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We spend a day to visit all the resorts and dive shops in town, and decide to stay at Cherrys House Too and dive with Sun Divers, which is just up the street. Sun Divers is run by a friendly fellow from Austria, and they have the best boats; small speed boat for local dives, and larger Bangka for day trips. You know you’re on the right boat when everyone is speaking German. We spend four days diving; each day with a different guide; German, Filipino, Swiss, and English divemasters.
Sun Divers' Bangka
The first day is at Puntod on the south of Panglao Island. We drop in over the flat, and then descend besides a deep vertical wall which is inclined in several spots. The visibility is really clear. Kevin feels some disorientation and a touch of vertigo, with the wall on our left, and deep blue everywhere else. The wall is elaborately decorated with colorful coral and fans, and the current pushes us along without swimming.
Swimming up for air every twenty minutes
Snake head
Filipino divemaster holding poisonous snake
Two snakes making out
Don't be armed
Every time the Bangka beaches it, the local children swim out and turn the Bangka into a water playground. They love to climb up and then jump off the boat.
On the third day, the Bangka cruises to Balicasay Island. The visibility here is amazingly clear and the water is glassy. We see lots of things; school of Barracuda, turtle, colorful sea slugs, shrimps, crab, lionfish, and pipe fish.
Clear day with amazing visibility
Schooling Barracuda
Nudibranch (sea slug)
Common Lionfish
Does our bangka look like a lion fish?
Another nudibranch
crab hiding behind soft coral
Nudibranch video
Lionfish video
On this dive there is a minor incident. The drop off is gently sloped with really good visibility. While Vana is chasing the fish with her camera down to 30m, Kevin looks back at the guide, who is making lots of nasty looking signs. It looks like she’ll be down to 40m in another 20 seconds. Kevin chases her down, and brings her back to our planned dive depth of 25m. Back on the boat, everyone gives Vana a friendly but firm lecture about staying with your buddy, and being careful with depth.
It’s an easy mistake to make on a gentle slope with good visibility. At depth the percentage change in pressure much less than near the surface, so you don’t feel depth change as much. For our remaining dives, the Swiss divemaster lends Vana a dive computer, which gives her a new distraction; aside from the camera, blowing bubbles, buoyancy, and looking at the fish. Vana just loves distractions!
Vana looking embarrassed while everyone's giving her a hard time
We take the smaller speedboat for two local dives on the fourth day; Arco Reef and BBC. The visibility is not as clear, but there is a lot to see on these two wall dives. We see a heavily camouflaged scorpion fish, and a really cool flounder in the sand. Also, there is a Jeepnie wreck; which is a bit humorous, because the Jeepnie is the funky Filipino truck used by all the locals. How did that thing get down here?
KR pointing out the Jeepnie wreck
What are you guys looking at?
oh...it's a Flounder
We had a really awesome time. Thanks to everyone in the dive shop at Sun Divers.
Also, thanks to the German chef at the Bistro on the main intersection in Alona Beach. He serves some of the best food I’ve had anywhere on the Planet, which is worlds away from everything else we’ve eaten in the Philippines. Vana describes Filipino food as something you make at home for the first time that turns out so bad; you toss it and then order pizza.
We've been eating at the German restaurant everyday
Alona Beach
Local fisherman
Let's go diving! 
One small step for man, one giant step for diving
Vana with the scissor kick
White sea worms just love sponge 
making a feeding noise to attract fish
Horn Sea Star
Leaf scorpion fish
Sea Pen 
Arco Reef, some expert diver descend through this whole
Mimic filefish
Elephant-Ear Coral
Horn Sea Star
Small fish hanging around table corals
Bubble coral (I think the brown dots are Nudibranch eggs) 
Red soft coral
Feather Star
Dive Buddies
Hungry from all this diving? We are invited to a Birthday Party on Pamilacan Island
Armed and dangerous
Water fight! 
Filipino pinata
Fighting for the last toy
German sausage - Yummm...
Sunset at Alona Beach
Sunset at Alona Beach
Sunset at Alona Beach
See you next post! Click Here to see Snake Island diving pictures
Click Here to see Pamilacan Island diving pictures
Click Here to see BBQ party pictures
Click Here to see Alona Beach pictures
2 comments:
HI Guys,
I am following your blog religiously and looking at all your beautiful picture and seeing you having great time made me think whether you don't feel like staying in Asia for a couple of years. Do you feel like coming back?
Anyways, enjoy having blast!
Jana
except for the snakes that looks COOL!!!!!! hope you are well...
Joanna
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