pieohpah:
More specifically to Puerto Galera on Mindoro. Have any of you guys dived there? Is there anything one shouldn't miss doing around there? I don't just meen divewise. I'll be there for two weeks./Peter
We did the Atlantis Resort there in September 2005. Click on my Photo Album thingie (View Gallery) here on ScubaBoard for lots of pix, the u/w shots are not mine, but will give you an idea of all the cool stuff you are about to see.
I did five dives each day including the night dive... every time. It was well worth the never ending flight from ORD>LAX via Hawaii (?!?) which resulted in a total of 22 hours where my butt sat motionless while moving at 450mph. They came back via polar route, over Alaska, 12 hrs flight. Sheesh- 5 bad airline movies you couldn't walk out of the theater on!
Our dive guides from Atlantis sorted us out quickly and us big kids got taken on some e-ticket current dives. But no one sorted into any group was disappointed. The highlights may have included the mimic 0ctopus, the wall of Nudibranchs, numerous Pipefish as well as the fun current powered roller coasters afforded by Batangas Channel and the East end of Isla Verde. (On your day trip there, pack along some little toys from the dollar store for the 3-5 years olds living there- stuff like squirt guns, etc) The latter dive was borderline dangerous for most divers- most of which who had no idea of what they were looking at but being guided away from. We found an 80 gallon barrel filled with concrete that had heavy wire and rope trailing off into a viscious downwelling. Some of us took turns playing with the devil using that hand hold as a safety.
The West end of Isla Verde was exciting for people interested in perfecting their current dives or beginning to experience one- but otherwise unremarkable. Worth the trip, nevertheless.
After we got sorted out, our DM would scout for areas of surface that looked like whitewater. We did one dive in fronto of the resort with rental "scooters". They assign a newbie DM to take you out (our DM took a much needed break). He tried to walk us through various exercises so that we could master the scooters but it very quickly devolved into a game of "chicken" and acrobatics, and the DM took a minute to get over his displeasure, but then he must have realized that it looked like fun and he joined in. Looked like that scene from Thunderball. We were playing bumper cars (but
not mashing the rental units, show some respect!) by the end of the dive.
They started out a little anal about BT, but after we mentioned to our DM that we were coming up with 1200 psi, he agreed that if we stayed very shallow at the 1 hr plus mark, either he would stay with us or exit and bubble watch from close proximity. We showed him that we knew how to behave and play nice and soon we were doing 1:20 BT. They still kept to rules on their night dives- easy to get seperated from your DM and get mixed into another marauding band. The night dives right in front on the twin wrecks weren't bad, but we did three drifts along a reef that were remarkable in many ways.
The night dives on a full moon were brilliant! I spent the most of them drifting along in current watching the electric display of plankton- as it crashed into coral and exploding in bio-luminescent pops- looked like a hillside of twinkly Christmas trees!
As far as non dive stuff, I was too busy diving but the persistent vendors were ready to sell you fake Rolex, fake Gucci, fake YSL, fake fakes, and fake fake fakes. There was a heavy movement to arrange marriages by staff yentls. No joke. I think they could have them crated up and ready for shipment home upon your departure. Or, you could discuss rentals a few steps West of the "main street" (sidewalk) or just drink beer until there after you shoulda quit. Otherwise, the gals that took the side trips came back and wished they would have stayed to dive.
We'll be back this September. This is not a touristy area in terms of alternate entertainment when compared to Cozumel, Cayman, etc. Go there to dive... a lot.
