Diving in the world 7. Philippines

Yes! It’s here when I planned to go!  Because here I can find, caves, sharks and shipwrecks
Then you may ask me, what now and not earlier.

II don’t know why. Perhaps for prices of flying tickets, to see more things despite not was my aim. Usually we know what is our target, but we receive other inputs that distract us and we don’t go directly to our target.

In fact I know where to go…..Cebu!  because here I can find caves.

Cebu is a short flight from Borneo but there is and stopover in Manila a main hub in this region.

I get Cebu but I’ll be moving, so is a good idea to find a base camp where to stay longer and keep my equipment there to do small trips to the islands around as lighter I can.

I book two nights in Dee guesthouse white sands, well situated, and we’ll see.

First to do is try to look for the way to dive in caves.  This is not Yucatan, and here cavern and cave diving is not main business I see, and  there is not any diving center who offer this service

But, before receiving some answers about that I’ll dive into a cavern sea here that is real popular and will be ok to prepare. So I can adjust and check my equipment for really dive later.

Padi and Ssi almost everywhere, but a few diving centers doing some technical and I’ll see the best to do this. 

As everywhere in the world, people usually dive in cavern despite they don’t have any certification to do it, and the equipment neither. But this happens all over.

Tomorrow first dive here, and it will be special like every time you dive in a new country.  But cavern doesn’t seem to be so long despite I watched a video where there is a commemorative plate into, remembering somebody who died there, but accidents happen everywhere.

The afternoon before after doing the first investigation in situ, I can consider that restaurants in Philippines,  Korean, Japanese or Italian style, are not very expensive, but you usually pay ten times more, respect eating in the street. Many houses, cook their own dishes at home and then you can eat there if you like what you see in the pots.

Is not easy, but maybe you can find a place of great cooking and very inexpensive. I found after several days going round. All was delicious here and it’s worth to feed here, despite this type of self restaurants usually don’t serve alcoholic drinks, and if you want a beer you have to take from the shop and of course if you want bread the same. Then after collecting these items from shops you can go for lunch or dinner.

Following day, first dive here!!
the reef wall is not specially rich in coral and fish here, but cavern as all caverns for me is really nice.
After two dives here adjusting the Sidemount equipment and regulators, I’m ready for cave.

After getting here I was asking Filipino cave divers who have explored the caves in Cebu. It’s a karst region like Florida, Cuba, Yucatan. so despite is no plenty like this zone of Central America, we can find something interesting.

But as Bernil says, when you can’t go together because there is nobody, you must go by your own. It’s what I trained and what I do in these situations. Bernil, who has explored the caves here, was fully occupied for work and he couldn’t guided me in the caves. And then I rented two tanks, that is not easy because everybody wants to sell a fun dive consisting in two or three dives in the sea. Renting for them is no business and they don’t do it.

But after looking around after several days in Cebu, I met Jemar, supplier of tanks for diving centers here owning Pink Dive shop.
He rented me the tanks and helped me to carrying the equipment to the cave.

Pawod spring. this cave, in fact is used by locals to swim, but we go into and let’s see. no line into and entrance is very wide and several directions, continuing very narrow. After checking all we follow north until 47 meters. maximum lenght of my reel. Then I got out.

What we can see besides some fish and ocean water mixed is a lot of rubbish at the bottom.
After several dives here I took some video that I send through my friend to the government of Lapu-Lapu in order to clean the bottom. If procedures were quickly and I hadn’t to go I could have helped them but is no time to do it. But amazing dives here!

Now next target is Casili springs, a surgence in the mountain west direction of our position, 80 kilometers from here, but due to traffics road, it takes more than two hours to get there.

After renting a car and taking two tanks from Cebu, we go there. I’ve read and I’ve seen videos about this system but is not easy. Not for water temperature, not for lenght, despite it is, not for deep, but for restrictions.

Meanwhile, I get there I’m thinking, is not any trouble I simply take my Sidemount equipment in order can do this, but……………I’ll see!

Arriving there after following a path and we found a little river where that shows us the way to find the upwelling. Fantastic place!
I’ll dive with my Artic dry suite because water is colder here, just come from the mountains, and I don’t know how long will be underwater, despite my maximum time for this first dive here is 50′

So let’s go!!

Wow! Fantastic, but it’s a great restriction, and despite I take off one of my tanks I feel my dry suite, scrubbing the bottom and upper side of the cave. I pass this restriction, after ensuring a long time the safest way to pas and go out again and laying the line at the same time because no was any line there.
But after passing the big restriction and the following narrow meters, hopefully bottom, it’s of rounded stones, and no sediment here, I get out.

I decided not take more risks and go out. As my friend German Yañez say, everybody can enter into a cave, but not everybody can get out. So, next time! I feel I need more time, and more dives here to be more confortable and get, after this narrow corridor, the wide zone.

But I’m in divingintheworld project not diving in the Philippines and I don’t know now If I had time to come once more.

The handicap of a global project like this is that sometimes you can’t go into matter because all needs a lot of time, but the advantage is that you never fail, because is another amazing journey behind and then another….and next allways is better than before or we can think so.

After this consideration, now what to do is dive with Tresher shark in Malapascua, perhaps only place in the world you can ensure to see it. Is not one of top five, but its particularity of biggest tail, like a fox, make this shark special and refined at the same time. I lived closer this situation when 3 years ago in my country in Cap de Creus, one specimen was found in the nets of a fishing boat and the shark after found dead was send to university for scientific subjects

So next trip, Malapascua, an island located in north of Cebu.
After a bus trip to Maya the northest point of Cebu and after a registration we ship in the classic Bangka the philippine boat, to this small island.

Again remember me when I am in Playa catching the ferry to Cozumel. more o less is the same distance but now here port of origin and port of destination are smaller.
In fact when I arrive Malapascua after 45′ boat the streets I saw in my map are only paths of sand, and all village is like that.

Here one can feel the backpackers atmosphere despite is any suitcase rounding in the village.

I can’t believe that!! After one month travelling is the first time I hear a sound I recognize. Catalan and spanish people everywhere. last time I heared Catalan was in a bus trip Saigon-Phom Phen in Cambodia, I haven’t heard these sounds, and I’m wondering….is everyone interested in sharks? I don’t think so, because, I see people coming here to learn to dive. Then, what is the reason?… the travel books perhaps.

So today I have to find somebody to arrange dive for the thresher shark encounter.

A lot of diving centers. Perhaps the place in the world with more dive centers per square km. more than 30 for aproximate 10 square km.

After checking everywhere as always do, I chose Mabuhay Tresher shark. Good deal and they don’t ask me the money before saying hello!

Is not the first place I get information and I know is not a Malapascua joke, despite the dive is 4 30 a.m. in the dawn! It’s really true. I don’t like getting up early, but I know that Tresher won’t come at midday to see me. so let’s go!!

It’s 4 30 am in the morning. we leave the cost, it’s a 45′ trip, thinking that I’m going to do a night dive. It’s a strange sensation. It’s totally dark, but once we get the dive site, sunrise is coming. Is always amazing to watch the sunrise.

6,45h daylight. We jump into the water and dive between 25-30 meters deep and await.
Treshers sharks should appear as every day do.

only 4-5 minuts and we see the first one. It seems shy. Don’t approximate so much and the capture of good pictures is difficult. but we can see it’s majestic. Possibly the most majestic between sharks I’ve seen.
May be is for its movement of its big caudal fin that it uses to cacht small fish by hitting them.

We see three times more. All was going so quickly. Despite I don’t like to get up so early, I think I’ll dive once more here. I’m very far from home and I want to watch it again.

I have enough time to enjoy the island and today I don’t dive, but I’ll swim round the island. Its aproximate 12kms getting round the island swimming, a long distance to me, now that I don’t use to swim regularly. but I’ll train for a while. It’s two hours 15 minuts. Good enough for today
I’ve swam half island more or less 5 kilometers, but I’ve been aided by my fins.

I get the north of island where there are only local people. Most of turism are concentrated in south of island where is plenty of shore hotels restaurants and diving centers.

Next day I repeat the Tresher shark experience again. It’s so nice. I’ve seen three or four times the Tresher. I don’t know if it’s the same and has programmed its route every day. But allways interesting to see its elegance of movements.

I’ve been recommended to dive in gato island where is a small tunnel crossing a part of island and where white tip sharks rest in the bottom.
So, let’s see tomorrow.

In the evening a big offer for dinner but I choose Mabuhay restaurant, not for the pig I see they are grilling in the terrace but for the deal and good relation price quality as in the same diving center.

It’s a small and quiet island with so much turism in my opinion, nice place but I live tomorrow to my base camp in Cebu for going then to Bohol.
I take the same route to Cebu to return, and after diving one day more,  I go to bohol.  First of all, I planned to go Coron for wreck diving but in three destinations I’ll get the mecca of wreck diving, so I choose Bohol, and island at south east of Cebu, easy to go, an hour and a half ferry and then a taxi bus or motorbike to Panglao the small island in south were is the best place for diving.

I’m in Bohol, nice island and I take a motorbike to Panglao, 20 kms south. No more ways of transport apart of taxis.  I see when I get  it the atmosphere  that can be found in a place like that with sund sea and cheap prices were people on sixties and seventies come for retirement.  I can’t compare with Phuket too big and neither Malapascua too small, but the place have some similarities of each place.

I have my opinion were to dive but I look for information as everywhere, talking to people of diving centers to find best option

Of course that Balicasag is the best place here for diving and possibly be in Philippines but let’s to see.  Tomorrow morning after a good dinner in a front sea restaurant. Fresh food like most in South east Asia and not real expensive.

Fantastic day in the morning, I get the diving center and a  Bangka take to me and a french diver to Balicasag. Just two people, but it’s perfect. Finally I find a cmas diver. 

Underwater will be the same as phantastic? Let’s to see it!

I was told we could see a mass of jackfish, and just was after a while what we saw. Huge! We can approach as close as we want and the big mass no fear. They follow moving slowly.
Perhaps Sipadan was better but this place is not far in this way, a lot of fish, turtles, white tip sharks, good visibility. Great!

But I finish my dives here and I leave the island going Cebu again.

Once in Cebu I have enough time to dive in reef, easy and perfect to prepare my next dives. after almost one month here is not easy to leave. Very friendly people. I’ve done a lot of things. But now to organize my next destination. Is close from here, moving to neighbouring countries as I’ve done until now in Southeast Asia.

We’ll see that very soon.