A pink skunk clownfish (Amphipirion perideraion) hovers above its host anemone while scouting its surroundings. Photo by Jayvee Fernandez
I’m takingafewfriends out diving this weekend in Puerto Galera. We’re doing a DSD course, more commonly known as the Discover SCUBA Diving or “Introduction Dive.” It’s a short half-day course for those who are iffy about SCUBA diving. People have different reactions towards being submerged into the flora and fauna of the ocean; it is so much different from snorkeling. The course’s main objective is to help you become more comfortable underwater while breathing from a regulator. The course consists of a classroom lecture about SCUBA, familiarization with SCUBA equipment, a confined water session with exercises and finally, the most exciting part — the dive!
I think SCUBA diving is one of the best ways to get away from the heat of summer as you’re (1) already in the beach and (2) enjoying the warm tropical waters of the Philippines. Puerto Galera is one of the best places to dive as it is very close to Verde Island, one of the centers of biodiversity.
We’re staying at GULI Diving (Facebook) at White Beach over the weekend and I’d like to thank Gus and Lisa for hosting us.
One of the many sea turtles that rest along the white sands of the reefs. This one was more accommodating and let me swim with it for a few minutes.
OK pardon me for this ultra-SEO’d title 🙂 But Tubbataha Reef is one of the diving highlights of the world and last April 14-20, I joined the second trip of the M/Y Hans Christian Andersen for 4 days of diving: In every dive you’re guaranteed sharks.
Tubbataha National Park is open from April to June. You can’t just “go there.” You need to take a live aboard boat and as far as I know you need to be a diver to go. Tubbataha is not an island. It is a coral atoll in the middle of the Sulu Sea composed of walls with great visibility with two sandbar islands which you cannot set foot on. The vis is so good, there was one point I went down to 138 ft thinking I was only at 80 ft. Great vis! Great diving!
The schedule is literally Eat, Dive, Sleep. Our group did a total of 15 dives. What we saw: schooling jacks and huge barracudas, manta ray, several eagle rays and marble rays, big tuna, turtles galore, more than 50 reef sharks (sharks guaranteed in every dive!) and lo and behold, a tiger shark. There were also sightings of hammerheads but our group did not see them.
One of our chase boats resting on the flat iron ocean surface.
Our dining area / cleaning area / where we load the chase boats.
Let’s do this!
Because of the odd weather patterns we were the first lucky group of the season on board the HCA. When we arrived on day 1, the waves were still a slightly strong but slowly got better come day 2 and finally, flat ironed calm. On the last day we were also able to make a trip to the Ranger Station that guards the reef. Since summer came late, I would honestly suggest booking your trip towards the end of April or maybe even early May regardless if you’re taking the HCA or Expedition Fleet. So yes, book on a later date and not early April. It’s a global warming thing methinks.
Underwater photos in this post were taken using a 18-55 kit lens on a standard Sea & Sea port with surprisingly good results despite having only one strobe. If you want to borrow these shots, I won’t mind as long as you give proper attribution. Thanks!Here’s the complete low res album.
Spawning barrel sponges jut out of the wall. This was a Nat Geo moment for me as when barrel sponges spawn, all others in the vicinity spawn as well.
At 40 ft under a small crevice, we found a lot of lobsters. All of the flora and fauna in Tubbataha are protected by law. No touching. No fishing.
A playful manta ray makes it way towards my lens. One of the tricks to shooting mantas is to pinpoint where they will end up when they make a turning gliding arc. I was lucky!
One of the many white tip reef sharks taking off from a dive site called Shark Airport.
A Napolen Wrasse whizzes by my lens. Happy I was able to take a photo.
In a group, I feel more comfortable going up close and personal with this school of barracudas. If they were solitary, it would mean they are hunting.
A peeping turtle probably annoyed that we disturbed him.
Tubbataha is known for its huge fan corals.
WOW talaga!
Pushing a school of jacks for 30 minutes was a bit tiring but we did it. These guys stayed with us for half the dive.
Jules and Jan chasing the manta for a quick photo op.
Where Tuna Sashimi comes from.
Another shark parked on the white sandy bottom.
Zoomed + Cropped + White Balanced: I shoot in RAW because I really have to do a lot of adjusting afterwards such as removing a little backscatter, and white balance adjustments. Other than that, all photos are as is.
Jules taking her time with the school of jacks.
My Tubbataha postcard shot with a very cooperative turtle.
Costs:
PHP 40,000.00 for the M/Y Hans Christian Andersen (price varies)
PHP 3,000.00 for park fees
Ranger Station
On the last day we were able to take a short visit to the Ranger Station. These are the brave men who stay for 2 months at a time, protecting the oceans from poachers and illegal fishers. The sand bar is amazing. It’s just there right in the middle of the ocean. We came in at low tide.
At the station we gave a small donation of canned goods (MEAT!) and bought some t-shirt souvenirs.
What an amazing trip! Next stop, Palau!
I’m now back in Manila and definitely missing the ocean. It’s lovely out there. I think, for what it’s worth, being away from Twitter and Facebook — and the city — really helps put many things in perspective.
Jan Acosta and I guested on ANC Mornings to talk about the fast growing underwater photography club in Manila. NUDI or the Network of Underwater Digital Imagers (check us out on Facebook and yep, here’s the link to our site) is an underwater photography club that was formed to get diver-photographers together to share techniques and experiences in shooting underwater.
The Philippines is a biodiversity hotspot and the things we find down there are simply amazing. We talked about diving as a viable hobby in the Philippines, conservation, our gallery exhibits and the SNUPS competition that we’re co-organizing this year.
Might I suggest a nice date place for you and your special someone? There’s a three star Michelin chef that runs the kitchen at La Regalade along Pasay Road, Makati. It’s a French Bistro. Good food. Serious wine. It’s also an art gallery. And between now and March 2, I will help provide the eye candy for your romantic evening with an underwater photo exhibit.
From left to right: myself, Jan Acosta, Marie Lat, Wowie Wong, Joshua Castro, Jules Terrado
Together with five other friends who shoot underwater, we’ve set up a 6-man exhibit titled “Aqua Obscura.” Opening night was a huge success with one of my photos being reserved for purchase. If you’re craving for French cuisine or just want to chill over a bottle of wine, I invite you drop by and have a look at the exhibit. It’s up till the 2nd of March.
