishermen of San Joaquin

I’ve spent the last three weeks in the small town of San Joaquin on Panay island in the Philippines. Due to my “activities” - the constant waking up in the morning and the fact that swimming in the middle of the sea, while going out with the fishermen can be rather physically demanding (for someone who’s not in the best shape) I’ve been too fatigued to write anything substantial during this time.

Good bye Boracay! Hello deep, blue sea!

I’m in a small town called San Joaquin. I’ve come here after a few twists of fate led me to get in contact with an American volunteer working in “Coastal Resource Management” in the area. As those of you who have been reading this blog for a while know, I have a bit of an obsession for things fish and fishermen related. I guess it’s because I love eating fish and admire the men who brave the unforgiving seas to make a living catching that fish. I admire them even more now that I have gone out to sea with them.

Christmas with turtles and coral

Those who know me even a little, know how frustrating and irritating I find Christmas to be. Not only Christmas, but the whole period that leads up to it. I’ve blogged before that my work as a Santa Claus photographer (seeing the ugly side of Christmas) back in my university days might have had something to do with it, as did undoubtedly the fact that I spent my childhood days in communist USSR, where Christmas was purely a religious thing and religion was frowned upon.