Next it was off for our final week’s destination Atlantis Dive Resort Dumaguete. We reversed to trip, walk through town to boat, boat ride and then van rides to the airport. I must say Atlantis is such a well-oiled machine. They are so very wonderful and efficient at transporting their guests along with their luggage with as little worries and stress as possible. We were well taken care of as we were escorted from one location to the other and through the airport to catch the inter-island 1 hr or so flight. They were right there with us taking care of everything that they possibly could for all of us. Once we landed in Dumaguete, Atlantis staff gathered our luggage for us to claim and boarded us into vans and jeepneys to travel the 45 mins or so to the resort. They turned off the road and you’re not sure where their taking you as you wind through properties along a dirt road. You finally park and walk into the resort.
Upon arrival we were treated to smiling faces and a wonderful view of the water with refreshments. We all got settled into our new location and then had dinner and drinks listening to the water lap the shore.
The next morning again started our self-inflicted regimen of those glorious 3-5 dives per day for most of us. A good portion of the dives here were muck dives along with areas of corals. Again the diving was incredible. For this week our DM named Wing was our guide. He had incredible eagle eyes to spot critters for us. There were always refreshments and snacks available in between dives. Wing and the rest of the dive shop staff did a great job of taking good care of us, briefings before each dive, keeping tanks flowing and putting our gear away each evening. They even recorded and gave us print outs of all our dive sites. And the camera room again was a great convenience to all of us photographers in between dives. For some reason they didn’t want us in the camera room wet which wasn’t a problem at the other location, but we managed. The highlight of the diving for the week was our trip to Apo Island. It was incredibly beautiful with turtles everywhere and some of the biggest and most stunning coral I had ever seen! The boat did break down on the way back, but it didn’t take long for them to get a tow out to us so we could return to the resort.
The Dumaguete resort is more spread out and meandering. Lush vegetation complimented the grounds and you felt more secluded here. There were locals who would pass by along the beach and you could watch the children and families enjoy swimming and playing in the water. Again the grounds and rooms were well maintained during our stay. The food and staff were just as amazing as they were in Puerto Galera, but I think they could have used one or 2 more hands to serve such a big crowd.
I did not want to forget to highlight the spa services at both resorts. The Invasion crew took full advantage of the incredible prices for massages and kept their schedules very busy. Thank you for taking such great care of us!
On the last full day of the 2016 Invasion some of the Crew traveled to Oslob on the island of Cebu for a Whale Shark encounter. While my husband and I have swum with Whale Sharks multiple times is the past this was truly an incredible day with these magical creatures! We were given lunch and returned to the resort to get ready for the farewell party.
Atlantis laid out an amazingly scrumptious Pilipino buffet for our farewell party. They also made an incredible 3 tiered sea themed inspired cake to celebrate Scubaboard’s 16th birthday! All the DM’s, staff and the incredibly entertaining Nitrox band joined in the celebration. You have not lived until you heard Pink Floyd Pilipino style. After we raffled off the rest of wonderful Sponsor’s prizes Atlantis still had some surprises in store. They had embroidered hats for those celebrating special milestone dives. Just one more exceptional touch from Atlantis during our stay!
I just can’t say enough about the wonderful service we received from Atlantis during the Scubaboard Invasion 2016. Thank you so much to the Owners (Andy and Gordon), both resort managers (Steve and Dek) and all their wonderful staff at Atlantis Dive Resorts & Liveaboards Puerto Galera and Dumaguete for making our stay so incredible! They went all out and we really appreciated the enormous amount of hard work and wonderful hospitality during our 2 week stay! Atlantis Dive Resorts is a 1st class operation! It was truly an amazing adventure! Thank you!!!!!!!
Special congratulations to Jack and Andora who got engaged in Dumaguete!!!!!
