Whale Sharks of Oslob, Cebu  the trip highlight!!!!
     Thursday June 7, 2012

            Since the Thresher sharks were gone from Pescador, this was the next best thing!

Wake up call at 4 AM,  5:15AM departure from Turtle Bay, and we sped off on a pre-dawn van tour along the sleepy Cebu coastline. The sun slowly peaked over the horizon and dogs ran in the streets, cocks crowed in the gardens and pecked at the edge of the thatched village homes. The water along the shoreline shined like a mirror , tuk-tuks zipped by our van , motor bikes with 4 people clinging to the seat and handlebars weaved in and out of traffic, rice paddies spread gracefully the border of palm tree groves.
 Small towns awakened and shopkeepers swept their entries and opened their doors for the day.

6:30AM  The van pulled down into a parking lot and stopped at the edge of a wall above the beach. Tan thatched cabanas line the sea wall, where we scrambled to don our gear and descend the stone staircase to the bay. We pushed off into the water and swam out to a line of small boats where the whale sharks congregate to be fed by fishermen.
 We dived down… to pandemonium!!

   Ten whale sharks floated beneath the boats, their big mouths agape, and were surrounded by eager swimmers. Below were 20 or more divers, holding cameras, columns of bubbles shooting up , everyone darting about to get a close-up view of the elegant graceful creatures.  These animals were juveniles, so there was room for everyone...sort of! It was difficult to get a clear shot as they were suspended vertically under the boats feeding with their enormous mouths open at the surface.
   In about 45 minutes , the boats retreated and the fish ventured into deeper blue water. The divers split off to get more images. EXCITING and adrenalin pumping action, beyond words!!!!!