So to start, even though I visited Anilao back in late September, I got a bit side-tracked. Easy for me to do I know 😀 I’ve been in Hawaii for over 2 months now. This is really late so I’m going to keep it short… besides it’s photo’s I think everyone wants to see anyway 😉
On September 23rd, Bauan Divers Sanctuary very kindly had one of their boats take me across to Anilao. What was a 20 minute boat ride would have likely taken an hour and a half or more. It would have involved a boat ride and a trike ride, followed by a jeepney, shifting to a second jeepney, and finally to another trike to make it to Anilao Scuba Dive Center from Bauan. I was very happy to not have to do that carrying to heavy bags stuffed with electronics, clothes, dive and photo equipment!
I dived with Anilao Scuba Dive Center again. Prices are reasonable and I like the people there. I tend to keep going back when I like a place 🙂
Weather was not the best on the 23rd so I opted to take the day off. Over the next 3 days I completed 9 dives. I started on the 24th with dives at Kirby’s Rock, Coral Garden at Sombrero Island and Matu Rock. On the 25th we dived Secret Garden, Suntree, and El Pinoy. On the 26th Secret Bay, Coral Garden, and Secret Garden again. Water temperature was mid-80’s with visibility averaging 35-40 feet.
Rather than go into detailed descriptions I’m going to publish photo’s instead this time 🙂 I am VERY far behind right now! 🙂 For more information about ASDC and Anilao I’ll refer you to my previous blog posts. Anilao Part OneAnilao Part Two
On the 27th I departed for Puerto Galera. As I did my last trip to Anilao, I opted for a trike to take myself and my bags to the bus terminal, where I caught a bus for the short trip to the port and a ferry to Puerto Galera.
I’ll try to knock out Puerto Galera quickly so I can write a bit more about Hawaii so please stay tuned 🙂
I first met Lourdes and Mark Lowings at last years DRT Show. Surprisingly they still remembered me when I walked by their booth at this years show! It was September 9th and I’d just returned to the Philippines after being home in the US for two months. DRT happened to be taking place the weekend I flew in.
While at home I’d made only 15 dives and was itching to get back in the water. The first week I was back there was a weather system passing by and conditions not the best. I opted to go spend the week at Subic Bay and Olongapo, where I often hang out in between dive trips. I have many friends in the area and it’s a popular place for expats like myself. I arrived in Olongapo the day after DRT ended as I wrote about in my last blog post.
I emailed Lourdes after arriving and negotiated a rate to visit the resort for a week, checking in on Sunday and leaving Saturday. I’d not really expected to dive that week, but towards the end of the week conditions improved and I decided to get a couple days of diving in Subic Bay. I wrote about the diving there in my previous blog piece.
Sunday morning, September 17th, I caught a trike to Victory Terminal in Olongapo. There I caught a bus to Cubao in Manila. From the Victory Terminal in Cubao, I walked a couple of blocks to the DLTB Terminal where I caught a bus to Lemery. I kept in touch with the resort via text messaging and when I arrived in Lemery, there was a driver there to pick me up. From there we had a short drive to meet a boat which was a short 10 minute ride to the resort.
I was a little blown away by the resort to be honest… much nicer than the places I normally stay! I tend to skimp when it comes to accommodations to save more money for diving. Bauan Divers Sanctuary Resort is a very picturesque place, built into the side of a hill it overlooks Balayan Bay. The resort has a total of 32 rooms. 16 suites that will sleep up to 8 people, 6 standard rooms that will sleep up too 5 people, 6 non-aircon backpacker rooms with a cold shower, 2 spa suites, and 1 instructor suite that will sleep 4. There is also a cottage with 4 showers and comfort rooms that will sleep up to 10 people. The resort is obviously very capable of accommodating large groups. There are two pavilions that are ideal for groups. They are complete with rinse tanks and places to hang gear.
Outside of my room.
Low tide at Bauan Divers Sanctuary.
One of two pavilions set up to handle large groups of divers. Complete with rinse tanks, a place to dry gear, showers, and comfort rooms.
Map of Bauan dive sites.
Racks for drying gear.
Standard rooms.
Tiki Bar
Plenty of seating along the water.
Tiki Bar
Lounge chairs with shade and a place to set your drink.
Several pavilions completed with lounge chairs.
Great views along the water.
When I arrived it turned out that I was the only guest in the resort! A couple of days later a group arrived from China but until then I had the place to myself. I was shown to one of the standard rooms. An absolutely beautiful room. Marble floors, beautifully decorated, and huge! Two king-size beds and one twin bed. What we call a “bathroom” or “restroom” in the US is called a “comfort room” or “CR” in the Philippines. This one had modern fittings and enclosed shower with hot water! (I stay in fan rooms with no hot water quite often to save money so a nice luxury for me 😉 ) There was also a dressing area with plenty of closet space. The resort has wifi throughout. There was a bench on the porch outside the room where you could sit, relax, and watch the sunset if you liked. A very nice room! I got unpacked and put all my batteries on charge.
The restaurant is located in a very nice pavilion complete with a bar. It appeared to be capable of easily seating a 100 people at one time. A great place to sit and watch the sunset. I was really impressed with the food there. Food was amazing and plenty of it! The first couple of days when I was there by myself I was served at the table. Once more people arrived they put out a really nice buffet. Every afternoon after the 3rd dive they would bring a snack and drink down to me. My only complaint initially when it was just me, was they were providing me with too much food! I felt surely I was gaining weight! 😀
Obviously a lot of thought and planning had gone into the resort. Everything from the multiple rinse tanks and racks for hanging gear to showers, to the swimming pool, to where we entered the water, everything was oriented towards the diver. There are two pavilions that are capable of handling different large groups. There are male and female comfort rooms and individual showers. Towels are provided. They have rental equipment and nitrox available.
Unlike in other resorts in the Philippines I’d dived where the emphasis is on boat diving, the focus at Bauan Divers Sanctuary is on shore entry. I knew before I went that I would be shore diving and I was frankly, quite curious about just how good the diving in the sanctuary would be. It turned out I was not prepared!
I’ve been diving the Philippines since 2007 and have logged almost 400 dives there. I have experienced a lot of great diving there. I have to say that Bauan Divers Sanctuary has the best “house reef” of any resort I’ve dived with! A diverse and healthy fish population and nice corals. There are multiple entry points from the resort and different routes making a number of “different” dives possible. Whether we went straight, left, or right. Sometimes we would come back to the entry point, but more often we would exit at a different spot than where we entered. Water temperatures ran around 84F and visibility averaged 40+ feet.
There are wall’s, caves, an island, an underwater pinnacle, sandy areas, and the opportunity to see something new on every dive, all from shore diving from the resort itself. Anthia’s, groupers, damselfish, pipefish, batfish, moray’s, crabs, shrimps, clams, soldierfish, squirrelfish, numerous nudibranch species, trevally, razorfish, trumpetfish, ribbon eels, butterflyfish, peacock mantis shrimp, sea turtles, filefish, hawkfish, even lobster… all the “usual suspects”! I made 3 dives a day for 3 days and never tired of the diving! On the 4th day I did my only boat dives heading south along the coast and doing boat dives in front of Dive and Trek and at Portulano House Reef. After we returned we did a 3rd dive in the sanctuary. I ended up with 12 dives in 4 dive days.
I really enjoyed the 4 days of diving with Bauan Divers Sanctuary Resort. In all I did 12 dives with them. On Friday, September 22nd I took a break and after talking with Lourdes at dinner that night she offered one of the resorts boats to take me across to Anilao. By boat it was less than 30 minutes versus a boat ride, followed by a trike, followed by a jeepney, transfer to another jeepney, then another trike. I was really appreciative of being able to take the direct route! Next morning as promised, I was taken by boat to Anilao.
They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so I’ll let the photos speak about the diving at Bauan Divers Sanctuary 🙂 I will be back!
Next up I’ll cover my 2nd trip to Anilao this year and second time diving with Anilao Scuba Dive Center so stay tuned! I arrived in Anilao on September 23rd and left on September 27th.
I’m in Hawaii now and trying to get caught up so I can start writing about what I’m currently doing. I still have my visits to Anilao and Puerto Galera to write about. I’ll be here in Hawaii for about 2 1/2 months so stay tuned!
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I covered getting to Anilao and the Anilao Scuba Dive Center in Part One, along with my first dive there. I’m running a bit behind (as usual it seems) due to not finishing up before I left on a trip to Chuuk (via Guam) on June 3rd. That trip which I’ll cover once I’m finished with Anilao, included being on a boat with no internet for 6 days! (Somehow I survived!) After my trip to Chuuk, I made a second trip leaving on June 21st, to El Nido on the island of Palawan here in the Philippines. A place that had internet, but not always the “best” connection. At the end of this blog post will be a small gallery of select photos from my dives in Anilao.
So to continue where I left off in Part One…
On Saturday May 13th I was up about 7 AM. I’d put all my batteries on charge the night before. I got dressed and wandered out to the dining room where I discovered the coffee pot. I’m really not a morning person and definitely need my coffee when I get up! Having a coffee pot set up where I can just help myself was a definite plus! After breakfast, I went back to my room and set my camera up with fully charged batteries. Then went out and checked on my equipment and made sure everything was on the boat. The boatmen would set up my tank every day, but I’m diving with it so I always check. This was pretty much the pattern every morning that I was there.
The first dive of the day was Secret Bay which is a good 30 minute boat ride. Secret Bay is mainly a sandy bottom with a shallow slope. It’s an easy dive. The reason people come here is simple… the critters! Frogfish, nudibranchs, mimic octopus, wonderpus, scorpionfish, shrimps, bobbit worms, have all been spotted here. People travel from all over the world to dive here and for good reason!
We started our dive at 9:40 AM and ended at 10:40 AM for a 60 minute dive. Water temperature was 83F and maximum depth was 67 feet. Vishal Girisagar who is from India, but lives and works in Singapore was diving with us again. He was on the night dive the previous evening also (sorry I left you out of Part One) 🙂 We would dive together for a few days before he headed back to his job in Singapore.
The beginning of the dive started with a tiny nudibranch, no bigger than my finger nail. Then an anemone with saddleback anemonefish. Next a fire urchin with a zebra crab crawling on it. There were the usual lizardfish everywhere and they are normally easy to photograph, depending on their camouflage and being still to escape detection until they’re ready to pounce. I used my snoot to photograph a coral gobie on coral. A red parrotfish and then another nudibranch. I spotted a devil scorpionfish, that although not uncommon, isn’t something I see on every dive either! The last one I recall was in Puerto Galera last September! A nice productive dive.
The second dive of the day was at Secret Garden. After we left Secret Bay we made our way around Mainit Point and then briefly pulled into shore and dropped off one of the boatmen. Then we went and did the dive which started at 11:50 AM and was a 60 minute dive. Water temperature was 80F and the maximum depth was 60 feet. Near the beginning of the dive I discovered and entire family of squat shrimp living on a rock just underneath and to the side of an anemone. The anemone also was inhabited by a few False Clown Anemonefish Amphiprion ocellaris I saw a couple of different white-eyed morays during the dive. Lionfish and a flying gunard. There was a blue-spotted ray searching through the sand and rubble. I got a photograph of a Thumbprint Emperor, so called because of the dark blotch on it’s side. Towards the end of the dive we discovered a nice outcropping of coral with an anemone and anemonefish, and underneath a Yellowmargin Moray-Cymnothorax flavimarginatus with a cleaner shrimp working on him! Right next to them was a banded boxer coral shrimp. I spent quite a bit of time there photographing the moray and the shrimp as it moved around the morays head and body. The end of the dive Carlo spotted a mantis shrimp and I grabbed a few photos of it as well.
After the dive we headed back to where we’d dropped the boatman. While we were gone he built a fire and cooked up a barbecue lunch which was quite good (I suspect he just heated it up, but it was still good)!
After lunch we headed back towards ASDC and stopped at Matu Point where we had done the night dive the previous evening. This time we dived the other side. We started our dive at 2:17 PM and again did a 60 minute dive. Water temperature was 83F and maximum depth was 58 feet. There were an abundance of cardinalfish and I spotted a juvenile Harlequin Sweetlips near the beginning and played hide and seek with it for a few minutes trying to get a photo! I then spotted a nudibranch, a Chromodoris kuniei Then our guide pointed out an orangutan crab hiding in bubble coral. It’s called this because of it’s orange color, and long hairy legs. Next was a scorpionfish, then another nudibranch.
One of the reasons I love photographing nudibranchs is the sheer variety. There are over 3000 species of nudibranchs in the world! Anilao has over 400 different species, giving it top honors for variety of nudibranch species for dive destinations in the Philippines! This is another reason so many photographers travel here! So, having said that, I try to do identifications when I can… Sometimes I’m just not going to find it right away though! When I’m writing I’ll include the identification if I have it.
Continuing on with the dive, we were running into some current and made our way around some rocks. Perched there on the side of one was a blenny hiding in what appeared to be a small barrel sponge or coral attached to the rock. It was poking it’s head out occasionally and looking around. At the end of the dive we discovered another small commensal shrimp hiding in bubble coral. Another productive dive!
Afterwards we headed back to ASDC. I downloaded photos, put my batteries on charge, and took a nap! Later I worked on photos from Dauin and my blog piece on my visit there. After dinner I made it an early night!
The first dive on May 14th was at Sunview (a lot of dive sites are named after the resort they are in front of or near too). Sunview is near Sunview Resort. . We started our dive at 9:40 AM. This site is a sandy bottom with scattered coral. Right at the beginning I photographed a Nembrotha chamberlaini. Then a white-eyed moray (Siderea thysoidea). Another nudibranch I’m still working on identifying, one I’d not photographed before so I was happy! Next Carlo showed me a small crab crawling in the branches of a Zygophylax coral colony. I stopped to photograph a beautiful gorgonian fan coral. Not sure of the species, but very similar to a Siphonogorgia godeffroyi with wine red branches and white polyps. Carlo spotted yet another nudibranch I’m still trying to identify, then a box crab Calappa calappa. Next was a pygmy seahorse Hippocampus bargibanti. Carlo spotted a tiny nudibranch, Flabellina rubrolineata feeding on a Eudendrium hydroid. Right at the end of the dive I photographed a commensal shrimp Periclimenes holthuisi crawling across a species of coral I’ve not identified. Our maximum depth was 70 feet. Water temperature was 81F. We were up at 10:24 AM for a 44 minute dive. This dive we ended up calling because we were fighting heavy current and decided it was better to call the dive early than get swept away. We signaled the boat and they came and picked us up.
The second dive was at Koala (in front of Koala Resort). That dive started at 11:24 AM and was a 45 minute dive. Koala has a sloping bottom with some scattered boulders and a variety of soft corals. Lot’s of fish, including anemonefish and some nice anemone’s. Water temperature was 82F and maximum depth was 90 feet. This dive as had the earlier dive that morning at Sunview had current also, although not as bad as it’d been earlier.
ASDC House Reef was the third dive of the day, although it’s more of a rocky slope to a sandy bottom than a reef. We were in the water 2:24 PM (after lunch). It was a 47 minute dive. Water temperature was 82F and maximum depth was 77 feet.
On May 15th, the first dive was Twin Rocks which is known as a good dive site for nudibranchs. We started at 10:01 and had a 51 minute dive. The dive started out with a nudibranch (of course). A Chromodoris annae. Next another possible (still unidentified) Chromodoris that was tinier than my finger nail! Next a Nembrotha chamberlaini, a nudibranch that is quite common in the Philippines that I’ve photographed many times. After that a Chromodoris albonares, another species that I’d not photographed previously. Then a group of three Chromodoris willani, two of them in the act of mating. I spent almost 4 minutes photographing them from different angles. One is posted in my Instagram @underwater.adventures When I left them Carlo had found what seemed almost too good to be true… 3 nudibranchs of different species all lined up next to each other! The largest was a Phyllidia ocellata. Next to it was a Phyllidia carlsonhoffi… and next to that one a small nudibranch that also resembles a Phyllidia, but which I’ve not been able to identify yet. The next species was Chromodoris fidelis, then another species of nudibranch I’m still trying to identify! I finished up the dive with some shots of corals, butterflyfish, damselfish, bannerfishWater, the “usual suspects”… Right at the end of the dive yet another nudibranch which I can’t identify! Eleven different species of nudibranchs in just one dive! Almost half of them species I haven’t identified yet! Who knows? They still are finding new species in the Philippines! 🙂 Water temperature was 83F and maximum depth was 67 feet. There was some mild current, but not too bad.
The second dive was another one at SunView. The dive started at 12:12 PM and was a 60 minute dive. I spotted a helmut gunard Dactyloptena orientalis at the beginning of the dive. There were wrasse, a pufferfish, butterlyfish, and a lionfish. A tiny nudibranch… probabaly Glossodoris. A commensal shrimp Periclimenes holthuisi with eggs. Another nudibranch, possibly a Cuthona. I photographed a beautiful Divaricate Tree Coral Dendronephthya (Roxasia). A pipefish, another nudibranch (unidentified), more tree corals, and a sea fan with a pygmy seahorse.
The third dive on May 15th was a night dive not far from Anilao Pier. We entered the water at 6:29 PM and did a 67 minute dive. There were lot’s of cardinalfish and gobies during this dive as there often are during the day also. Near the beginning we spotted an octopus which seem to always be more commonly seen at night. Next was a Philinopsis reticulata.
Crabs are always out and about at night. There are thousands of species of crabs so identification is often spotty at best! I spotted an unidentified species of porcelain crab with an anemone. Another crab, much larger (also unidentified) was next. It seemed quite ready to attack me if I got to close!
Next Carlo spotted a stargazer which are always cool to see. After that I spotted a tiny juvenile lionfish, maybe 3 inches long. An anemone with a family of anemonefish. A flat crab at the base of an anemone forcing a scallop open with it’s claws. I came across a blackspotted sole next. Then a small shortfin lionfish Dendrochirus brachypterus.
I found another small crab with very elongated arms, like a squat lobster, but much thinner pincers. Unable to identify. “Unable to identify” seems to happen quite often in Anilao!
Next a nudibranch, appears to be a Flabellina. Crawling along the bottom I saw a hinge-beak prawn. Then I discovered two octopus very near to each other… one had found a home in what looked like an old plastic 2 liter soda bottle with the top had the top cut off. The bottle was obviously a bit worse for wear! Nearby was another octopus that was a bit luckier. It had found a large and intact glass jar. After taking a few photos, I found a large blue anemone with saddleback anemonefish and a porcelain crab. I snapped a few photos then went back to the octopus.
My light was attracting a lot of krill that were so thick, they were often interfering with my photos! The octopus was taking full advantage and appeared to be snatching krill with it’s tentacles and pulling them in! I photographed a bit and shot some video. By this time we’d been down for over an hour and it was time to go up and have dinner! Water temperature was 82F. Maximum depth for this dive was 16 feet. Yes I had almost half the air I started with still in my tank!
On May 16th, my last dive day of this visit to Anilao, the first dive was again at Secret Bay. We got a bit of a late start. We hit the water and started our dive at exactly 10 AM. This ended up being a great dive, one of the best of the trip. At the beginning of the dive Carlo showed me a skeleton shrimp, Caprellidae. Then a nudibranch, Flabellina macassarana. Another nudibranch referred to in one of my nudibranch books as Doto sp.7, found only in the Philippines. More skeleton shrimp. Next a shrimp on a starfish, Periclimenes soror. After that a tiny decorator crab no bigger than a thumbnail on a whip coral. Two nudibranchs engaged in mating, these referred to as Godiva sp.3 in my reference books. Next I photographed a goby sitting on top of a sponge.
Then the jackpot, a Giant Frogfish Antennarius commersoni. It was easily 12 inches. This one was white in color and from a distance was almost indistinguishable from large white rocks strewn around the bottom in that area. This frogfish had developed some large scab-like patches and warty areas. It had blended in quite well! About 20 yards away and up the slope a little, another photographer was working on a subject. They finished up about the time I finished photographing the Giant Frogfish and motioned for us to come over. To my surprise it was another frogfish! This one the Hairy Variation of the Striped or Striated Frogfish Antennarius striatus. It was the first time I had seen one so I was pretty happy about it. As we headed back towards the boat I spotted a Pteraeolidia ianthina. A very productive dive!
The second dive we went to El Pinoy (in front of El Pinoy Resort). We were in the water at 12:36. El Pinoy, like several other dive spots, has a sandy bottom and scattered coral outcroppings. Right at the beginning of the dive I spotted a helmut gunard Dactyloptena orientalis. They tend to be shy and not easy to approach. There were plenty of wrasse in the area. We found a couple of yellow blennies playing hide and seek with us. A juvenile devil scorpionfish followed by an octopus. Another scorpionfish and then a pipefish and a blue-spotted stingray. Finished up the dive working around a nice coral outcropping with plenty of wrasse, damselfish, anthia’s, and anemones. A good dive! We ended with 57 minutes. Water temperature was 82F and maximum depth was 61 feet.
The last dive on May 16th (and this visit to Anilao) was a shore dive. We entered in front of ASDC and worked our way down the rocky slope and then paralleled the shore until we reached the sandy area we had spent more time at during the boat dive. Then we worked our way back along the rocky slope at a shallower depth and exited where we entered at. The dive started at 3:47 PM and was 63 minutes. The dive started with a cleaner wrasse working on a butterflyfish. I came across some soft corals with Periclimenes holthuisi. Then more soft corals with ambonian shrimp Thor amboinensis that hold their tail almost vertically. I spied a small nudibranch a Flabellina. Bubble coral with commensal shrimp, then a beautiful leaf scorpionfish . Next came a lionfish and a nudibranch (unidentified). Next were a pair of coleman shrimp Periclimenes colemani on a fire urchin. More ambonian shrimp Thor amboinensis with soft corals and more Periclimenes holthuisi. Carlo found a spiny devilfish Inimicus didactylus. After that another nudibranch… same species at the last which I’ve not identified yet and Pontoniinae shrimp Allopontonia iaini on a fire urchin. As we neared the end of the dive I spotted a small white-eyed moray. A very nice dive to finish up with! Water temperature was 83F and maximum depth was 57 feet.
After the last dive on May 16th I rinsed everything well and hung everything up. Usually I took care of my own gear while I was there, although they would set up the tank and put it on the boat. I’m fine with someone else doing the “heavy lifting”… my back isn’t as young as it used to be! All the gear would be taken inside each night and secured, then brought back out in the morning. When I checked my gear the next morning after breakfast my wetsuit and booties weren’t quite dry so I gave it a bit of time while I packed everything else. My camera housing, lights, strobe, compass, etc… go into a hard pelican case. The other gear goes into a dive bag which also has room for my clothes. My laptop, my camera (a Canon G16 so it’s small), my dive computer, and odds and ends that I keep on my person while traveling go into a small backpack.
I’d arranged the day before to have a trike pick me up to take me all the way to the bus terminal. Sometimes I just don’t want to deal with a crowded jeepney and my bags! I paid him 600 pesos (around $12 dollars US). We left around 10 AM. Traffic was quite bad that day due to road construction. We didn’t reach the terminal until nearly noon! I found a bus heading to Cubao in Manila. The bus conductor loaded my dive bag and pelican case underneath. We had about 20 minutes before they were leaving so I went and grabbed some food from a vendor and a bottle of water. The bus pulled out about 12:30 and 2 hours later I was checking into my hotel in Cubao.
I’m back to being a month behind and two dive destinations… but who knows? Maybe I’ll catch up soon 🙂 The beginning of June I traveled to Guam, where I’d booked a trip to Chuuk with a group from Micronesian Dive Association. From Guam we flew to Chuuk in the Federated States of Micronesia, home of the world famous Chuuk Lagoon. Here is found the largest concentration of wrecks in the world! This was thanks to Operation Hailstone during WW II and the US Navy’s decimation of the Japanese ships that were there. In my next blog post I’ll be writing about that trip so I hope you’ll stay tuned! Later in June, after returning to the Philippines I made a trip to El Nido on the island of Palawan, a trip I returned from just last week. I’ll be writing about El Nido once I’ve finished Chuuk.
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Anemone Crab photographed on a night dive at Mato Point, Anilao, Philippines.
Fish photographed on a night dive at Mato Point, Anilao, Philippines.
I was up early on Sunday, April 23rd. After breakfast I grabbed a trike out front and headed to the dive shop. This was the day we were going to Apo Island and I was looking forward to that!
Apo Island is considered one of the top diving and snorkeling destinations in the Philippines. It’s located about 19 miles (30 kilometers) south of Dumaguete. From Dauin it’s about a 30-45 minute boat ride. The marine habitat around the island is a marine reserve. There are over 650 documented species of fish and over 400 species of coral found here. Sport Diver Magazine listed Apo Island as one of the top 100 dive destinations in the world in 2008.
As we had the previous two mornings, after meeting at the dive shop we were transported by jeepney to the Dauin Marine Sanctuary where a boat was waiting to transport us to Apo Island. We made a stop at a convenience store on the way to purchase snacks. At Dauin our gear was loaded on the boat for us. Once all the gear was loaded and everyone was aboard, we departed for Apo Island.
Okay, maybe I’ve been in the Philippines too long (selfie’s are popular here 😉 )
The weather was beautiful and sunny as we headed across. A nice morning to be out on the water I thought! We had a large group of divers with us, probably 20 at least. There was music being played and everyone was enjoying themselves. Once we arrived there was a dive brief and then we all started gearing up.
Apo Island near Chapel Point.
The first dive was at Chapel Point which gets it’s name from a church overlooking the dive site. Although there were a fair number of boats there and quite a few divers, it didn’t feel crowded. My dive started at 9:44 AM. Where we dropped in was about 40 feet deep. It was a sandy area with patches of coral that sloped towards a drop-off and a very nice wall.
As I moved towards the drop-off I saw a nice anemone with a female tomato anemonefish. Even though I’ve photographed anemonefish many times I can never resist taking a few more 🙂 There were lots of anthia’s and damselfish. As I dropped down the wall I saw bigeyes, squirrelfish, and grouper. The corals were in really nice shape. There were gorgonian seafans. Lot’s of tube sponges. There were ledges and overhangs with plenty of fish underneath. Towards the end of my dive I found a nudibranch (Chromodoris magnifica) and took several photos. A very nice dive! My dive time ended up at 52 minutes with a maximum depth of 95 feet. Water temperature was 79 degrees Fahrenheit.
Tomato Anemonefish (Amphiprion frenatus) photographed on a dive at Chapel Point, Apo Island, Philippines.
After everyone was back on the boat we moved to the second dive site which was Katipanan. After our surface interval and another brief, we started entering the water. My dive started at 11:55 AM. Katipanan is a gentle slope. It has lot’s of corals. Soft corals, huge brain corals, lettuce corals, and numerous fish. Lot’s of damselfish, anthia’s, butterflyfish, triggerfish, and tobies. I took a photo of a titan triggerfish chomping away and couldn’t help but remember being chased by one last August in Puerto Galera! (read about it here in my blog). I ended up with a 67 minute dive with a maximum depth of 80 feet. Water temperature was again 79 degrees.
Titan Triggerfish (Balistoides viridescens) photographed on a dive at Katipanan, Apo Island, Philippines.
The boat moved again, this time to Largahan. After our surface interval and our last dive brief of the day we geared up and began stepping into the water. This dive site has lots of soft corals on the shallow side. As you move deeper there are more hard coral formations, with ledges and undercuts and a fair sized wall. What was interesting about this site is the streams of bubbles coming up from the sand that are caused by geo-thermal activity. My dive started at 2:40 PM. I was one of the first in the water and took advantage of that as it was the last dive of the day. I stayed relatively shallow with my maximum depth being only 38 feet. As at the other sites, there were plenty of fish! I saw a nice grouper near the beginning of the dive but was unable to get close enough to get a decent photo. There were plenty of damselfish, anthia’s, and wrasse. I photographed a damselfish and a cleaner wrasse. A toby, a lizardfish, then a curious staghorn damselfish that stayed around for several photos.
Staghorn Damsel (Amblyglyphidodon curacao) photographed during a dive at Largahan, Apo Island, Philippines.
After working the goby for several minutes, I found another lizardfish that I was able to spend some time on also. I took some photos of some of the corals, then another goby to finish up the dive. I ended up with a total dive time of 80 minutes. (No I wasn’t the last one out of the water 😉 ) Water temperature was again 80 degrees Fahrenheit.
Goby photographed at Largahan, Apo Island, Philippines.
After recovering everyone we started back to Dauin. I sat at the front of the boat and reflected a bit on the way back. The sun was descending to the west. It’s quite beautiful here! I love being out on the water. Perhaps it’s the sailor in me, but some of my best memories are out on the ocean or in it! I thought how fortunate I am to be here and doing the things that I love to do. Each day is a gift. It’s so easy to forget that sometimes! I’d had a great weekend of diving!
After arriving back at the dive shop, I rinsed my gear and let Snoopy know I was finished diving as I needed to review photos and make picks so I could make the deadline the next day. I didn’t think I’d have time to dive again and still get that done.
The next day, Monday, April 24th, I met my friend Mark for lunch. Mark suggested the Cafe Racer Diner. He told me it had the best cheeseburger he’d eaten in the Philippines! After lunch, I had to agree! We caught up a bit more on what we’d been doing and Mark talked about his plans for the dive resort that is being built at Dauin. After lunch Mark had a meeting with his architect and I went along. I believe it’s going to be a really great resort! It’s in a perfect location on the beach with the Dauin Marine Sanctuary being directly in front of it!
There will be deluxe rooms, a home for the owner, a meeting room/lounge, and a gym. There will also be standard rooms and backpackers as well. One of the things Mark is going to offer is the opportunity for experienced divers to do their own dives. From his place you can literally just walk into the water and you’re in the marine sanctuary! After a checkout dive (and a waiver of course) he’s going to let experienced divers buddy up and do their own dives at a reduced rate. This is a great idea in my opinion. I know that all of my diving in the US is done this way. All my diving in Japan was this way. All of my diving in Guam was like this as well. 99% of my diving in the Philippines has been done with a guide, because that’s the way they do it here. Of course it’s also very inexpensive to have a guide compared to the US or Australia too!
After the meeting with the architect, Mark drove me over to House Reef to pick up my gear. I introduced him to Snoopy. It turned out that although they had never met, Mark did know him by reputation. They started talking and really hit it off. By the time we left they were discussing doing some business together. I had copied my entries for the photo contest to a USB drive and took care of getting those entered while Snoopy and Mark talked.
Mark dropped me off at Gabby’s afterward. I went up to my room and started packing. After packing, I took a shower, and was on the computer for a bit, then went down and had dinner. I turned in early.
The next morning I checked out. I was in a trike at 7:30 AM on my way to the port. The trike ride was 50 pesos (around $1 dollar). All of the ferry lines were near the gate to the ferry terminal, except Ocean Jet. That turned out to be across the main street before entering the area of the gate. Once I got straightened out and had my ticket I went back to the gate where I was checked by a security guard and waived through (you have to have a ticket to get in). I paid 15 pesos for a terminal fee and 80 pesos portage fees for my dive bag. They took the big bag and I held on too my pelican case that my camera and electronics are in. I was on the ferry by 8 AM.
The ferry left at 8:30 AM and we arrived in Tagbilaran at 10:30 AM. After leaving the ferry I was directed to go around to the ticket window in the front and show my ticket. Then I had to pass through security again to get back into the terminal (no this didn’t make much sense to me either!)
While sitting in the terminal a guy walked by me who had a pelican case very similar to mine (except mine has stickers all over it). I noticed from his hat that he was a diver and we struck up a conversation. We introduced ourselves. He turned out to have just been diving in Dumaguete and was on his way to Malapascua where I’d been the week before. We chatted in the terminal while waiting for our ferry.
We were both in business class and we continued our conversation once we’d boarded. We expressed some concern to each other that our gear had made it on the ferry and I offered to step out and check. He pulled up a photo of his baggage (two big footlockers and a large bag actually). He commented that was just to make it easier to get help finding his bags, especially if there were a language barrier. Pretty smart I thought! I went outside to check and sure enough everything was there.
After that we started sharing photos that we had (mine on my smart phone and him on his small tablet). One of the first photos I saw I thought looked familiar. Turned out it had been a magazine cover! When he’d introduced himself, I thought the name sounded familiar. I had just met David Fleetham, one of the most published underwater photographers in the world! He didn’t say that by the way, I looked him up later. Here’s a guy who has had over 200 magazine covers, including the only underwater photo to ever make the cover of Life Magazine! He was a super nice guy and we spent an enjoyable couple of hours talking about photography and places we’d dived.
When we got to Cebu City we put our bags together and I watched his while he went to see if he could find the guy who was meeting him to take him to Malapascua. He came back with his driver and they picked up his cases. We walked out to the main gate, wished each other well and he got in the van to Malapascua and I got in a taxi to my hotel.
The next day I flew back to Clark. This concludes my trip to Dumaguete…. Finally! Aren’t y’all happy I’m finished? 😉
A short epilogue: Results came out a few days ago and I did not make the list of finalists in the photo contest. I wasn’t surprised. I thought my photos were fine, but nothing exceptional. It’s a very demanding contest and the competition was quite stiff. I saw some of the photos my fellow competitors were shooting and I was really impressed! What was important to me was that I had a good time doing the things that I really enjoy. I also feel that the conditions of the contest caused me to think about some things that will help me be a better photographer. Always striving to be better is a worthy goal in itself!
I chatted with my friend Mark in Australia yesterday and he and Snoopy have decided to work together on some things. Mark was quite happy about that as he would not have met Snoopy if not for me diving with him during the contest. They’re setting up an area now for Snoopy to work from right there on the beach at the Dauin Marine Sanctuary. For now Snoopy will be the instructor for anyone booking a course (Mark is an avid diver, but not an instructor). Anyone booking dives will be diving through Snoopy until they are fully operational. Snoopy will be able to book accommodations at the resort for his guests (as I mentioned earlier he has limited rooms). They will work together to fill boats for Apo Island, Oslob, and Siquijor Island trips. It’s a win/win for both of them. As of now, the fence has been completed and construction has started on 2 deluxe rooms and a home for the owner. It’s going to be hard to beat the convenience of being able to dive where you are staying! I’ve been invited to come back down and I fully expect that I will! I’m sure I’ll be writing more about his place in a future blog post!
Almost caught up! I was diving in Anilao just last week and I’ll be writing about that trip next. One of the things that people have lamented about for as long as I’ve been aware of Anilao is the way “pricing” is done there. It can be quite expensive for divers traveling alone. Well I’ve discovered a place that is quite reasonable and I’m going to write about it in my next blog post.
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After a decent nights sleep, I woke up on Wednesday, March 22nd (yes my blog is over a month behind but I’m going to catch up I promise!), had breakfast, then had the desk call a taxi. The North Bus Station in Cebu City is about the same distance from Kiwi Lodge as the South Bus Station. A short ride to the bus station and then I was on a bus headed to Maya. 5 hours later we arrived at the pier in Maya.
At Maya the bus lets you out at the new pier. You’ll be asked to log in with the tourist association, then you will purchase a ticket. Price of a ticket on the ferry is a 100 pesos. When the boat was ready we were directed to the boat and someone took our tickets. Be prepared to wade through the water (usually not more than ankle deep) to a ramp to get up on the boat. About 35 minutes later we were walking off the boat at Bounty Beach.
I should add here that last year when I spent 4 weeks on Malapascua Island that I came and went 4 times. Only one of those times did the ferry go to Bounty Beach. When I was in Malapascua again a couple of weeks ago, we were also dropped off at Bounty Beach so perhaps this is something new. What was more normal last year was to go to the port and if it were low tide, a small boat would transport us for 20 pesos. Again, be prepared to get your feet wet.
I opted to stay at Purple Snapper which is under new management and ownership. I knew from having stayed there last year, that the rooms were much more inexpensive than anything I would find on the beach! When I arrived I discovered everything was in the process of being changed over, including the name which has been changed to Sharks Tail. Interestingly enough, I again ended up in the same room that I’d stayed at on my last visit when I stayed for 4 weeks last April. As I’ve said in other blog posts, I often will get the least expensive room. This usually turns out to be a fan room with no television in some places.
Unlike my last trip, the bar and kitchen were open this time, and there was water in the swimming pool! Last year the pool was empty! I met Greg, the new manager, and it sounds like they’re really going to do a lot with the place.
Although I was offered the opportunity to dive with Shark’s Tail, I opted to dive with Evolution. Nothing against Shark’s Tale, but I’ve been diving with Evolution since 2010 and don’t feel any need to go somewhere else. I’ve been very happy with their operation which I consider to be a very professional one.
I was in Malapascua again just over a week ago and have done over 80 dives with Evolution now. At present I’ve done over a 100 dives in Malapascua. I made my first dive there in October 2007. I’ve not gone every year, but I have made six trips now… there must be some reason I keep going back!
This trip I was only planning 3 dive days. I was exhausted after the long bus ride so I opted NOT to get up early for the shark dive. Instead there was trip going to Kalanggaman Island the next day and of course I signed up!
Kalanggaman Island technically is in Leyte so it’s a bit of boat ride to get there. It’s an all day trip. It leaves around 9 AM and takes an hour and a half to two hours to get there, depending on weather of course. There is an extra fee involved of course because of the long boat ride, 650 pesos, which also included lunch. There is also a Marine Fee charged by the Leyte government of 500 pesos, so yes you are paying an extra 575 pesos per dive (don’t forget lunch is included though). I always try to go to Kalanggaman every time I visit Malapascua though. The diving is just that amazing!
Kalanggaman Island is wall diving for the most part. You drop in over a sandy area, then swim over the wall and descend from there. Visibility is often well over 50 feet to as much as a 100 feet!
Wall diving at Kalanggaman Island.
After a good nights sleep and breakfast at The Craic House (Evolution Dive Resorts restaurant), we had our briefing at 8:45 AM. By 9 AM everyone was on the boat and we were underway.
I always try to sit in the middle of the boat. I’m one of those people who just cannot get a tan it seems. I can get very red though! It was a nice relaxing trip. The weather was absolutely beautiful! As we were approaching the island a pod of dolphins was spotted and the boat briefly followed them. Sometimes dolphins seem to want to play and will race along in front of the boat, with occasional leaps into the air, like they are just having fun with us! Today though they seemed to have other things on their agenda so we continued on to the island.
At 10:55 we were starting our first dive. Our guide was Mette Hallum who is a dive instructor from Denmark. I actually have a photo of her from a dive on Monad Shoal last year. Right at the beginning of the dive there was an eagle ray hanging out near the mooring line and I took several photos of Mette shooting video of an eagle ray with her GoPro.
I’m never disappointed when I dive Kalanggaman. Visibility was easily 50-60 feet. Right at the beginning of the dive Mette spotted a black frogfish. I never seem to get tired of photographing frogfish! There are loads of hard and soft corals at Kalanggaman Island and they are in good shape. You can see schools of jacks and rainbow runners. Lots of wrasse and damselfish. Scorpionfish, frogfish, nudibranchs, triggerfish, parrotfish, schools of anthia’s, hawkfish sitting on coral, just waiting to swoop somewhere, coleman shrimp, anemonefish, ghost shrimp, butterflyfish,… all the “usual suspects” as I’m prone to call them. Water temperature was 78 degrees Fahrenheit and my maximum depth ended up being 88 feet. The dive ended up being 44 minutes.
Frogfish at Kalanggaman Island.
During the surface interval we pulled in too shore and had lunch. After lunch we were able to get off the boat and walk around the island. There are a few basic facilities there, but no water or food. You have to bring your own. I walked around the island a bit and snapped a few photos then back to the boat. The boat pulled out again and we headed to do our second dive.
Evolution’s dive boat, The Haldane, beached at Kalanggaman Island.
I started the second dive at 1:28 PM. We again were diving the wall, but a different area than the first dive. Pretty early in the dive Mette found an ornate ghost pipefish next to a crinoid which I took several shots of. The rest of the dive was much like the first one. Lot’s of fish, anthia’s, damselfish, more hawkfish, a couple of different white-eyed moray’s… just another awesome dive! Maximum depth on this dive was 66 feet. Water temperatures were a bit warmer at 80 degrees Fahrenheit, since we didn’t go quite as deep as the first dive. This dive was 56 minutes.
Freckled Hawkfish were everywhere while diving Kalanggaman Island.
After everyone was back on board, we got underway and headed back to Malapascua Island. We arrived at Evolution Dive Resort before 5 PM. I checked out the board for dives that were scheduled for the next day. I had planned a full day of diving for the next day, but trips to Gato Island require a minimum of four divers. I’d let it be known that I really wanted to dive Gato Island and it had been put on the board before we left that morning. I was happy to see there were enough divers. I signed up to do the early morning Thresher Shark dive at Monad Shoal and also the night dive at Pipefish Bay. After dinner at Craic House, I headed back to Sharks Tale for some rest. It was going to be a long day the next day!
The big draw that Malapascua Island has for most people is thresher sharks. It’s the only place in the world where recreational divers can see them on a reliable basis. Is it a 100%? No of course not and no reputable dive operation should promise that. We’re still dealing with a wild animal and conditions, especially current can affect sightings. Having said that, I’d estimate that over 80% of the dives I’ve made on Monad Shoal, I saw thresher sharks. Another way of looking at it would be in a one month period there might be a half dozen or so days when no sharks or sighted which means you’re much more likely than not to see sharks!
Monad Shoal is an underwater island that is actually larger than Malapascua. Scientists currently believe that thresher sharks migrate to the area of Monad Shoal to utilize the services of particular species of cleaner fish that are found there. It’s about a 40 minute boat ride depending on conditions. You have to get up early to see thresher sharks. Early morning is the only time when sightings are consistent. The species that is seen here is the pelagic thresher shark (Alopias pelagicus).
Dive briefings at Evolution for the morning trip to Monad take place at 4:45 AM. The staff and boat crews are there much earlier making preparations and loading all the gear on the boat. Divers who have already been diving will grab their wetsuits. Wetsuits are always hung up separately from the gear to allow them to be at least somewhat dry from the previous days diving. It’s easier to let divers find their own wetsuit where it’s hung up. It would be difficult for the crew to know which is which since they’re hung up together, especially in the dark! Once the briefing is over everyone will be transported by small boat (it’s low tide in the morning) out to one of the large bangka boats for the trip to Monad.
I was up at 4:15 AM the next morning. I give myself enough time to wake up in the morning and get my camera gear set up. The walk to Evolution is only about 5 minutes, so not far at all. When I got there I grabbed my wetsuit and then sat and waited for the brief. The brief was given right on time at 4:45 AM. One of the rules is that if you don’t show up for the brief, then you will be charged for the dive. This is just to make sure that people don’t blow off the dive. The crew comes in early to load the boats so there is a lot of work to be done in preparation to go out. Having said that, as long as you show up, if you decide that you are not up to a dive that day, or want to call the dive for any reason, you can do so and there will be no charge.
As soon as the brief was finished, we headed to the beach where a small boat took us out to the Haldane, one of Evolutions dive bangka’s. It’s still dark outside at this point, but we can see a hint of light off to the east. Once on the boat, a boat brief is given for everyone who is on the boat for the first time. Everyone checks their boxes to double-check that there gear is all there. People are human, so things can get mis-placed, although in my experience, having dived with them for years, this is extremely rare. Always best to err on the side of caution. No one wants to get out to the dive site and not have all their equipment. The tanks are normally already set up and I double check mine. After all, I’m the one who is diving with it! After that I go and make myself a cup of coffee and sit in the back while the boat gets underway. By 5 AM we were on our way to Monad Shoal.
As we approach Monad Shoal everyone starts getting ready. People put on their wetsuits and booties, strap on dive computers, apply de-fog (or spit for all the old-school divers), and stage mask, fins, camera’s, etc… By now there is plenty of light as the sky brightens with the arrival of sunrise. Within minutes of arriving at Monad, the crew assists divers with their tanks, final checks are completed and divers start stepping into the water with a giant stride entry. I was in the first group. Our guide this morning was Alex, one of Evolution’s Filipino guides. I’ve been diving with Filipino guides for almost 10 years now and they have always impressed me with their skills. Evolution has some of the best guides I’ve had the pleasure of diving with over the years. I’ve often said that almost everything I learned about spotting, I learned from my Filipino guides!
I stepped in, was handed my camera by a crew member and then finned over to Alex while we waited for the rest of our group. Once we were all together, Alex got a final ok from everyone, then a thumbs down for descent. I dumped the air from my wing and my dive began at 5:47 AM.
The best word to describe Monad Shoal at this time of the morning is “twilight”. By now there is enough light in the sky that you can see quite well, but it is far from “bright”. The top of the shoal slopes and is at about 60 feet on the shallow side. The slope continues down to over 80 feet. Around the edge of the shoal it drops off into over 700 feet of water. Visibility runs 30-60 feet depending on time of year and conditions. Where we started our dive it was about 60 feet deep. When I started to drop, I could not initially see the bottom, but it came into view very quickly. There are permanent mooring lines attached at different places. If there is current then you can use the mooring line to descend. This morning current was almost non-existent.
For most of the dive there were no sharks… this happens sometimes. Nothing is exact when it comes to predicting when they will be there. Sometimes we see them briefly, sometimes we see them the whole dive, and occasionally the sea gods are against us and we don’t them. Still, for me there really isn’t any such thing as a “bad” dive. As I said before there is plenty of life there on the shoal. I spotted a free swimming moray early on in this particular dive. Something you rarely see in full daylight conditions. There are also the usual marine life that you would see, anemonefish, damselfish, batfish, jacks, cleaner wrasse, shrimps, crabs, etc… All the “usual suspects” that those of you who follow my blog have heard me refer to them as.
One of the “rules” agreed to by all the dive operations on Malapascua Island, is that divers will not take lights are strobes on the morning thresher shark dive. There is a concern that if that was allowed, that the sharks might be scared away, and of course no one wants that! So, although I do often see other marine life, I rarely photograph it during that dive. At that depth and under those lighting conditions everything tends to be very “blue”! Sometimes in post-processing I convert to black and white because of that, and sometimes I leave it blue. It kind of depends on how I’m feeling at the moment!
When there are no sharks, I sometimes entertain myself by photographing the other divers. I usually want a few shots of divers anyway. My background in photo-journalism drives home the point that divers are a part of the “story” here and they really are. Diving is so much better when we have someone to share the experience with! I sometimes also will take the time to look at the other life on the shoal. I spend most of though like everyone else… looking for sharks!
At Monad there are a number of observation stations that have been set up. There are concrete blocks that have been sunk there and line attached. This is to give the sharks room to approach on their own. Again, if there were no organization here, and with so many divers in the water, there could be a possibility that the sharks would go elsewhere. During the morning dive when there are so many divers there, groups are to confine themselves to areas behind the lines. If no sharks are appearing at one viewing station, then a leisurely move to another station is allowed. Just keep away from the edges and behind the area where the lines have been installed. This maximizes sighting opportunities for the majority of divers. The system must work… as I said earlier seeing sharks is easily 80%! It’s important to understand though, that sharks can approach from any direction, occasionally they even come from behind you!
This morning, as luck would have it, we just weren’t seeing sharks. It happens…. Towards the end of the dive we had returned back to the area of the mooring line and a little beyond it, when Alex spotted a thresher shark in the distance in front of us, coming towards us! The shark swam right by me and I was able to take a few still photos, then switch to video. The shark went by, circled back a couple of times, then was gone into the blue. Awesome!
Thresher shark at Monad Shoal.
Back on the boat everyone was all smiles! People were talking, the photographers were sharing their photos and video’s, and it’s just general happiness, especially from those who have traveled from half-way around the world and sometimes only have a brief few days. Does life get any better? I ended with a 43 minute dive with a maximum depth of 77 feet. Water temperature was 79 degrees Fahrenheit.
We headed back to Evolution. I gave my camera gear a quick rinse, then headed to the restaurant for breakfast. I ordered, then dried off my housing so I could remove the camera and download photos from the morning dive. By 7:35 my breakfast was in front of me. After breakfast, I relaxed until it was time for the briefing for Gato Island at 9:45 AM. By 10:00 AM we were back on the boat and headed to Gato.
To be continued…
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