Pacific Dive Adventures

The trip ended up being a bit of a process this time. I paid for the Tubbataha portion of my trip back in December. I had planned on going on the M/V Southern Cruise. That boat ended up not going out and I was switched to the M/V Borneo Explorer.

This necessitated some adjustments in my original plans (since I couldn’t change the international portion of my tickets). I ended up spending extra time in Puerto Princesa and received a longer trip to Tubbataha. I only got one dive day in El Nido (due to boat schedules) and 3 dive days in Coron (due to available flights). I would have liked to return to Anilao for a few days but ended up cutting it altogether.

For this trip I decided to buy a new laptop. A HP Mini 1137NR. I’m constantly looking for ways to save weight when I travel. With all the photo and dive gear that I carry on a dive trip, it’s already impossible to stay under the 10 kilo limit that is placed on me for some of the smaller commuter turbo-prop airplanes that I sometimes end up flying in.

I was looking for something low-weight, that I could write on, download photos too, and maybe have a few games to kill time with. Also wireless capability that allow me to check email and stay in touch while traveling. The HP Mini fit the bill in all these respects.

During my last trip, I took a 40 gig Photobank to download memory cards too. This time I brought the Mini plus a 320 gig external hard drive. I loaded Photoshop Lightroom onto the external hard drive. I downloaded photos directly from the camera. I normally shoot JPEG fine plus RAW. I had more than enough memory for a 3 week trip. This also allowed me to begin editing photos while still on my trip and gave me place to keep notes for my trip report.

I’ve also been looking for ways to save weight with dive gear. I switched from a conventional BCD to BP/W configuration with that in mind. I chose a Dive Rite aluminum plate with a simple hogarthian harness. With the Oxycheq Extreme V wing that I chose for it’s toughness and durability, my whole setup is barely one kilo. Add in a 3mm wetsuit, mask, fins, snorkel, and assorted small accessories and staying under my weight limit would be relatively easy.

It’s the camera gear that puts me over

My camera is a Nikon D300. For lenses I brought a Nikkor 60mm Micro; the Tokina 10-17mm Fisheye Zoom; and the Nikkor 18-200mm Zoom. I use an Ikelite Housing (with dome and flat ports), along with my Ikelite DS125 and Ikelite DS160 substrobes.

The strobes weigh 1.3 kilos each. The housing without the port weighs 3.24 kilos. I haven’t weighed the ports, but I estimate another kilo. The 8″ dome port is fairly heavy. Total for underwater photo gear comes to approximately 6.84 kilos.

The camera itself weighs 825 grams, plus the weight of the 3 lenses. The 60mm weighs 425 grams, the 18-200mm comes in at 560 grams, and the Tokina is 350 grams. All this together adds up to another 2.16 kilos.

That’s almost 9 kilos total weight for camera gear and another kilo for my computer. Throw in the 1.85 kilos for my Lowepro Fastpack 350 camera bag I’m at almost 11 kilos before even getting to dive gear. I’m only allowed 7 kilos for carry-on and 10 kilos for checked for my flight from Busuanga to Manila due to the size of the aircraft.

The end result of all this is that it’s impossible for me not to be forced to check at least part of my photo equipment. The housing and accessories I took in a Pelican Case. The dome port and strobes I wrapped in bubble wrap and put in my dive bag using my wetsuit for extra padding.

At Narita I still ended up being 11 kilos over (about the weight of my camera gear without the pelican case). I was charged 29, 400 yen (around $300 US) by Japan Airlines for 11 kilos! I’m sorry that is just highway robbery! The airlines have become very adept at gouging their customers!

I don’t know what the answer is, but the actual costs of flying someone and their luggage to a destination, is mostly in how much that individual and their luggage weigh. This means that I paid 29, 400 yen more than one of those people (who I’m sure were on my flight) who outweighs me by 11 kilos. I know they have to place some restrictions on it, and I would not really be opposed to paying a reasonable charge, but to charge me over 60% of my ticket price for excess baggage amounting to 10 % of my body weight just isn’t reasonable.

Anyway, I went and had something to eat and a couple of beers and made a decision that I wasn’t going to allow it to ruin my vacation.

Unfortunately I had put all my electrical cords and accessories in my check-in bags. Turns out there are several plugs located in the waiting area. (this was true in Manila also) I could have plugged in and topped off my battery for the flight. Something to keep in mind for my next trip.

It was a bumpy flight all the way from Tokyo to Manila. They were late loading and late leaving about 30 minutes. Food was decent. I had the hamburger steak and a couple of Kirins. Took a small nap, but was mostly awake. Read a book on the flight and watched part of a movie. We landed about 1030.

There was a huge line at immigration. I made conversation with a couple of tourists from Vancouver. They had paid half what I paid (without the excess baggage charge!) a perfect example of why the industry should be regulated.

After waiting almost 30 minutes to get through immigration, it was probably another 15 minutes before my bags came out at baggage claim. After getting waved through customs, I visited the money changer where I got 48.60 pesos to the dollar. I asked at the information counter about nearby hotels since I was flying so early and found out that there was a dayroom at the airport. I opted to pay 860 pesos, rather than leave the airport and pay 3 times that. The day room turned out to be to the left (coming from the gate) just past the duty free shops, before passing through immigration. I checked in, filled out the registration, showed them my passport (so they knew I had already passed through immigration) and paid for six hours in advance. They didn’t have change then, but promised it to me later. I was beat as it was after midnight now, so I just went to my room.

I was up at 5:30AM. I had put my laptop on charge before going to sleep. After visiting the wash room and cleaning up, I decided on shorts and flip-flops. I knew it would be hot. I packed away my long pants and shoes. My change had been slid underneath the door during the night. I should mention that the walls were very thin, it’s really only a cubicle with a bed. It was not absolutely quiet until after everyone from the last flight had gone. I recommend earplugs!

When I stepped out with my bags, the entry area was quite a contrast from the night before. The entire immigration, baggage claim, and customs areas were empty with the exception of a few security guards, and people coming to work. As I exited the security guard who had helped me the night before remembered me and said good morning. I asked directions and was told to just go out and turn right.

It was about a 15 minute walk to the other terminal pulling my two bags. I showed my passport and ticket to the security guard outside and passing through the first security checkpoint, I headed to the ticket counter. This time I was 20 kilos over, another 2500 pesos later, I was given my boarding pass.

They couldn’t change my return flight at the ticket counter, I needed to go to the Philippine Airline Office. This was simple enough to do, I left my boarding pass and photo id with the security guard and exited. After passing through another security checkpoint I entered the PAL office. After a short 5 minute wait, I spoke with an agent. I couldn’t change my flight to 4 May because both flights were full. I got on the standby for the 4th and changed my ticket to the first available flight which was on 2 May.

I grabbed some coffee and a sandwich for breakfast near the gate. They started loading the flight around 8AM. I normally just wait for the line to go down first. After about 15 minutes I went to find out why the line didn’t seem any shorter. It turned out they were loading two flights at the same gate and the crowd standing around the entrance were waiting for a flight to Cebu.

I walked right on the plane and was one of the last ones to board. This worked out well, since I was able to walk pretty much straight to my seat, stow my bag and sit. Checking in early had worked to my advantage. The agent had given me an emergency row seat, which gave me plenty of leg room

After a short (1 hour) ride to Puerto Princesa, the plane arrived only a little late. I opted to allow a porter to help me with my bags. The baggage crates were pulled right up to carousel. I stood and watched as they unloaded them. Just as I suspected, A fragile tag really has no meaning to a baggage handler My bag was buried along with everyone elses, with bags stacked on top. Luckily everything was well padded!

I was checked in at the airport. I had to show my passport and it was written in a book. Didn’t ask why. Maybe I should have. I figured if they wanted to write me in this book, who was I to say no

After exiting the airport I caught a trike to my hotel. I was told everyone leaving the airport had to pay 50 pesos I don’t know how true that was, but later that day I went a considerably farther distance for only 10 pesos!

When I arrived at Moana Hotel a couple of minutes after leaving the airport, I was met by Nerizza who I had corresponded with prior to my trip. My room was ready. I also met Paolo the owner of the hotel who was my divemaster and guide during my stay in Puerto Princesa.

Paolo who is from Italy, had lived in the Philippines for 8 years and is married to a Filipina whom he has a 15 month old son with. He was very personable and likeable guy. I of course was ready to hit the water. He explained that there were some problems with the boat. He could set me up somewhere else but the boat would be fixed by the next day.

I opted to relax the rest of the day. Caught a trike to NCCC the local shopping center for 10 pesos. Bought a t-shirt and a pair of board shorts and then caught a trike back. Ended up paying 15 pesos coming back. The going rate was supposedly 8 pesos, but I didn’t feel like arguing over 10 cents

When I got back, I checked in with Paolo and set a time for the next morning. Headed over to the hotel bar. Met Sheila who took care of the bar and waited table for the PM shift. Che was back and forth helping Sheila and taking care of the office in the evening. I also met an American expat using the pool and another guy from the Netherlands there on vacation. We had a couple of beers together before they called it a night. I had a pizza that was so good I ordered a second one! I called it a night.

Puerto Princesa

The next morning I was up at 6AM. Breakfast was very good (bacon and eggs). Lany, the cook, let me cook my own eggs (it always pays to make friends with the cook ) The AM bartender (do they need a bartender at 6AM?)/waitress was called Baby (maybe because she was young ).

I met Paolo at 7. A jeepney was waiting to take us to the boat. After a short 5 minute ride we were at Pristine Beach where the boat was waiting. It was a really beautiful beach. The tide was out and we were able to drive out on the sand which was hard packed. The gear was loaded and we headed out for the first dive.
It was a nice cool day, a little overcast. I could see it raining off to the east, nearer I could see a rainbow which seemed like a good omen. After a short boat ride (about 20 minutes) we were at the first dive site.

The first dive site was called Maris Rock. Visibility was about 40 feet, not surprising given all the rain. Water temperature was 84F. Great for me as I had been diving in a drysuit in 54F water only 5 days earlier!

Part of my objective was to work on my weighting and getting my harness adjusted prior to Tubbataha. I just switched to a BP/W setup and was still fairly new at using it (something that would be rectified over the next couple of weeks).  I had been diving with a SS plate at home, but was now diving with an AL plate to save weight on the plane. I started with 10 lbs and was waaaayyy over-weighted.

The reef and corals were decent. There was a shallow wall and one area like a gully that went up to shallower water. Paolo spotted two different species of nudibranchs for me fairly close together here and another couple later in the dive. 4 different species, 3 of which were new to me. Also the usual collection of batfish, coral groupers, parrotfish, butterflyfish, filefish, damselfish, cowfish, puffers, and even some nice clams. Maximum depth was 65 feet.

We moved the boat to the second dive site called Finger Rock. We followed the reef to where we came across some nice pinnacles. This was a drift dive. Sea stars, damselfish, striped catfish, rainbow runners, cleaner shrimp, banded boxer coral shrimp, 3 different species of nudibranchs (different from the earlier dive), anemonefish, and some nice corals. Visibility was 40-50 feet and water temp was 84F. Maximum depth was 57 feet. I had cut my weight to 8 lbs and was still over-weighted.

After the dive we headed back in. We were literally swarmed by kids around the boat as we headed into the beach. The tide had come up while we were gone and the water reached right up to the small cottages that lined the beach. Lots of people there swimming.

We loaded the gear in the waiting jeepney that Paolo had called on his cell phone while we were on the way in and headed back to Moana. I helped unload the gear and rinse it. Paolo had said he would get it for me, but I didn’t mind. I took care of my camera gear myself. After rinsing it, I took it back to my room where after drying it, I removed the camera from the housing.

I went to the bar, ordered lunch (ham and cheese sandwich and fries) and a San Miguel Light and reviewed my photos. After lunch I spoke to Paolo about diving the next day. He told me there was a place he could take me that was a little bit of ride, but was nice diving. Did I mind paying an extra 500 pesos (around $10US) for fuel. No problem for me. After all, I was getting a private boat and guide!  We agreed to meet again the next morning at 7AM.

After that I went and took a nap. Got up about 5PM and went back to the bar. I ordered a pizza and had a couple of beers while I waited for Robert, the American I had met the day before. He lives in Puerto Princesa and is married to a Filipina. He had offered to take me around and show me some of the local places. We hit a few places including Jess Billiard Bar run by a Canadian expat. He went home to his wife and I eventually ended up at a place located almost next door to Moana called Warehauz. It was between Moana and the airport. They had a live band. One of the things I really enjoy about the Philippines is the music. Some of the best live bands I’ve heard have been Filipino bands. I had a couple of beers there then headed back to the hotel.

 

The next morning (Saturday) I was up early again. The same routine as the day before. I came out and my gear was already loaded in the jeepney. I had handed my camera setup to Paolo while I went back to my room to grab something I had forgotten. He told me later than when he handed it to the jeepney driver to load, he had told him to be careful the camera was worth more than his jeepney! I laughed and said it probably was, Paolo laughed and said there was no doubt! We headed over to Pristine Beach where the boat met us. After about an hour and 15 minute ride we were at the first dive site of the day a place called Dipa Wall. I cut my weight to 6 lbs and was still over-weighted.

This area was noticeably nicer than the one the day before. Nice corals along the wall. There were areas where fresh water streams were flowing into the ocean. The water was noticeably cooler. I recorded a temperature of 81F. I saw a little cleaner wrasse working on a lionfish, emperor angelfish, peacock mantis shrimp, lots of anthias, nudibranchs, a nice dive. Maximum depth was 86 feet. Cut my weight to 5 lbs (ended up leaving it there for a couple of dives)

During the surface interval we saw turtles coming up to get a breath and a sailfish break the surface as it chased smaller fish. The second dive at Gallows Wall was even better

Another wall dive, the corals were nice. Nice fans, table corals, and leather corals. I saw squirrelfish, a beautiful moray, another mantis shrimp, a couple different types of lionfish, damselfish, butterflyfish, harlequin sweet lips, triggerfish, a nice turtle, cowries, and nudibranchs. Maximum depth on this dive was 73 feet, visibility was 40-50 feet and water temperature was 84F. The dive was well worth the 500 pesos. After arriving back to Pristine Beach, we left the dive gear in the boat and I brought only camera gear back with me. We had already discussed a night dive earlier. I really enjoy night dives for the species that come out at night that you donÃÕ often see during the day.

After arriving back at Moana, I rinsed my housing off, dried it and removed the camera so I could review and download photos. I had lunch, filled out my dive log, and then worked a little on editing photos.

I met Paolo around 6:15 and we headed back over to the boat. This time we stayed fairly close in. Paolo called this area Silica Reef. It was fairly shallow where we started the dive, maybe 20-25 feet. The corals were not in the best of shape here.

Paolo spotted a couple of Pleurobranchus forskali fairly close together near the beginning of the dive. Once we got over the edge of the wall and dropped a little deeper the corals were in much better shape. Lots of crinoids, orange cup and tree corals. A nice little moray, surgeonfish, trumpetfish, pufferfish, squirrelfish, hermit crabs, anemone crabs, boxer shrimp, juvenile batfish, lionfish, and right at the end one of the nicest joruna funebris that I’ve seen. I thoroughly enjoyed the dive. Maximum depth was 45 feet, visibility was 40 feet plus (as far as the light would shine), and water temperature was 85F.

Paolo had called and checked on my pickup for Tubbataha. He had told me they would be by at 1PM to pick me up. By 12:30 I had finished packing and took my bags up to the front. I settled my bill and sat down to wait.

I was picked up at my hotel by Kathy. She had been working on the Borneo Explorer for 3 months. She had previously worked as an instructor for 3 years in Grand Cayman. My bags were loaded in the van and we were off to the port.
After arriving at the port, my bags were carried on to the boat. I was escorted to the salon where there were cool drinks and we waited for the others to arrive. It was a very diverse group with people from Russia, England, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, Thailand, Philippines, and of course the USA all united in a desire to see the wonders of Tubbataha.

I also met Paul our cruise director/boat manager. Paul, a PADI pro, is from Cebu and at other times of the year leads groups on dive trips around the Visayas. After welcoming everyone aboard, doing paperwork, showing our c-cards. We were formally introduced to Kathy who I had met on the way over and Mike from Canada. Kathy and Mike were the dive guides. There were 16 divers total on this trip and we were divided up into two teams. I would be on Mike’s team.   Mike is from Canada and had previously worked as an instructor in Vietnam and the Caribbean.

There was a checkout dive at 1400 so everyone could check their weight and I suspect so our experience level could be ascertained

I was shown my cabin (which had my name on the door), and someone helped me bring my gear up. I would be part of the Red Team on the starboard boat deck. There was already a crate with my name on it. By this time it was almost 1400, so I threw together my camera gear and went to the boat deck where everyone was already putting on their wetsuits and getting ready to go.

The Borneo Explorer has two 30 foot boats set up with outboards. We took one of these out to the mouth of Honda Bay. Looking ashore I saw Pristine Beach where I had dived from with Paolo. After a short brief we all backrolled into the water.

This was a short dive, only 29 minutes. Maximum depth of 57 feet. Water temperature was 85F. We were not that far from the harbor. Visibility was only 30-40 feet. I cut another pound down to 4 where I left it for Tubbataha (I would cut again later). As we headed back in we saw some groups of Filipinos sitting on some of the big buoys at the entrance to the harbor. As everyone waived, one held up a bottle of rum and waved to us to come over. We all smiled and laughed and just waved back.

After a quick shower, we met in the salon and then headed into town for last minute purchases. In the van I met Vladamir, Elena, and Yuliya who were all from Russia. We chatted a little. When we got to NCCC I took over as guide since I had been there before and showed them where everything was. I need razors myself. They needed batteries. After showing them where things were, we separated to do our shopping. I ended up walking across the street and purchasing a small bag to put everything in. After an hour we met outside.

After returning to the boat, we met in the salon, the crew were brought in and we were formally introduced by Paul. After introductions and a brief about Tubbataha and the what to expect the boat got underway while we had dinner.

Tubbataha

After a bit of socializing, I headed up to get my stuff stowed away. After unpacking I was asleep by 11PM. The next day, after a night of rocking and rolling, I woke up a little after 5AM to see Tubbataha in the distance.

I watched from an upper deck as the crew began making preparation for the day. We met in the salon at 6AM for a light Breakfast which consisted of toast, butter, jam, cheese, coffee, tea, etc The first dive was briefed at 7AM.

Our first dive in Tubbataha was Shark Airport on the North Atoll. Our tanks were already setup and waiting for us on the chase boat. We put on our wetsuits, I handed my camera to Oca, the boatman. I grabbed my mask and fins and stepped onto the boat from the platforms that are lowered to form mini boat docks for each dive deck. A short boat ride and a review of the dive plan and we all back roll into the water for our first dive. Oca handed me my camera. I dumped the air from my wing and the first dive started at 0726. True to it’s name, I immediately spied a shark swimming across the reef and over the wall!

This will be an “abbreviated” report. I’m not going to break it down by individual dive site as I have before…

The dives at Tubbataha are pretty much all wall dives. We would drift along the wall and then be picked up at the end of the dive. Night dives usually stayed on top of the reef and we would sometimes start or stop there if the water was deep enough, but a drift dive along the wall was the usual rule.

As an example the top of the reef here where we dropped in at Shark Airport was around 50 feet (much shallower in other areas of course). I (along with everyone else it seemed) had opted to dive Nitrox all week. We were diving 32%. This first dive started with sharks and we saw sharks on almost every dive all week. In addition to sharks on this dive, I saw Napoleon Wrasse, a green moray on the wall, emperor angelfish, butterflyfish, triggerfish, squirrelfish, grouper, tuna, jacks, barracuda? To many to name! It was like that all week!

Water temperature was 83F on the first dive. My maximum depth was 107 feet. On the way back to the Borneo Explorer after the dive we saw a pod of dolphins. It was a really nice beginning to our week in Tubbataha.

We were really spoiled by the crew during our week. They did all the heavy lifting. I would take my camera in between dives and put it in the rinse bucket, but only opened it when I needed to change the batteries or download photos from it. When going back out I would hand it to Oca who would keep it in the camera box and hand it to me once I was in the water.

After diving we rinsed off put on some dry clothes and most of us usually ended up in the Salon depending on the time of day. They had two fresh water showers on the dive decks and would always have towels for us when we came back from our dives. Right after the morning dive was breakfast and after the second dive was lunch. Maybe a snack in between the 2 afternoon dives, and dinner after the night dive.

A little about the food? All meals were served buffet style. Light breakfast (before the first dive) was bread and cheese, fruit, coffee, juice. Heavy breakfast was eggs, bacon, hot cereal, pancakes, toast?. it changed every morning slightly, but was always good.

Lunch was meat, fish, vegetables, rice, potatoes, soup, fruit, desserts. Afternoon snacks, were usually some kind of pastries or fruit. Dinner was like lunch only maybe a little more elaborate. Good lasagna, spaghetti? Paul guaranteed we would all gain weight. I don’t usually on a dive trip, but this time I ended up gaining an inch around my waist!

I did 27 dives at Tubbataha. Unfortunately the weather did not cooperate due to a low pressure system that affected us. This restricted some of the dive sites as we were forced to move from North Atoll after the first day to South Atoll. We ended up finishing the trip back at North Atoll.

A list of dive sites we were able to dive would include: Shark Airport, Washing Machine, Seafan Alley, Amos Rock, Wall Street, North Wall, Black Rock, Delsan Wreck, North Delsan Wreck, Eiger Wall, T Wreck, and Malayan Wreck. Of course we dived these sites multiple times, but I didn’t see this as a bad thing really. We always saw something different!

Water temperature was generally mid-80’s, visibility ran 50-70 feet. First dive of the day was generally planned to 30 meters (100 feet) but if you went a little beyond that there was no problem. You couldn’t go much beyond because at 32% nitrox you’re computer was going to yell at you

We normally did 5 dives spaced out throughout the day, starting at 7AM for the first morning dive and 7PM for the night dive. One night dive was cancelled because of heavy current that started up as were were getting ready to do the brief. The last dive day only had 2 dives scheduled, but at our request 5 of us who weren’t flying the next day got to make an extra dive.

Some of the highlights for me was the huge numbers of sharks (more than I had ever previously seen), crocodile fish on the Malayan Wreck, the schools of unicorn fish, the large schools of jacks, and barracudas, marble rays, and the biggest lobsters I’ve ever seen!

Towards the end of the trip a blue water dive was planned for an attempt to sight hammerheads. Although we were repeatedly told there were no guarantees, within 5 minutes of reaching our position (well away from the reef) we saw not one, but TWO hammerheads. Unfortunately I wasn’t close enough to get good photos, but it was still very cool to see them!

On the last day, we made a shore excursion to the ranger station. Most of us bought t-shirts there as souvenirs (one of a kind design that can only be bought at the ranger station in Tubbataha ) After a long visit we headed back as it was getting dark. During dinner, bottles that had been stashed away during the trip were broken out. People were exchanging emails and Paul screened a video that he had put together for our trip which we all enjoyed

The next morning when we woke up, we were back in Puerto Princesa. Everyone settled there accounts (nitrox, drinks, etc? and we scattered. Some were taken to the airport for early flights, others to hotels in Puerto Princesa. I was given a ride to the shuttle terminal where I caught a shuttle for El Nido.

El Nido

For 600 pesos I was able to ride in an air-conditioned van to El Nido. The van left around 11AM. 8 hours later I was in El Nido.

El Nido is a small town on the very north of the main island of Palawan. I asked the driver for a recommendation for a place to stay and ended up at the Four Seasons (not to be confused with the International chain ) I asked the hotel for the nearest dive shop and they took me to El Nido Marine Club. I was not impressed.

Or I should say I was impressed, but not in a good way. When I walked up, I said I’d like to ask about diving. One man from the group sitting there walked over, it appeared somewhat reluctantly? It was like pulling teeth to even get information. The person answering my questions acted like he had better things to do.

My first question was if there was a night dive that night. The answer was no. Were they going out the next day. He wasn’t sure it depended on if they had enough divers. What was they price if I went out by myself they didn’t normally do that? Could I put my name on a list for the next day? “just show up”. I walked out feeling, “wow”, these guys don’t really want my business?

I went back to the hotel and asked if there was another dive shop. After getting directions, I went back to the same street (main street behind the beach hotels) and turned right instead of left.

When I walked into Palawan Divers, it was completely different. I was greeted as soon as I walked in. I asked about diving. I was shown the price list and was asked qualifying questions. What was my certification level? How many dives did I have? When was the last time that I had been diving? What was my main interest?

The shop was well laid out with what appeared to be new equipment hanging neatly from racks. The walls looked freshly painted, and there were many underwater photos on the walls (quite good ones). I saw one photo of a beautiful white nudibranch with yellow fringe (Ardeadoris egretta) . I pointed it out and stated, “I want a picture of that one”

I negotiated a discount since I had my own equipment and signed up to do four dives the next day. First impressions count and Palawan Divers made a good one.

The next day I was back early. There I met with Minos, the dive shop manager. Minos is from France and had been managing the shop for six months. There was a young French couple there whom I would be diving with that day. I’m always happy to make new dive buddies!

Minos did a very thorough safety briefing, even reviewing hand signals so that everyone would be on the same page. He also talked briefly about each of the dive sites that we would be diving on that day.

While he was doing the brief, I was setting up my camera and listening at the same time. After the brief we were turned over to our guide. Our gear was taken out and placed on the boat. I grabbed my camera. We walked across the street, crossed through the beach and waded out to the bankga.

After about a 45 minute boat ride through some very scenic areas we arrived at «ñhe Tunnel . This dive is a cavern dive. The tunnel actually passes all the way through and comes out on the other side of a point. The cliffs here drop sheer, straight into the water.

We were given a second dive brief, this one specific to the site. The guide was very professional.

The first dive had a maximum depth of 79 feet and lasted 61 minutes. Water temperature was 86F. Right near the beginning I spotted a new nudibranch species which made the dive for me right there. Nudibranchs species at Tubbataha had been limited given it’s location in open ocean. Of course people don’t dive Tubbataha for that

The Tunnel was a very nice dive. There were plenty of fish I saw a pipefish near the entrance. Immediately inside we spotted lobster hiding in holes near the ceiling. Further in, we saw soldierfish and bigyes, banded boxer coral shrimp, and spidercrabs. On the other side after we exited, I saw two different species of nudibranchs within a foot of each other, one of which was another new species for me. Also black tip grouper, anthias, and more soldierfish.

The second dive was a place called Twin Rocks. Again, there was very complete brief given by the guide of the dive site. He showed us a map of the dive site, briefed us on what we could expect to see and exactly how the dive would go. This was a great dive. Lots of nudibranchs, a new species of flatworm I hadn’t seen before, big schools of fish, and a turtle to top things off. Maximum depth was 53 feet, with a bottom time of 53 minutes and again the water temp was 86F.

After that we took a break on a secluded beach for lunch. We had all been sent to Squidos the day before to order lunch. After eating we went for a swim and then back onto the boat to head to our next dive site.

The third dive of the day was at Abdeen. Lots of nice corals, another new nudi to add to the collection (the Ardeadoris egretta I had admired a photo of at the dive shop. Minos later told me I was very lucky as it was not a common nudibranch in that area) Nice reef fish (the usual suspects), gobie with shrimp, and another turtle The cool thing during this dive was the golden trumpetfish cruising along trying to blend in with a school of fish that were also yellow

Maximum depth here was 48 feet and given the shallower depth, we ended up with an 86 minute dive. Water temperature remained at 86F.

After this dive we headed back to El Nido. After getting the gear ashore, I went into the shop, put my strobe batteries on charge, and changed my camera battery for a fresh one.

Minos got us together for the dive brief. Again a very thorough brief. Minos personally lead this dive. I was with a different group this time (again only 3 divers).

The night dive was at Helicopter Island. As we entered the water we waited at the surface near the mooring buoy and once everyone was in, we descended together.   We spotted everything from lionfish to nudibranchs, lobster, pufferfish, ghost pipefish, gobies on whip coral, anemone crabs? A very nice dive. Maximum depth was 66 feet and my bottom time was 67 minutes.

One thing Minos did that I hadn’t seen previously was to rig a strobe. He left instructions with the boatman to lower after one hour. It made finding the boat extremely easy.

All in all I would say that Palawan Divers is one of the most professional dive operations that I have ever had the pleasure of diving with. Their emphasis on safety, customer service, and taking you to where the best diving in El Nido can be found, set them apart from the rest. If you’re going to dive in El Nido, these are the people that you want to dive with.

My impression of El Nido is that it’s been under-rated as a dive destination. Visibility ran over 50 feet. Good marine life, lots of nudibranchs, interesting dive sites. Both it’s strength and it’s weakness is probably how remote it was. I really would have liked to have stayed there a few more days, but scheduling did not allow if I wanted to dive Coron.

Coron by Ferry from El Nido

I left El Nido on Tuesday, 28 April on the “Jessabel” for Coron. It was a short trike ride for 15 pesos to the pier. The fare was 2200 pesos.

I had been told to be there by 7:30 AM. It wasn’t to bad, the ferry actually left only 20 minutes late They made all of us put life jackets on before the boat would leave. Of course as soon as the boat had cleared El Nido, the life jackets came off! They made pretty nice pillows!

The ride to Coron was long. I had brought water and snacks. Beer, water, and sodas were for sell on the boat. I would occasionally take photos of passing scenery. Chat with other passengers, and nap. The boat stopped a couple of times. Once because the prop fouled. Someone put on a mask and free dived to clear it.

Another time because of an engine problem which was fixed fairly quickly, then again when large amounts of smoke started coming out. That took a little longer

We finally made it to Coron around 3:15PM… Fortunately the seas were pretty calm, it was still seemed like a long day on the boat

Sea Dive Resort and Siete Pecados Marine Park

After getting checked in and dropping off my bags in my room, I headed to the dive shop where I finally met Chris who I started corresponding with last year when I first started thinking about diving in Coron.

I filled out paperwork including a current medical questionnaire and showed my C-Card. I’d never been asked to fill out a medical questionnaire before and asked Chris about that. He’d actually had someone who had just gotten out of the hospital after being bent and wanted to dive! There’s liability of course, but more importantly the safety of the diver. Just because Sea Dive has the only re-compression chamber in in Busuanga doesn’t mean they want to use it!

I asked if I could do a night dive and was told no problem. While the dive shop set that up for me, I went back to my room to setup my camera and bring down the rest of my gear. I finally was getting the chance to dive DIN which turned out to be a good thing as I had somehow managed to lose my DIN-Yoke adapter

The first dive was at Siete Pecados Marine Park. This really is a can’t miss dive while you are in Coron. There are things to see besides the wrecks It was only a short boat ride from Sea Dive. As it was high tide the boat came right up to the resort. During low tide we anchored out and took a small boat in while we were there.

Sea Dive is another very professionally run dive shop. My guide gave a thorough brief, and we went through buddy checks before entering the water. Entry was a giant stride. Although I had been warned, I was immediately struck by the fact that the visibility was not the best… okay, I’ll say it, the worst I had seen in the Philippines. Despite this it still turned out to be one of my best dives!

We entered the water at 5:09 PM. Visibility was maybe 30 feet. Water temp was 85F. There were some really nice corals, plenty of nudibranchs, flatworms, clams, pipefish, lionfish, pufferfish, all the usual suspects were there. We saw a sea turtle, a juvenile sweetlips, batfish, and at the end of the dive a large green moray who was out for the hunt, I think, and wanted nothing to do with camera or lights, as I never got close enough to get a good picture.

Maximum depth was 56 feet. We exited the water at 6:52PM after a 1 hour and 41 minute dive. Since it was full dark when we came out, I told my guide, “no problem”, you can charge me for a night dive on this one

It was a bit cool at night in Coron. I recommend bringing a jacket or sweatshirt for the ride back on night dives or just walking around at night.

Akitsushima

I had been told by Chris the night before to meet in the restaurant at 9AM. I was up early for breakfast. The restaurant at Sea Dive has a self-serve coffee/tea area. Just help yourself. While I was there I would go down and have a leisurely breakfast and take advantage of the free wireless internet in the restaurant. (not yet available in the rooms). Not the fastest connection, but this is normal away from the larger cities in the Philippines. It was nice just to be able to check email

Promptly at 9AM the boat was ready. It was high tide so the boat came right up to the restaurant and we just walked aboard. There were 3 other divers on the boat. A young couple from Spain, Juan and Sonia, and another diver from Germany who despite diving with him all day… I can’t remember his name now (sorry I’m horrible at names ).

After a boat ride of just over an hour and a half we were at the first dive site of the day, the Akitsushima. A Japanese seaplane tender, it’s lying on it’s port side in approximately 118 feet of water. We were divided up into buddy teams, each with a guide. My German friend and I would penetrate the wreck with our guide. We both had experience diving wrecks and were certified for it. The Akitsushima is quite tore up inside and is not a wreck for someone who is inexperienced.

We first checked out the crane that was used to raise and lower seaplanes into the water. We then did a penetration into the wreck starting at the stern where we able to see the machinery for operating the crane. As I said earlier, it was quite tore up inside. Some areas were a bit of a squeeze. I remember thinking that going with a lower profile bp/w setup had been a good idea. Definitely not a wreck for someone who is a new diver or who is claustrophobic!

My maximum depth on this dive was 112 feet. Visibility was not the best, 30-35 feet. Water temperature was 86F. Dive time was 42 minutes. Because of the visibility I had opted to use my 60mm Micro-Nikkor. I felt I was more likely to see stuff I could do macro on. I took very few photos. There were a fair number of fish as there usually are around wrecks, batfish, yellowfin tuna, even some small barracuda. After exiting I saw a nice scorpionfish on the outside of the hull and a small school of razorfish swimming vertically through the water.

Taiei Maru

Lunch was served on the boat after the first dive. Fresh fish, chicken, a vegetable I’m having a hard time remembering now … I remember that is was good

We then moved the boat to our second dive site, the Taiei Maru. The Taiei Maru is freighter lying in just over 80 feet of water on it’s starboard side. It’s a very open wreck. The port side is only 35-40 feet deep and is covered in hard corals. Lots of batfish, three different species of nudibranchs, flatworm, anemonefish, grouper on the upper portside. Lobster inside. We could see the boilers when we penetrated. A nice dive.

My maximum depth on this dive was 84 feet. We had a 45 minute dive. Water temperature was cooler, 82F. Visibility was 30-35 feet.

Lusong Gunboat

The last dive of the day was the Lusong Gunboat near Lusong Island. My camera died at this point (battery), so no photos here I neglected to bring my spare battery (a mistake I didn’t make the next day )

The wreck lies in just over 30 feet of water and is covered in hard corals. There was a pearl farm nearby. Visibility was only about 25-30 feet. Some nice fish life. Towards the end of the dive we saw two scorpionfish. One was biting the other just above the dorsal fin. We couldn’t tell if they were fighting or mating. After a little struggling back and forth, they separated and the one who was being bitten got away. I had never seen a scorpionfish do anything but just lay on the bottom. They move very fast! I was sorry I was unable to take any photos

Kogyo Maru

I was again joined by Juan and Sonia the couple from Spain and (?) from the US. He was using all Dive Rite gear and was a tech diver who was not making his first trip to Coron. He would be my dive buddy for the day. I really need to start writing down names… something to remember on my next trip! Juan and Sonia I remember because I dived with them for 2 days and they’re now friends on facebook

The first dive of the day on 30 April (my last dive day) was the Kogyo Maru. A freighter it’s lying on it’s starboard side in just over a 111 feet of water. In the hold were what looked like 100’s (maybe 1000’s) of bags of cement hardened in place when the ship was sunk. There was also a bulldozer. It was fairly open. In one hold we found many lobster. There were schools of snapper around the wreck. Lots of coral, and small fish. Even clams growing on the wreck.

Maximum depth on this dive was 101 feet. Visibility was around 30-35 feet. Water temp was 85F. The cumulative effect of so many dives over the previous days was adding up. I was coming up not because of air but because of the accumulated nitrogen in my system. This dive ended up being just 42 minutes. I still had a 1000 psi when I hit the surface.

Olympia Maru

After lunch our second dive was the Olympia Maru. She sits upright in a depth of just 100 feet. The holds were wide open and it was a very easy wreck to penetrate. After exiting I found a lionfish. On the top deck, Juan and Sonia with their guide had found a nice cuttlefish.

Again I had to cut my dive short because of deco. My maximum depth on this dive was 88 feet with a bottom time of 46 minutes. Water temp was again 85F. I exited this time with just over 900 psi.

If I were to go back to Coron, I would definitely dive Nitrox next time.

Barracuda Lake

The last dive day of the day was Barracuda Lake. My American friend declined as he had already dived here before.

Juan and Sonia had dived it also, but opted to go and snorkel.

There were a crowd of boats around the entrance. We couldn’t approach the dock so we put on our dive gear and swam in. No wetsuits for this dive. Just trunks and a t-shirt. After a bit of a climb (helped by wooden steps that had been built above the rocks, we made it to Barracuda Lake.

The water was quite clear… and quite warm It was like stepping into a warm bath. The thermocline was reverse what I’m used to. Instead of going from warmer water into cooler, it was the other way around… we went from warm water into hot water! We also passed from fresh water into salt water at around 15 feet.

We didn’t see the barracuda, but we did see some interesting rock formations, catfish, crayfish, gobies, and a variety of shells. When ascending the water actually felt cool after passing through from the hotter layer beneath. Where it mixed it also was quite murky, like heat waves almost. Probably something to do not only with the difference in temperature, but also salt vs fresh water. It was a very interesting dive.

Maximum depth was 89 feet for 47 minutes. Water temperature on the surface was 87F. At depth it was at least 10 degrees warmer!

This was my last dive of the trip. In all I did 44 dives in a 13 day period beginning with my first dive in Puerto Princesa on April 17th and ending with Barracuda Lake in Coron on April 30th. I took only one day off, the 19th when the Borneo Explorer pulled back into Puerto Princesa and I was traveling to El Nido.