shugar
Contributor
DISCLAIMER: if you love Boracay diving this is not for you, go elsewhere.
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Got to stick in a couple dives while I was in Boracay for the Nescafe Soundskool Workshop.
Overall Boracay is an expensive and ugly place to dive. I don't know what foreigners see there but by Filipino Diver standards that is the most boring, uninteresting and overall pathetic excuse for diving.
My 1st dive was actually to shoot video for Nescafe. While some of the workshoppers were doing an intro and seawalker thing, I scooted around taking video of them for use in the finals. The other dive was booked with Calypso Divers - a dive that turned out to become 2 dives (more later).
Calypso was a professionally run operation. They gave a dive briefing the likes of which I have not heard in a looooooooong time (when dive with the PPD a lot all you really get is "oh, current is that way, we start at X feet depth, safety stop when you get low on air... ok? ok go!"
But the buggers missed the freakin' bouy on our dive! Hello!
Anyway, here's the details.
DIVE 1: A bunch of rocks, some coral, and a bunch of reef fish
Max Depth: 16'
Bottom Time: 54mins
This is where they take snorkelers, intro-ers and seawalkers. A bunch of rocks, some coral both hard and soft and the usual damselfish, sergeant majors and common reef folk.
I do feel, though, that I took some fairly good video. It's been about a year since I've worn a jacket-type BCD and really hate the bloody things.
Saw a sea snake... also saw a soundskooler almost step on the same sea snake.
This year's intro was waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay better than last years... at least this time we actually headed out to sea.
After the intro, it was almost my call time to Calypso for the dive. The intro started from Station 1 near Seagaia and I had no intention of walking or even triking all the way back from there. I just wanted to get to Calypso soonest.
So here I am, telling the bankero to let me off off-shore from Calypso and I was going to swim in. "SWIM"??? they all (including the soundskoolers) look at me like I'd grown an extra pair of ears.
Yes, swim... it's not really that far if you let me off closer to shore (I knew I could handle the physical excertion anyway). So the boatman comes in, then goes "this is as close as we can go, we're only allowed 1 docking and it's not here, this is 50 meters from shore".
50 meters my ass!!! That wasn't 50 meters! 50 meters is 2 swimming pool lengths and that was not 50 meters... maybe 80 pa!
And so I make bilin my stuff to one of the soundskoolers, get my slippers, grab my camera, and jump off the boat. It's not that far... I can do this...
And so I began to swim... and swim... and swim... avoid the paraw... and swim... and swim... freestyle, backstroke, dog paddle, freestyle, backstroke, dog paddle, freestyle, curse self for being so ****in' stupid, backstroke, slap self upside head for being an idiot, dog paddle...
I eventually dragged my sorry ass out of the water... that wasn't 50 meters... there was no way in God's good earth that that was 50 meters.
I was 3 minutes late to Calypso... not bad hehehehehe
DIVE 2: Some Ugly Rocks
Max Depth 93'
Bottom Time: 23 minutes
We were supposed to do the Camia Wreck. Instructions were we descend down the line, hit the wreck, swim around including some safe swim-throughs and up for a safety stop on the rope.
Easy.
Except on this first one we just followed our DM around like idiots and began to wonder about 20 minutes in how far the mooring bouy was from the freakin' wreck.
After a bit DM turns around and writes on a slate: "Wrong Bouy, no wreck, sorry"... what's the underwater sign for "WHAT THE ****?!"
We exit and get back up on the boat. I'm down to about 40% air, and they only have 1 extra tank onboard. After a record-breaking and totally useless Surface Interval of 13 minutes we're over what we hope is the correct bouy and go down on our 2nd of what was to be only 1 dive.
DIVE 3: CAMIA WRECK
Max Depth: 79ft
Bottom Time: 22 mins
Yippee, they found it.
The wreck had some potential... but not much growth yet.
I was having bouyancy issues as well - for some reason I was light despite dumping all my air... damn jacket BCs
I took 1 picture, went half-way around the wreck, was getting light in the tank, and it was time to go up.
1 picture... I barely remember anything of the wreck... all for 1 picture...
Then again, I'm actually happy I got to salvage ONE picture out of the whole dive...
The Moral Lesson: Don't dive Boracay.
If you're an Anilao diver who likes actually seeing stuff underwater then you're better off spending your 1,600 pesos on a pizza and beer at Aria - may sukli ka pa pang Jonah's Shakes and Choriburger from My-my's.
If you're a PG diver the cost might not be surprising but the marine life and topography will be depressing. If you're a PG diver you're most probably white, have some $ source of income and would find far more fulfillment either boozing the night away at one of the many bars, or getting your horn polished by many of the local oysters - either way they're both on the surface and not underwater.
If you dive anywhere else in the world and find the a couple corals and some fish an amazing dive experience then do Boracay before anywhere else in the Philippines. What you see will already be impressive (by your standards)... do Boracay first because what you will see in Anilao, PG, Bohol, Dumaguete, Camiguin, Gensan, or most anywhere else in the country may pretty blow your mind away.
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Got to stick in a couple dives while I was in Boracay for the Nescafe Soundskool Workshop.
Overall Boracay is an expensive and ugly place to dive. I don't know what foreigners see there but by Filipino Diver standards that is the most boring, uninteresting and overall pathetic excuse for diving.
My 1st dive was actually to shoot video for Nescafe. While some of the workshoppers were doing an intro and seawalker thing, I scooted around taking video of them for use in the finals. The other dive was booked with Calypso Divers - a dive that turned out to become 2 dives (more later).
Calypso was a professionally run operation. They gave a dive briefing the likes of which I have not heard in a looooooooong time (when dive with the PPD a lot all you really get is "oh, current is that way, we start at X feet depth, safety stop when you get low on air... ok? ok go!"
But the buggers missed the freakin' bouy on our dive! Hello!
Anyway, here's the details.
DIVE 1: A bunch of rocks, some coral, and a bunch of reef fish
Max Depth: 16'
Bottom Time: 54mins
This is where they take snorkelers, intro-ers and seawalkers. A bunch of rocks, some coral both hard and soft and the usual damselfish, sergeant majors and common reef folk.
I do feel, though, that I took some fairly good video. It's been about a year since I've worn a jacket-type BCD and really hate the bloody things.
Saw a sea snake... also saw a soundskooler almost step on the same sea snake.
This year's intro was waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay better than last years... at least this time we actually headed out to sea.
After the intro, it was almost my call time to Calypso for the dive. The intro started from Station 1 near Seagaia and I had no intention of walking or even triking all the way back from there. I just wanted to get to Calypso soonest.
So here I am, telling the bankero to let me off off-shore from Calypso and I was going to swim in. "SWIM"??? they all (including the soundskoolers) look at me like I'd grown an extra pair of ears.
Yes, swim... it's not really that far if you let me off closer to shore (I knew I could handle the physical excertion anyway). So the boatman comes in, then goes "this is as close as we can go, we're only allowed 1 docking and it's not here, this is 50 meters from shore".
50 meters my ass!!! That wasn't 50 meters! 50 meters is 2 swimming pool lengths and that was not 50 meters... maybe 80 pa!
And so I make bilin my stuff to one of the soundskoolers, get my slippers, grab my camera, and jump off the boat. It's not that far... I can do this...
And so I began to swim... and swim... and swim... avoid the paraw... and swim... and swim... freestyle, backstroke, dog paddle, freestyle, backstroke, dog paddle, freestyle, curse self for being so ****in' stupid, backstroke, slap self upside head for being an idiot, dog paddle...
I eventually dragged my sorry ass out of the water... that wasn't 50 meters... there was no way in God's good earth that that was 50 meters.
I was 3 minutes late to Calypso... not bad hehehehehe
DIVE 2: Some Ugly Rocks
Max Depth 93'
Bottom Time: 23 minutes
We were supposed to do the Camia Wreck. Instructions were we descend down the line, hit the wreck, swim around including some safe swim-throughs and up for a safety stop on the rope.
Easy.
Except on this first one we just followed our DM around like idiots and began to wonder about 20 minutes in how far the mooring bouy was from the freakin' wreck.
After a bit DM turns around and writes on a slate: "Wrong Bouy, no wreck, sorry"... what's the underwater sign for "WHAT THE ****?!"
We exit and get back up on the boat. I'm down to about 40% air, and they only have 1 extra tank onboard. After a record-breaking and totally useless Surface Interval of 13 minutes we're over what we hope is the correct bouy and go down on our 2nd of what was to be only 1 dive.
DIVE 3: CAMIA WRECK
Max Depth: 79ft
Bottom Time: 22 mins
Yippee, they found it.
The wreck had some potential... but not much growth yet.
I was having bouyancy issues as well - for some reason I was light despite dumping all my air... damn jacket BCs
I took 1 picture, went half-way around the wreck, was getting light in the tank, and it was time to go up.
1 picture... I barely remember anything of the wreck... all for 1 picture...
Then again, I'm actually happy I got to salvage ONE picture out of the whole dive...
The Moral Lesson: Don't dive Boracay.
If you're an Anilao diver who likes actually seeing stuff underwater then you're better off spending your 1,600 pesos on a pizza and beer at Aria - may sukli ka pa pang Jonah's Shakes and Choriburger from My-my's.
If you're a PG diver the cost might not be surprising but the marine life and topography will be depressing. If you're a PG diver you're most probably white, have some $ source of income and would find far more fulfillment either boozing the night away at one of the many bars, or getting your horn polished by many of the local oysters - either way they're both on the surface and not underwater.
If you dive anywhere else in the world and find the a couple corals and some fish an amazing dive experience then do Boracay before anywhere else in the Philippines. What you see will already be impressive (by your standards)... do Boracay first because what you will see in Anilao, PG, Bohol, Dumaguete, Camiguin, Gensan, or most anywhere else in the country may pretty blow your mind away.
