The Motherland's Calling ...

As you know, I'm in the process of building up my 30 Before 30 list, and so far it's looking like a lengthy trip to the Motherland will be necessary. Filipino friends have been reminding me of some very cool things that I have yet to do in the Philippines, and I'm not letting 30 come without gettin'er done!

One thing that I already had on the list is swimming with whale sharks in Donsol, Sorsogon. It's always been a dream of mine to swim with these majestic creatures. The whale sharks, known to locals as butanding, migrate to the waters surrounding Donsol to feed on plankton between the months of November and June, with numbers peaking between March and May. In case that picture there hasn't driven the point home that these are some massive creatures, here's a stat: the largest whale shark ever measured was an impressive 12.65 meters in length and over 21 tonnes in weight! Tourists flock to Donsol every season to leap into the waters from chartered fishing boats and get up close and personal with these gentle giants. Next year I intend on being on one of those boats! You can read up on Donsol here.

Since a plane ticket from JFK to the Philippines costs a pretty penny, I thought it would probably be best to add the Philippine adventure trips that I've put off for way too long to my bucket list. Upon the suggestion of my friend, Mitch, who I fondly dub Ms. Philippine Tourism, I've decided to beef up my list with these two adventures:

- Spelunking in Sagada.
- Trekking to the crater of Mount Pinatubo.

Sagada has been a dream destination of mine since my college days, but I kept putting it off because it is entails a loooong and rather uncomfortable drive from Manila. But I've heard many wonderful stories about all the wonderful things to see: the lush mountains, gorgeous waterfalls, fascinating hanging coffins, and of course the spectacular Sumaguing Cave. (I should also mention the Sagada gold, but I won't. Whoops, just did!) There are over 60 caves underneath Sagada so it must be an amazing place to go to for caving and spelunking. But from the pictures, it seems like spelunking in Sumaguing Cave alone is worth the crazy-long drive. The stalactite and stalagmite formations are supposedly pretty fantastic. More information, including rates for guided tours, can be found here. And you must see this guy's truly breathtaking pictures of Sagada. If that doesn't make you want to pack up your bags and go, I don't know what will! 

Finally, I think it's high time I trekked to the crater of Mount Pinatubo. I still remember when this volcano erupted back in 1991. I was on vacation in Hong Kong with my family and ended up getting stranded there because Metro Manila had gotten coated in ashes from the one of the largest volcano eruptions in history. Almost 20 years later, Mount Pinatubo has become a popular tourist spot, with trekking tours to the crater, swimming in the lake and hot springs, and even a volcanic ash spa! It seems to be an easy day trip from Manila, which makes it all the more plausible for me. Tons of pictures and info on trekking Mount Pinatubo here. The amazing picture above taken by this incredibly talented fellow has got me jonesing to go NOW.

So yeah, I'm pretty excited about these new additions to the list! Do you find yourself suddenly wanting to go on a Philippine adventure?