Have you ever wonder what it would be like to swim in the ocean with creatures that are bigger than you?
Like a whale or a shark or better yet a WHALE SHARK🐋!!! Now that would be cool, don't you agree?😁
I know, i know some of you may not agree with me because of the word Whale Shark, sounds scary right?
You might've imagine a whale that is ferocious(thank you google for the spelling.hehe) like a shark, or a shark like in the Jaws movie that has a size of a whale or just thinking that it's a freaking Megalodon!
Well, let me introduce to you my good friend Jinbei-chan!🐋 😄
Jinbei-chan and I will help clear all the misunderstanding that you have about Whale Sharks, so that you can also experience the feeling of having a gigantic friend. XD
Uhhm. I named her Jinbei-chan because i love one piece (one of the best anime) and she reminds me of jinbe that is a whaleshark fishman.
So, this here with me is Jinbei-chan, she has 2 cute little remora with her. Isn't there bond incredible!? They help each other to live happy.
The remora will clean jinbei-chan's body by sucking any parasite that may cause harm to her and at the same time the remora will fill up its belly. So everybody wins 😄
Ok, let's go!
This is where we went in our whale watching trip. Unfortunately, I was not able to take a picture of the resort so I googled the name of the resort just to let you guys see the place.
It is located at BRGY. Tan-awan, Oslob, Cebu.
Google Map
By car == it would take about approximately 2 h and 39 mns depending on the traffic situations.
By bus == it would take more or less 4 hours depending on the traffic situations.
We rode the bus to get the resort and thank God that i did not have motion sickness because I was able to force my self to sleep by the time the bus started to move.
I really get motion sickness easily when riding a bus, it's because it just stops suddenly and then accelerates right after a complete stop and it goes on and on until I puke my guts out! damn! I hate riding buses.
After a four hours of sleep/travel
We finally reached our destination, the George & Jimmy Whale Watching Resort and Restaurant.
Resort
Their activities offered:
| Local tourist | Foreign Tourist |
|---|---|
| Whaleshark watching ( boatride ) free lifevest= P 300.00 / $ 5.94 | Whaleshark watching ( boatride ) free lifevest= P 500.00 / $ 9.89 |
| Whaleshark watching ( snorkeling ) free snorkeling googles & lifevest= P 500.00 / $ 9.89 | Whaleshark watching ( snorkeling ) free snorkeling googles & lifevest=P 1000.00 / $19.79 |
| Whaleshark watching ( scuba diving ) = P 600.00 / $ 11.87 | Whaleshark watching ( scuba diving ) = P 1,500.00 / $ 29.68 |
That's all the activities that they offered. Good thing we were just local tourist, we were able to get cheaper rates! It's kind of discrimination though.
We availed the 1 Whaleshark watching (snorkeling) which only cost $9.89 and 2 (boatride) that's $ 11.88 because I am the only one that is able to swim among the three of us, so the total spent for whaleshark watching is $ 21.77 and its well in budget.
Rules and guidelines in watching whale sharks
- No feeding of the whale sharks by unauthorize person
- Do not touch, ride, or chase a whale shark to avoid injuries to the whale sharks
- Do not restrict normal movement or behavior of the whale shark
- Do not use flash as it may startle them which would cause panic
- Do not create splash when entering the water
- Do not wear sunscreen if you are going to enter the water. Sunscreen can affect the health of the whale sharks, so it is mandatory to take a shower before swimming with them.
- Motor boats are prohibited in the area. Only paddle boats are allowed. This is to avoid injury from the propellers.
- Viewing is limited to 30 minutes
- Maintain a minimum distance of 5m from the head, 6m from the tail (this differs from the 2m from the head, and 5m from the tail stated in the ordinance)
FACTS ABOUT THE WHALESHARKS🐋
Jinbei-chan
Whale Sharks are known as the biggest fish in the whole world! They can grow up to 40 feet (12 meters) long and weigh about 20.6 tons ( 18.7 metric tonnes ).
They are not whales! They are SHARKS they just have a lot in common with whales, from its size to its way of feeding rather than the typical shark that tear and crush their prey.
(That weed goatie's looking good😏)
- Whale sharks are filter feeders, meaning they open their mouths to let the water come in their bodies and they filter out the food, then they release the water and any debris back to the ocean through their gills. FANTASTIC if i so say!
(That tummy show was unexpected😅)
- Another fact about whalesharks is that they DON'T EAT HUMAN BEINGS if they were human eating giants, I would already be inside her belly. hehe and maybe be born as a whale shark. XD
Me and jumbo-kun trying to scare the photographer😄
jumbo-kun is my new friend coz jinbei-chan left to eat another boatman's krill
- Whale sharks have short barbels which is a whiskerlike sensory organs just like those of a catfish.
This was when I tempted to touch Jumbo-kun because she was super close to me, only about inches away from my hand. I forgot the rules about not touching them.hehe
As I was about the touch the whaleshark the boatman that is taking pictures of me signaled that I should not touch the shark. And that is whyy my hand just went like this...tssk!😖
- Whale Shark has a large mouth that can reach up to 1.5 meters (4.9 feet) wide.
- They contain 300 - 350 rows of tiny teeth and 10 filter pads which is used to filter the food.
Whale Sharks are an endangered species, Let us help protect them so that many will get the chance to see the most amazing and the most gentle fish in the whole world!
Swimming with them was the best 30 mins of my life😊
GoodBye my good friends! Until we meet again.😢
Thank You For Watching
I hope you enjoyed my adventure with the Giants of the ocean
I wish I could also swim with the whales here in steemit😄 The Giants of steemit.com
Note: My reference links are attached to the blue texts
