5/31-8/13/09-Trip Report: Budget Diving Adventure in SE Asia!

[technobro]

Hey Hi kathy .. Kumusta ka po ?

Dont know if u remember me , we talk before about backpacking trips anyways...

Thanks for ur report its nice to read you .. Its funny right now i am planning thail indo long term backpack trip (whats uve done) and ive done the phils last winter so i am doing contrary of you.

maybe one day our trips will cross and we will dive together ... heheh

Do you consider visiting the visayas ? (cebu , malapascua , bohol , moboal )

Take care !!

 

[jwc3]

Its a beautiful, delicate blue ring octopus! What an incredible creature! I spent a full minute admiring the beauty of its delecate markings, its almost plastic like tiny nimble structure - watching it manuever across the pebbles on the ground, its blue rings flashing. How can something so delicate and beautiful be so toxic I wonder?

Yikes! I've heard that if you see the blue rings, it might be the last thing you will ever see. They are not aggressive, but they are one of the most venomous creatures on the planet, there is no known antidote for their venom, and they can bite through a wetsuit. Give those little guys a lot of room!

 

[kathydee]

Spent the weekend diving with PI GUE divers in Anilao. What a thrill. A drift dive turned to fighting current. Power kicks grab a bare rock. Again and again -fish whizzing by! Reg was almost purging. Also got to try doubles for the first time in shallow water. Fun!

Beautiful diving! One of the divers will hopefully be posting pictures here. Lots of blue water, schools of jack and baracuta and lots of little things.

Finally have the night dive shots & will post soon.

Woke up this morning with a plan. Grabbed my damp laundry stuffed it in my pack. A jaloppy to a crowded mini bus sitting sidways for 3 hours, to a rip-off cab to beg for an airline seat at three different offices, to a shuttle bus to a plane to a van and now off to catch a boat to some distant island - transit from 9am till 8pm.

Ahh but the reward is soo sweet! Coron wrecks in the Philippines - who could resist !

Extended my trip here one more week! Can't wait for it to be tomorrow!

Have a great week everybody - no internet for a while.

 

[wershwie]

Okay, I'll post pics... hehe...

Met Kathy during the dive show, and finally got to dive with her over the weekend. Had some fun dives with the divers taking their AOW certs. Too bad my cam didn't shoot coz the lens I had on wouldn't work without a focus light. Instead, I'll be posting some pics from previous dives. You'll notice, though, that I don't really take a lot of reef pics. Doesn't do justice to the Philippine underwater world, really.

ANILAO

PUERTO GALERA

TUBBATAHA

LAST WEEKEND

 

[kathydee]

Thanks Leslie! Your shots are amazing! But then so is the diving! '

BTW Leslie posted a picture of me in doubles - I need to add a disclaimer that this was my first practice run. But even using doubles even in 20ft water was still a thrill and easier than I thought - a lot to learn before I feel confident in them. However I do know this -- I would NOT recommend them for shallow muck diving!

Did three dives in Coron Philippines today. Wow are these ships amazing. Sunk by the US military in 1944 - 9 ships up to 300 ft long with hulls that dwarf the diver.

Giant stride into still dark water. Drop like a feather through 30ft vis water following the rope. Then out of the dark blue this huge form materializes, my heart rate rises - (relax deep breaths) - its such an amazing sight- for a minute my air consumption rises!

Keep dropping deeper and deeper, down the hull - 2 minutes to reach 100ft then start exploring! Penetrations passages everywhere. You can see the bomb holes, and the destruction from fire before it sunk where huge steel platforms crushed down on the deck. Peering into the dark silt covered surrealistic hallways - and into the gaping bomb holes revealing destruction on many floors - I wonder how many Philippines lost their life in this short battle?

Even though I am not certified for penetration, we still swim through tons and tons of swim-through cracks and holes. Peeking into many holes and dark hallways - its absolutely amazing & the passages are so inviting! I've never seen anything like this underwater.

 

[kathydee]

Dove two more wrecks today. Used Nitrox so not as beat. Hundreds and hundreds of jack fish schooling around us on the the deck of the first one. And a thousands of small silver fish that looked like tiny barracuda schooling the other way. They encircled the giant coral encrusted black smoke stack towering stories above the coral covered deck. This site much be a tech divers dream.

Actually glad I am only here for a few days - because sooner than later will power will weaken & I will be tempted into one of these inviting dark hole or black yawning chasms - this I am sure! And I need more training before I do silly things like that ;-). So its very good that I head back to the coral reefs on Friday.

I have been taking pictures that I will post at a later date. I hope they capture a fraction of the beauty.

Tomorrow the boat departs at 4:00am. A 6:30am wreck dive then 4 hour trip to a very remote wreck. Diving with tech instructors who are very careful. Can't believe I'm saying this but I cant wait for the 3:30am alarm to ring!

 

[mikeguerrero]

Hey these are nice pics, but is there a way you can open them up to a larger window? I don't like thumbnail pics, especially when you want them fully blown up, they are so beautiful....

MG

p.s
Kathy, love the ninja look you have...

 

[ae3753]

Great stories and pictures. Seriously awesome stuff. Keep the report coming, I want to know more and live vicariously!

 

[wershwie]

Hey these are nice pics, but is there a way you can open them up to a larger window? I don't like thumbnail pics when you want they are so beautiful....

MG

p.s
Kathy, love the ninja look you have...

Hi all!

You can check out the bigger versions of my pics through my flickr gallery. Here, have a look

I have to go back to Coron and Apo Island with my camera so I can also contribute pics from them.

Cheers!

 

[mikeguerrero]

Hi all!

You can check out the bigger versions of my pics through my flickr gallery. Here, have a look

I have to go back to Coron and Apo Island with my camera so I can also contribute pics from them.

Cheers!

Nice pics,

However, I couldn't find the album that has Kathy, did I miss it?