PARADISE FOUND: ARRIVING AT DUMAGUETE

On the quick, hour-and-change flight south to Dumaguete, a city on the island of Negros Oriental -- one of 7,107 islands in the Philippines' chain -- I met the first two prople in the Scuba Travel Ventures group, Rick and Kathy, who are from Seattle. Together in 1996, they founded the publication, Northwest Dive News. They later expanded the business to set up Midwest Dive News and Northeast Dive News.

The dive world is incredibly small and so they know very well a writer and editor named Bob Sterner, who frequently contributes to Northeast Dive News and who was writing a piece for me at Scuba Diving before its acquisition by Bonnier Group, about diving in Rhode Island.

We overflew a beautiful green patch of land over turquoise seas and upon disembarking we were greeted by the familiar salty, humid tropical air. We were greeted by a smiling, robust blonde woman whose appropriate nickname was stitched into her Atlantis Resort polo shirt: "Bigs." Her associate, a tall, thin Filipino man whose stitching on his shirt read, "Noel," also greeted us and stepped from behind the wheel of a custom-made, tricked out jeepney that bears the name "Atlantis" on it.

For those of you who aren't familiar with jeepneys, they are perhaps -- along with covered tricycles -- the most recognizable vehicle in the Philippines. Jeepneys are 1940s U.S. Army transports that were left behind after American occupation of the Philippines after the islands were liberated from Japanese occupation. They are boxy, small buses and entrepreneurial Filipinos colorfully painted them and converted them into vehicles to carry paying passengers on local trips in cities of all sizes. Seats are benches that face each other, toward the inside of the vehicle. But this Atlantis jeepney's seats face forward.

We rumbled through Dumaguete, which is shadowed by a tall mountain range called the Cuernos Negros ("Black Horns") is a city of over 100,000 and is industrial and the home of Siliman University. A familiar smell greeted me: A delicious mix of sweetness and smoke -- people heating coconut husks to draw out oil. We passed down a narrow road to Dauin, another nearby city, where towering coconut palms framed the road. Roosters and goats scurried around in patches of dirt alongside the blacktop and covered tricycles stuffed with riders sped by in the opposite direction, with their staccato engines buzzing.

We arrived at the Atlantis Resort, which is well camouflaged from the main road, behind a left turn into a thicket. of brush. There are towering, airy thatched roof buildings here, which are nestled up against the beach and blue sea.

We were greeted in the restaurant area with three treats: fresh coconuts with a hole poked out and straw inserted to savor fresh coconut juice; hot mini-towels and even a complimentary massage at the table where we sat, filling out paperwork for diving.

After all the consternation about my registration cards, Bigs told me not to worry -- that because Alantis is a PADI-run resort, all anyone had to do was to look up my information on line. The massage, provided by a woman named Wilma, who runs the resort's spa, erased whatever tension was left in my shoulders and back.

And having a Filipino delicious breakfast my father-in-law has perfected for the whole family back in San Diego, that I always look forward to: longganiza (sweet sausage), garlic rice, two sunny side up eggs and sliced fruit only added to the heavenly feeling.

Only one more thing would complete the feeling of bliss: Getting geared up from mask to fins, submerging and seeing some cool stuff underwater.

So we got an orientation from the dive shop, where I picked available No. 42 (in honor of Jackie Robinson), found a locker with my name typed onto a piece of paper and taped to it and saw the map painted on the wall of all the possible sites we'll dive and a poster board with pictures of all the marine life we may see. We hooked up with Marco, a young divemaster and marine biologist from Dumaguete in his 20s who has a friendly smile and signature high-pitched laugh and dived into three different sites...

Photos Copyright Gil Griffin 2009. Clockwise from top left: Philippine Airlines A321 after disembarking at Dumaguete airport; Gil Griffin standing in front of Atlantis Resorts' customized jeepney; Atlantis Dive Resort.