Diving holiday in the Philippines - A travel diary

Posted on 7 July 2019

Greetings from Puerto Galera.

Scandi Divers - Puerto Galera, Philippines, Sunday at 19.45 local time in the outdoor restaurant on the 3rd floor - yum :-) chicken wrapped in bacon, fresh spring onions, served on fried potatoes. Darkness has fallen after a long journey that started at Kalundborg railway station - departure Saturday morning 09.43. A couple of long plane hops, Copenhagen - Bangkok - Manila, after an hour of driving, mainly with overtaking and lane changes across 2-3 lanes at a time :), I reached the ‘ferry’, a speedboat with a roof and two 150 hp engines :)- I think it probably only had the screws in the water for the 20 minutes it took to sail over to the island ‘Oriental Mindoro’, - here a boat change and then the last 1½ km up the coast, - onto the beach right in front of Scandic Divers. The main diving season out here is over, so I'm alone at the centre - which means there are 2-3 locals constantly saying ‘do you need anything sir’ all the time :). Tomorrow is planning with ‘my own’ divemaster - now I have to see what they can do out here - it should end up with 24 dives in total. But I'll write about that as the days progress.
More to come

Posted on 8 July 2019

Dives 1-2 & 3 in Puerto Galera

Good morning at the dive centre :-) I can promise you that - they have closed down for the season, so now it's time to clean, set up and paint, so everyone is busy with brooms and buckets, paint rollers and whatever else belongs to the profession - when apparently the whole family and the employees? - are signed up for the day's job it goes fast - I counted 14 people at one point :-) , but also with a sound pressure approaching the Rammstein concert the other day - but OK, it was an experience to eat ‘Divers breakfast’ in the middle of it all :-)
The meeting with the Divemaster went well and we agreed on today's three dives; ‘Monkey Wreck’ - ‘Sabang Reef’ and ‘Fantasy World’ - all three sites between 12-25 metres depth, good visibility (see pictures) and reasonable current conditions. Air temperature is 32 degrees, - surface and bottom temperature is 29 degrees - definitely enough with my 5 mm shorty :-) 1st dive at 09-10, 2nd dive from 11-12 and 3rd dive from 14-15, all three about 55 minutes underwater.
Finished early - so it was also a 10K, a bit on the beach, but mostly on tarmac - the locals are not quite used to runners :-) so there was a lot of pushing and waving :).
Just had time to order dinner before the kitchen closed - something Chinese with chicken and fried potatoes, so now it's photo editing on the roof terrace.
Warm greetings from Puerto Galera - Tomorrow it's wreck diving:)

Posting 9 July 2019

Greetings from Puerto Galera - Day 3

Good afternoon in DK / evening here from Puerto Galera - it's 20.00 :-) and the chef has just put a delicious Chinese Chicken-Garlic-Ginger dish with rice in front of me - looks amazing and smells similar :-)
And it's time to write about day 3.
It probably comes as no surprise that the sun is beating down from an almost cloudless sky, a light breeze is not quite enough to hide the 32 degrees in the shade - the water is super nice, surface at 29 degrees, - but ‘only’ 25 degrees on the small 30 metres we were down on today.
Today's dives 4-5-6 out of 24 in my plan, went to a couple of wrecks and a wall dive:
Dive 4, Alma Jane - an artificially sunk ship, partly as an environmental reef, partly as a dive site, it is located at 25-30 metres and with a start at 08:00 there was almost no current and we had the area to ourselves.
Dive 5, Dungon Wall - as the name suggests, a wall dive with many beautiful details - fish and corals, at a varying depth of 10-20 metres.
Dive 6, Wodden wrecks - a collection of 3 small ships of varying levels of preservation, from a fine hull to almost just a baseline with a couple of engines just sitting on the bottom, again at a depth of around 18 metres.
Overall, 3 good and exciting dives - check it out for yourself with the few pictures I have posted.
The plan for tomorrow with dives 7-8-9 includes - ‘drift dive’ out on The Canyons
Have fun, - and see you tomorrow.

Posted on 10 July 2019

A little news from Puerto Galera - 4th day of the diving holiday

Good afternoon to you at home in Denmark - out here in Puerto Galera at Scandi Divers it's now 9.00 pm. Today's 3 dives are completed and after a trip ‘down-town’ - about 800 metres along the beach, to the city, it's time to write about day 4.
I've written it before - but today I got up to bright sunshine and sea views - the sun quickly raises the temperature to 32 degrees, so when breakfast was served - this time ‘American Breakfast’, which was a faithful copy of ‘Divers Breakfast’, I sat and sweated with my morning coffee - in the shade, mind you :).
Today's 3 dives were a combination of depth / current - macro on sandy bottom, as well as a slope with small boat wrecks and coral formations - the visibility was not so good today (compared to the 1st day), but it turned into some pictures and strip film.

Dives 7-8-9 out of 24 on this trip were as follows:
Dive 7 - The Canyons, a cut coral reef, depth from 25-30 metres, - it turned out that when we were on the site there was a good current - (Lillebælt in dark red for those who look at fcoo.dk) - the two divemasters were a little apprehensive and Mr. Wong's eyes filled the diving goggles completely when we were hooked down there :). I have to admit that I had a party :) myself.

Dive 8 - The Clamps, was a sandy area, depth 16- 18 metres, with very large clams - up to 1 metre in width, fascinating to see how this guy ‘breathes’.
Dive 9 - A trip in Small Laguna, depth 18 metres with a number of coral blocks on a sandy area.
Although the visibility was not the best - (according to local conditions), it was 3 good dives, from 45 to 57 minutes underwater.
Now I'll see what tomorrow brings - a little Deep Dive, if there's not too much current.

Posted on 11 July 2019

Here's some news from Puerto Galera

Magandáng araw, - or good evening, - he says at the bar when I get the menu, tonight it's spicy Chinese Sichuan Fried Pork with rice - yep! And believe me, it was quite spicy.
Out here the day is coming to an end, after another super day with 3 exciting dives, - I have rinsed and rigged my gear, - hard to even be allowed to do that, with the level of service that is here on site :-) no complaints - certainly not, but really - it's almost too much of a good thing :-)
After a little - short! run, and dinner, it's now time for a little photo editing and today's write-up about dives 10-11 and 12, - already halfway, it just goes too fast with all that seeing ‘down under’.
The day started - and I have to confess - ‘Divers Breakfast’ - is very addictive, so that and a couple more cups of coffee, - and I'm pumped for today's dives that follow:
Dive 10 - Coco Beach a nice little site, mainly coral on a sloping bottom, almost no current with a depth of 10-25 metres (the little film is from here).
Dive 11 - West Esc, coral ‘garden’ with some macro (small animals), lots of nudibranchs, a maximum depth of 20 metres

Dive 12 - The shipyard - primarily macro and as it was between a couple of small islands the visibility was relatively poorer (very good compared to DK), but again with many exciting small ecosystems, - depth again at around 20 metres.
The water is between 29 and 30 degrees centigrade, and the dives were 45-60 minutes - in good distance (3-4 minutes) to the bottom time on the computer.
Tomorrow it's 3 dives again, - wrecks I think we have on the plan, now I'll see - and get back to you tomorrow evening.
Bye for now

Posting 12 July 2019

Diving day no. 5
Best weekend greetings from Puerto Galera

Good evening from a slightly overcast Puerto Galera - at the time of writing, 34 degrees, calm and sweaty.
But that hasn't stopped me from offering the fantastic chicken with ginger, wrapped in bacon and drizzled with mango.
The sun has been out all day - dive day no. 5 - with dives 13-14 and 15, which, like the previous dives, unfolded in their own unique way - out here it never gets ‘same-same’ - well, except we always actually have our heads under water and a tank on our back :).
The 3 dives of the day:
Dive 13 - Repeat visit to Alma Jane, a shipwreck (sunk as a dive site and artificial reef) that lies between 25 and 30 metres of water - when I visit the same wreck several times - I always see more detail, the light changes, the vegetation and the marine life at the time - so ‘same - but different’ - today's dogma film is from Alma Jane.
Dive 14 - Silvarian Point, - a wall dive that starts on a sandy and coral-covered slope and then drops to - well, deep and dark, so for bottom time, we were between 15 - 20 metres, with fantastic light
Dive 15 - Wreck Point, - no real wreck, but in shallow water lies the remains of a Japanese vessel, - sunk during WW2, more or less decomposed, - but ‘Point’ refers to the place where you go down to a fantastic coral garden - again individual ecosystems on sandy bottom, we had the current with us, so it was only to steer a little with the fins while the whole scenery slipped by - even the safety stop (3 minutes at 5 metres for ‘non-divers’ watching) was with superb visibility, I could barely sense there was water between me and the bottom.
The water temperature was between 29 and 31 degrees and the three dives were 47 - 45 and 56 minutes respectively in good distance to the bottom time :-)

Posted on 13 July 2019

News of the day - or just ‘hello from Puerto Galera’
Diving day no.6
Have a great Saturday & weekend

Diving day no. 6 - again a good evening / a good Saturday afternoon to you at home.
After enjoying today's dish; Hot spicy, sweet & sour Pork with rice and a shot of cola - a delicious dish for around 70, - kr. it is now time to write about today's experiences.
The storm yesterday drifted behind the island, so we escaped with a good amount of rain and a short power cut - on the other hand, I must say that both thunder and lightning have a x 100 factor out here - not for the scared :-) but it was nice.
Repairs had to be made all around - on the electrical installations, which are quite special for the country :-)
The sun has once again - once again, roared down from an almost cloudless sky and the wind that has been there - is just the wind we have sailed up ourselves on the way out to the dive sites. The temperature is fine at 30-32 degrees in the shade and the water at 27-30 degrees depending on the depth.
Today's three dives, - no. 16-17 and 18, were new sites - we don't actually move around much out here - amazing diversity that can be found with short distances.
Dive 16 - Killian Steps, which is a nice terrace / plateau area with corals and a depth between 12 and 30 metres of clear water

Dive17 - Monkey Wreck, at a depth of around 20 metres - I was here the other day too, but today we took a different course away from the wreck and saw an area with individual corals - unique ecosystems where the same fish can be found over several years - exciting and thought-provoking that it is the same ‘Hairy Froggfish’ just ‘sitting on its own rock’ - wonder what it does with its time? :-)
Dive 18 - Montani, a dive site named after the local school located inland, a ‘macro’ area - sandy bottom with lots of small crabs at a depth between 5 -16 metres and thus a fantastic light.
All dives were completed in times between 50 and 65 minutes with a reasonable 3-5 minutes for bottom time to expire.
Tomorrow? - I don't know, but I'm looking forward to it - there have been new surprises every day so far - so why not tomorrow too :-)

Posting 14 July 2019

Diving day #7 in Puerto Galera - Philippines
Happy Sunday greetings to all.

Diving day no. 7 - a Sunday under water.
After enjoying (again) the chef's formidable serving - ‘Spicy Sweet & Sour Beef with Lettice & Cucumber’ made in his (her?) humble food workshop, I sit sweating (must be the spices - and not the 34 degrees it is right now around 9pm local time - pyhh ????) and try to limit the number of pictures I post - it's hard, it's so beautiful down here - especially underwater.
Today's 3 dives, no. 19-20 and 21 in the series were very different, so I have chosen to make 2 x today's short U-tubes, where the first is a relatively deep dive on The Canyons (no. 19) and the second is a collection of Ernies Place (no. 20) and Sabang Wrecks (no.21)
Dive 19 - The Canyons, consisting of a complex of coral blocks that from above look like a cut landscape, the depth ranges from 15 to +200 metres - quite impressive to look down into the blackest of the blackest :) It was also in The Canyons we tried the other day, - but here the current was so strong - among other things also downwards :) so it turned into a quite festive current dive instead that day - but today we had no current (almost then) :)
Dive 20 - Ernies Place, named after an old ‘Grouper fish’ that lives in the area - we got to meet him. A sunny dive of between 10 and 20 metres, mild current, so we could just drift and watch - great!

Dive 21 - Sabang Wrecks, a revisit to 3 small wrecks located just outside the city, - lots of small fish wanting to taste us, a single penetration (flooding) of one of the wrecks, and not least a few fantastic shots of - yes :) - a teaser, - see today's short - 2, rarely seen, and required some courage and a steady hand to be so close....here we were at 15-22 metres.
Today's 3 dives were between 47 and 53 minutes, with a reasonably conservative distance to the bottom time.
Tomorrow - a boat trip to Verde Island, supposedly ‘everybody's favourite dive site’ - can't wait

Posted on 15 July 2019

Latest news from Puerto Galera.
Day 8 - Boat trip to Verde Island.
And with a lot of younger Chinese, all buried in the biggest Iphones I've ever seen, we had a lot of bandwidth this evening.
Enjoy.

Diving day no. 8 - Boat trip to Verde Island.
It's getting dark outside - the rain is taking a break right now, but the heat hasn't been turned down, so I'm dripping a little on the floor I can see, but after a fantastically tasty Spicy (hot chilli) Pork Belly w. rice, it's now time for a write-up of the day and a little photo editing
For the first time out here, I woke up to cloud cover and no wind - the temperature, on the other hand, had risen a little, so breakfast was consumed in 33 degree humid heat - almost rainy indoors.
The dive shop was busy right from the start, so we just had our morning coffee and ‘the European’ - and then started rigging our own equipment before the other guests on the boat trip - 12 reasonably inexperienced (OWD) Chinese divers arrived ????.
Considering the trip went to Verde Island, - described as ‘for experienced’ - minimum AOWD, suitable for technical diving and with strong up and down currents, - I thought to myself, as several of them needed help rigging gear - hmm.????
Well, - we (3) dived on the site ourselves and went in first - and came up last on both dives.

Dives 22 and 23 - Verde Island.
Verde Island is about 40 minutes sailing time from Scandi Divers and we dive on a coral / rock formation that just breaks the sea surface - and in a downward cone / pyramid shape goes down to a depth of more than +200 metres, current conditions and fresh sea water mean that there are many fish species in the area, - including whale sharks, and there is a very rich and varied life on, - and between the corals.
I had high expectations - and I must admit that they were met in abundance, including quite strong currents as can be seen on ‘Day 8 - map’.
The trip was organised with a surface interval and a cup of coffee on the island, between dives 1 and 2 and after dive 2 a barbecue and ‘relaxation time’ was arranged before heading home.
Both dives were between 12 and 35 metres in 40 minutes both times, with a reasonable distance to the bottom time.
Tomorrow it's the last three dives - and hurray, I just managed to sneak two more into the plan - so 26 dives in 9 days, - quite OK I think.

Posting 16 July 2019

Diving day no. 9
Last active day in Puerto Galera - we're heading home tomorrow.
A fantastic trip with many impressions - also today.
Have a great summer

Diving day no. 9
A farewell to fantastic experiences and colours.
Dinner - a super delicious Hot Chicken & Vegetables with rice, has been enjoyed and with a slightly burning sensation at the corner of my mouth (it was spicy food), I now sit with the last day's report - about dives 24-25 and 26, from my in every way fantastic trip to Puerto Galera in the Philippines.
A somewhat - in a way ‘sad’ morning - the last 3 dives in this round were planned for today.
The weather is still grey - in grey and the locals say that there will be a storm from tomorrow and 3 days ahead - so diving will probably be a different experience for those who have just checked in.
But otherwise a nice morning - I'm apparently a routine animal, - so the moment I step into the dive shop's little cafe, they ask if it's ‘English Breakfast & Instant Coffee’ today too.
There are a lot more guests, so the shop is filled with divemasters and other good helpers packing and collecting gear.
Our divemaster Larry is going to Batagas to pick up a new group of guests - so today we have Ray with us.
We look out over the water - Ray, Kevin and I - and agree that the ‘bumps’ on the water are probably manageable, although it's going to tilt a bit :-)

Dive 24 - Ernies Point, a coral area, partly filled, partly with scattered coral blocks each with their own distinctive features, we were in the area the other day - or close to it in terms of the name, but - again - a unique experience at a depth between 10 and 28 metres.
Dive 25 - Clamp Farm, Coral Garden and Macro Bottom - a protected area, in fact there is a boat guard who notes who is diving on site - and subsequently checks that nothing is damaged or removed, - some dive centres out here are banned as they have apparently not been able to control their guests, - following the clam farm we continued to - again a beautiful coral garden and finished by looking at small life across the sandy bottom
Dive 26 - Fantasy World, - as the name suggests all sorts of formations on the single coral blocks, hard to describe, but take a look at the pictures and the brief of the day.
The three dives were between 10 and 28 metres, dive time between 46 and 59 minutes, with a suitable distance to bottom time.
Tomorrow is a dive day off - at least 24 hours must pass between the last dive (for repeated dives) and the current flight departure.
Of course, I keep that - I don't want to bubble over when the plane comes up a bit.
The journey home - a long one, I think, will leave here from the dive site at 12.30 - then the public ferry, car transport to Manila - flight to Bangkok and on to Copenhagen, then by train to Kalundborg.
So no more diving talk from here - but there will probably be a little story about the journey home.