Ought not have gone to Oslob

Every once in a while during your travels you will run into a series of trying events that leave a sour taste in your mouth. Our first of these was found in a collection of coastal villages in southeastern Cebu known as Oslob. We had heard that in Oslob, swimming with whale sharks was almost a guaranteed experience. We had no idea to what length that "guarantee" would be true...

Arriving once again in Cebu City on our way down south, we thought we would load up on cash from the HSBC, one of only bank locations in the country where you can withdraw up to 20, 000 pesos for no banking fee (most banks have a limit of 10, 000 and charge you 200 pesos to do it - roughly five dollars). We caught a cab from the north bus station hoping to head to the south bus station via the HSBC. Our taxi driver had other plans. Instead of taking us past the bank, he repeatedly complained about how long it would take and decided to take us straight to the south bus terminal without letting us know about his decision. So we arrived at south bus terminal with no money to pay the taxi driver, and he drove off having given us a free ride. For someone who drives people around for a living, he sure had a lack of patience for traffic. So we used the ATMs found in the bus terminal and boarded a bus for Oslob, trying to forget about the bitter exchange that had just taken place and staying focused on dreams of swimming with gentle giants. We got off in Oslob, found a homestay, and went to sleep.

The following morning we were woken up at seven a.m. by a knock at the door. It was a local tour operator, wanting us to join her tour to see whale sharks and a local waterfall, for a ridiculous price. I was not impressed. However, she was insistent that this was the only way to swim with whale sharks in Oslob and that her prices were just as good as any other operators, so we accepted to come swim with the sharks and forget about the rest of the tour so we wouldn't immediately lose the majority of the money we had just taken out. Upon arriving at the whale shark operation, we found that it was just that. A tourist operation. Hundreds of people were preparing to get on little boats to drift a hundred feet off shore to swim with five or six whale sharks surrounded by a net. This was the extent to which "swimming with the gentle giants of the ocean" was guaranteed to Oslob's visitors. The locals bait the sharks to a certain area early in the morning, net them in, and let them go in the evening. It is truly devastating seeing half a dozen whale sharks drifting around in such a small and enclosed space, surrounded by about a hundred screaming tourists, few of whom seem to grasp the implications of what is being done to these creatures.

I am ashamed that we unwittingly paid to support this kind of behaviour. It was an experience that left us sick to our stomachs and in tears. We spent the rest of our time in Oslob laying low, reflecting.. This experience served as a reminder to us to be conscious about what businesses we are supporting while traveling. If there is one argument in support of this kind of operation it is that it clearly brings lots of money into the community, but in our opinion that money comes at too great a cost.

One of the nicer aspects of Oslob was the sunset over the water.

Hanging out and reading in the sun.

Claire's daily dose of mandalas and mangoes.

The consensus of our "whale shark experience," note all the boats in the water.

One of the whale sharks.

The chaotic scene above water, some boats feeding the sharks to control their movements, other boats ferrying tourists from the shore to the swimming area.

The only picture we got with both of us and the whale shark together. If you want to swim with these awesome animals, I would recommend heading to Donsol in southern Luzon where the experience you have is actually with wild whale sharks who are passing by on their natural migration route. The sharks at Oslob remain there because of the baiting and this disrupts their natural movements, and one can only imagine the stress they undergo due to the kicking and screaming tourists that surround them at every turn, not to mention the nets they encounter should they try and leave during the time of day when tourists are visiting them and paying 1000 pesos a head to do it. 

Recounting this experience serves as an embarrassment to the two of us, but we hope that those reading can take away from our mistake a lesson of having scrutiny over which experiences you choose to have while traveling. Please do your research and choose your experiences responsibly so you do not have to feel the way we do after our time in Oslob.