By REGINA BENGCO

All I wanted was to see the fireflies and maybe catch a glimpse of the gentle giants of the sea, the whalesharks or butanding in Donsol.

We were all accidental tourists, reporters covering the President’s inauguration of the central nautical highway, a series of ports connected by Ro-Ro ferries in Visayas and Minandao.

My original intention was only to admire the whalesharks inside the comfort of the boat and leave the close encounter to those more comfortable in the water.

After all, I couldn’t swim and the waters in Sorsogon Bay are rougher than the secured beaches of Subic Bay in Olongapo City where I grew up.

But when Rommel, our guide, said we will miss a once in a lifetime opportunity I answered his dare of who among us would be brave enough to take the plunge.

I believe if I am brave enough to think of tying the knot, jumping into the sea without knowing how to swim is a far second.

A colleague, would later tell me that what I did was more of a death wish.

Leo Palo III of DZME radio agreed to join me. He was a reluctant passenger in the Donsol trip. He at first wanted to rest at the hotel prior to the gruelling inter-island ferry and bus ride we will face in the next three days.

On our first plunge, we saw nothing, no matter how hard and how many times we looked at the direction Rommel was pointing under water. We also drank lots of seawater because we both forgot what we were supposed to do upon hitting the cold sea.

Back in the boat, a spotter, saw another whaleshark. Hand in hand, Rommel, Leo and I hit the sea and looking down saw a whaleshark gliding directly underneath us, the white pattern of its spotted back clear against its grayish black bulk.

It was breathtaking, both literally and figuratively. I forgot I had difficulty holding my breath underwater as I focused on the marvelous creature below me.

Time seemed to stop, only the giant mammal moved. And when it got close to our feet we jackknifed slowly, out of respect bordering on reverence, remembering we were told to stay three meters away from the body and four meters from the tail.

Our companions of five other female reporters shrieked in excitement when they saw the outline of the whaleshark pass under the boat.

But Leo and I got the best angle of all.

Rommel said the whaleshark that we saw, which was around six meters long, was just a baby at 80 years old. He said a whaleshark, the world’s biggest fish, lives up to 200 years. It can also grow up to 15-18 meters and weigh up to 20 tons.

Whalesharks feed on the plankton-rich waters of Donsol.

We weren’t the only ones enthralled by the gentle giants. A group of young French tourists from Singapore had at that time been staying in Donsol for three days and had claimed to have so far seen 18 whalesharks.

Nits Pedragosa, municipal tourism officer, said Donsol could use an airport to accommodate the tourists who come flocking during the "butanding" season of January to May. The closest airport is Legazpi City in Albay province. They could also use wider access roads.

At least 5,000 tourists go to Donsol during the peak season, which is during the summer months of April and May. Transportation Secretary Leandro Mendoza said the airport in the nearby town of Bulan would be available in two years.

Because no one is sure how physical interaction would affect the whalesharks, restrictions have been imposed, such as the minimum distance from the giant fish, the prohibition on the use of flash photography and motorized vehicles such as jet skis, and a limit of only one boat of people per whaleshark.

At the Vitton Resort, renting a boat to get the whaleshark experience costs P3, 500 ($82.82) per group of seven persons while diving gears could be rented at P150-P300 ($3.55-$7.10). A registration fee of P100 ($2.37) is collected for Filipinos and P300 ($7.10) for foreigners.

Donsol has come a long way since 1998, when fishermen killed up to 100 whalesharks for their meat and sold them to Chinese and Taiwanese businessmen who run exotic restaurants. The local government has declared Donsol’s waters as "whaleshark sanctuary."

But these days, more tourists are discovering that there is more to Donsol than just the whalesharks. Visitors can also take a cruise in the mangrove forest in the town’s coast and spot the birds and fish that thrive in the 21 species of mangroves. That is half of about 40 species in the entire world.