DIVE DAY SIX: MEETING ALMA JANE

DIVE DAY FIVE: WRECKED IN PARADISE

Sabang Wrecks

Because we arrived from Dumaguete in the early afternoon, all those who wanted to dive, had the chance for two dives -- an afternoon checkout one, which we did at Monkey Beach, and another, a night one at Sabang Wrecks. That site is where a group of intentionally sunken vessels for the purpose of creating an artificial reef, lie.

Night dives are always fun, for the chance to see life which doesn't usually come out during the day and to have the eerie sensation of blackness and not knowing what's around the next corner. For an amateur underwater shooter like me it presents the added challenge of properly lighting and exposing subjects, maintaining buoyancy and focusing while trying to capture an image.

And for this dive there were some very nice targets, all pointed out to us by dive guide Henry Cubilao, who would be our small group's dive guide the rest of the way. For those of you who haven't yet dived at night, it's an additional challenge keeping up with your dive leader, especially when other dive groups are converging on the same site, as was the case here. For Henry, it was his bright orange headband I used to identify him.

On this dive, I was able to capture images of a lionfish, a sweetlips, a whitemouth eel and yet another colorful nudibranch.

Dive Buddies: Jim, Mike, Brittney, Rick
Dive Guide: Henry Cubilao
Max depth: 66 feet
Total Bottom Time: 46 minutes
Water temperature: 75 degrees Farenheit
Exposure Protection: 3mm shorty wetsuit
Air source: Enriched Air Nitrox 32% oxygen
Photos Copyright Gil Griffin 2009.

DIVE DAY FIVE: WHEN MONKEYS FLY -- OR GET CAUGHT IN RIPPING CURRENTS

Monkey Beach

You'd never be able to tell it from looking at these images of nudibranchs (above) -- some of the tiniest, most colorful and beautiful creatures in the sea, but this dive, at Monkey Beach gave us all we could bargain for. How? With an unexpected and ripping current that challenged us.

This isn't supposed to happen during a checkout dive -- usually your first dive when you arrive at a resort, just to get comfortable, check your buoyancy and weights, etc. But this short ride outside of Sabang Beach -- once we descended -- threw us for a big-time loop.

Drift dives are fun, as you let the current just carry you along. So why'd I feel like on this dive, we were being rushed across the Pacific? Still, Vic, or dive leader was able to herd all of us back to him where he inflated the orange safety sausage for our boat captain to spot us and haul us back into the speedboat. Nice dive -- and a helluva wake-up call.

Dive Buddies: Jim, Mike, Brittney, Rick,
Dive Guide: Vic
Max depth: 60 feet
Total Bottom Time: 60 minutes
Water temperature: 78 degrees Farenheit
Exposure Protection: 3mm shorty wetsuit
Air source: Enriched Air Nitrox 32% oxygen
Photos Copyright Gil Griffin 2009.

DIVE DAY FIVE: NORTH TO PUERTO GALERA

Give Scuba Travel Ventures props for something amazing: Getting a coveted police escort to cut through legendarily tough Manila traffic. Well, also let's give a shout-out to the Philippines Department of Tourism. Between the two groups, getting out of Manila's International Airport, onto the Manila Skyway and motoring south to the Southern Luzon town of Batangas proved to be miraculously fast.

The fleet of vans which met our dive group was shepherded along by a group of Manila's finest, riding motorcycles and displaying flashers and sounding sirens -- for the first 30 minutes of the ride. For those of you who haven't yet visited Manila, imagine a sprawling metropolis characterized by rivers with mangroves (Manila's name actually comes from the Tagalog words "may" and "nilad," which in English translates into "many mangroves") and flowing, intricate maze-like streets connecting hundreds of barangays ("neighborhoods"). Throw in a population of more than 10 million and add every kind of vehicle imaginable, from jeepneys and tricycles to buses and cars to the highways and streets and you've got a challenging snarl of traffic not too unlike what you may have experienced in Southern California. You get the feeling of being overwhelmed and fascinated all at once -- that even if you spent your whole life in Manila, it would take several lifetimes to explore the endless paths the city lays before you.

After being whisked south to the city of Batangas -- about a two-hour trip -- we boarded another bangka to head to the island of Mindoro to Sabang Beach, where another Atlantis Resort awaited us. The coastline near Sabang is reminiscent of the waterfront near Catalina, in Southern California, or the Mediterranean skirting the coasts of France and Italy. It was a 180 degree turn from sleepy Dauin, where nothing but beach lies within reach. Sabang is clearly a resort and tourist town, with plenty of dive shops, bars, restaurants and discos -- oh and did I mention hawkers who meet your boat, with every kind of merchandise in tow, from sunglasses to imitation Rolexes and earrings and woodcarvings?

One man, just trying to make a living, tried flattering me into buying from him, saying I looked like President Obama. I made the mistake of saying I might buy something from him someday, though I had no intention of doing so. Hopefully, he had other customers today and the days that followed.

And if you're wondering why you're starting to see photos from me again...I must again give serious thanks to the staff at the Atlantis Resort in Puerto Galera who, after hearing my lost camera sob story, allowed me to rent an underwater digital camera for the duration of our stay, at no charge. Big thanks to Andy at Atlantis for helping arrange that. Utang na loob (see previous posts to learn the meaning of this all-important phrase).

Photos Copyright Gil Griffin 2009.