Cebu (moalboal)

If anyone ever asked me if there was ever a destination that touched me from the first time i set foot there, through its quaintness, vibe and just plain amazing diving... I would have to answer over and over hands down it is Moalboal.

Moalboal is a small and quiet town on the western side of cebu island, being an hour and a half from cebu city it is accessible to visitors flying into cebu and getting a van transfer out. With a diving history dating back to the early 70's It is one of the first international diving destinations to flourish in the philippines.

Moalboal boasts of a number of divesites running up and down its shoreline. These sights offer divers a wide variety of marine life both of the big animal and the macro variety; and they are all within a short boat ride of each other. There is never a shortage of things to see and sometimes there is just too much. Of all the places I have visited moalboal is definitely a record setter at one dive our group counted 11 green turtles and recently I heard that the record now stands at 13 turtles all in one dive. The turtles here are used to divers and will gladly pose and hang around long enough for you to get your fill of photographing them. Another animal common for divers to see in moalboal is it's resident giant, the whaleshark. Many argue that moalboal has just 1 resident whaleshark and that he just cruises up and down the coast usually along the walls of the divesites. When he makes an appearance he seems to always want to get extremely close to the divers as if to say hello to the group with him in the water. I personally have seen the animal a number of times, and have been cursed once for telling a group of photographers to strap on their macro lenses only to be buzzed by this majestic giant of the ocean. These are only two of the many highlights this destination has to offer in terms of marine life.

For those of you Macro divers and photographers moalboal offers some of the worlds hardest to find macro creatures; critters like the pygmy seahorse (yellow as well as pink) live on moalboals many gorgonian fans and Frogfish, pipefish and ghost pipefish are just some examples of what can be found at any of moalboal's divesites. The reefs are lush colorful and full of life and there is even a plane wreck which you can visit and photograph as well. These and alot lot more make up the perfect equation for the wonderful diving experience moalboal offers.

For something really spectacular; a visit here is never complete without seeing the sardine shoals of pescador island. Different parts of the world boast of a sardine run season which last for no more than a few months. Moalboal trumps them all as the shoal of millions of sardines and the predators that hunt them are present at pescador year round. A dive at pescador is like a trip into a natgeo special, and as soon as you jump in you will be enveloped in millions of these tiny fish we most of the time see in a can. The guides even warn you sometimes to stick close to the wall because if the shoal surrounds you you may lose your sense of direction in all the confusion. Also at pescador you might be able to witness thresher sharks, and unlike malapacua here they are feeding and it is always a joy to watch them as they show divers this curious way of hunting that explains the need for their extremely long rooster tail. All together pescador is one dive that will never disappoint. The best part of it is: at this point the diving is far from over!...

moalboal becomes truly special for me after the sunset, yes the bars and parties are plentiful and great but what really gets me is the life that comes alive underwater at night. I advice any diver to forget the bars and not miss an opportunity to dive at this wonderful place when the sun goes down. Critters like decorator crabs, sponge crabs, siren shrimps are plentiful and are by no means the only critters in the water at night. And then there are some truly special critters I continuously see on moalboal night dives; these include all star photo subjects such as; star-gazers, mimic octopus, pygmy cuttlefish and the fabled blue ring octopus present in all their glory for all to see. The beauty of night diving in moalboal is that to see all these fantastic critters, it is merely a shore entry dive from all my favorite moalboal resorts and dive operators.

Moalboal is definitely a place no filipino should miss out on, the diving is definitely world class and getting there is relatively easy. The resort staff at club serena are professional and willing to serve and the divestaff at aquaholics are the most experienced local guides who grew up swimming and fishing in these waters so they know it like the back of their hands.

Now everyone deserves to have their favorites and moalboal hands down is mine at the moment. A place i go and know the diving will never disappoint and the people so friendly they make you feel like you're home.

It is my personal happy place and I hope one day you all see it for yourselves.

Photos by: Lee Allan Black


For more info on packages and diving email m.santos@bluewaterexpeditions.net

Masbate (ticao island)

One of the lesser known diving destinations the philippines has to offer is none other than that quaint little island which has served as my home for the past 3 months. Situated in the middle of masbate and sorsogon is an island called ticao. Most of ticao island is populated in the 5 major towns they have, and most of the island is divided into large haciendas consisting mostly of grazing land. Ticao island is one of largest cow producing islands in the philippines and its products reach as far north as ilocos.

Situated right in the middle of this island is a barrio called tacdogan and here is the home of the ticao island resort a quaint little native style resort which is gaining popularity among our country's foreign visitors.

Ticao islands main attraction is a reef in the middle of ticao pass called manta bowl. Manta Bowl is a 6 hectare reef jutting out of otherwise very deep water and it is here in the months of march till october that divers can observe oceanic mantas going about their daily activities. It is a collection of many cleaning stations and a feeding area which mantas frequently visit.

Different manta behaviors can be observed during the different tide cycles. Being a new discovery dating back only 7 years to 2004. Research is still being carried out as to the timing of the mantas arrivals at manta bowl. But as far as the dive pros of TIR have observed: The Incoming Tide, is generally the strongest, and it is at this time mantas can be observed feeding and playing in the incoming currents usually at greater depths towards the rear of the site. It is also during this tide that there is a good chance that the group will chance upon white tips sleeping under the rocks at shark appartment, and big schools of giant trevally and chevron barracudas in mid-water as the group makes its way to the safety stop. Manta bowl on an incoming dive is as exciting as diving ever gets, the strong currents and the fish action will leave a diver pumped up and wanting more.

Later on in the day as the tide changes the current weakens to almost a stand still, and though the visibility declines it is during this time that longer interactions with the mantas are made possible by just sitting around a cleaning station. Cleaning stations are parts of the reef which house cleaner wrasse and mantas can be observed just hovering over these areas having parasites picked of their bodies by these interesting little fish. Interactions to as long as 14 minutes have been experienced and given that mantas are most approachable while cleaning many great photographs have been taken of the animals during this period of the day. .

Many people have heard rumors about the currents at manta bowl, and most of them are true!!! Generally the currents at manta bowl can be quite strong and even at some points harrowing to the untrained eye, but the great guides of TIR know the sight well and as long as you listen to the briefings and stay with the guide the currents of manta bowl becomes a positive experience you wont soon forget.

Although mantas are the main attraction, ticao island also boasts of the san miguel group of islands, sights like bobbys wall, lapus lapus, tres grace, and odok provide photographers with many an interesting critter to photograph. Critters such as sea horses, frogfish, pipefish, mandarin fish and coleman shrimp are all on parade amidst colorful reefs of healthy soft and hard coral formations.

Some guides will opt to do 3 dives out at manta bowl, and others a mix of san miguel and MB but whatever the diving schedule trust the guides they know the reefs and the timing best.

All in all Ticao island is an up and coming star in the world of philippine diving. If you dont believe me check it out for your self!


For more information email m.santos@bluewaterexpeditions.net

Luzon (Donsol)

Big Big Big, now if big is your thing then hands down nothing can beat southern luzon's newest rising eco tourism destination Donsol Sorsogon. The only draw back to this destination is that there is no diving allowed in Donsol. But that being said it is one of the places where you can view one of the seas biggest marvels the whale shark.

Every year from november through june for reasons yet to be fully discovered Donsol bay becomes the haunt of the oceans biggest fish. They come following the food, or the tide whichever it may be but one thing is for sure; they come in droves. Last year 144 different individual animals were identified and tagged in the waters off Donsol and number don't seem to be dwindling as the years pass.

Boats go out everyday for 3 hours at a time, and when the guide shouts ready everyone gets ready to jump in for an experience of a lifetime. The water is murky mostly because of the krill and planktons that these animals feed on and visibility is no more than 10 meters. So the first time you see that dark shadow coming towards you out of darkness of the water, the sheer mass of the animal surprises you, with a mouth that could scoop up a person or two in one gulp fear takes over and your heart races as it swims closer. The fish's sheer size reminds of just how small and frail you really are. But as the day goes on and you spend more time with these majestic creatures; there is a certain calm and serenity in the energy of the animal and one cannot help but be overwhelmed by the experience. My first whale shark interaction was a spiritual experience, it strengthened my belief that there is a god, and no matter how we call him he's there and we are but specs in the greater scheme of things.

Donsol used to be a class 5 municipality the poorest among the philippine rating system. Mainly a fishing village; it remained that way for the longest time until sometime in the early nineties word got out that every year whale sharks would gather in its serene bay. Local enthusiasts and NGO's investigated the phenomenon later confirming the reports bringing people from every corner of the world to donsol to see these massive creatures of the sea. Owing to a strong conservation push and an eco tourism boom this small town jumped two places in classification to the class 3 municipality that strives on eco-tourism that it is today.

For 7 months of the year donsol is a booming tourism spot people of all nationalities can be seen walking the little towns narrow streets in search of an adventure. And when the last of the sharks leave in june it quiets down to a stand still, reminding the locals of what donsol used to be before their precious whale sharks came into the picture. This yearly reminder gives them a reason to vigilantly protect and conserve this gift of nature to their town.

Donsol is one destination i return to every year... one of my favorites as the case maybe... it is so popular now that they even printed a whale shark on the back of philippine currency... and as long as people conserve and protect these magnificent creatures, donsol will always be a place for the world to see one of the ocean's marvels.

Photo by Kwan Chin Hung

For more information email m.santos@bluewaterexpeditions.net

Luzon (Anilao)

If there was one place in the philippines that can say it is the home of local philippine diving, i think it would have to be Anilao. If you are a filipino and you scuba dive most likely you've gone to Anilao, If you took your open water course in manila or anywhere in luzon most likely your first taste of real open water was Anilao as well; it has been a main staple for the manila divers and will remain for a long long time to come.

Anilao is a small town located in the province of batangas It is flanked by the bigger cities of Batangas and Bauan on either side. Though small and for the most part undeveloped, Anilao has a large and continuously growing diving community which shows no sign of slowing down. and resorts and diveshops sprout up like mushrooms lining its rocky shores.

Anilao's popularity stems from its distance being only an hour and a half from manila it is easily accessible to the weekend warriors and being less than two hours by boat from both verde island and puerto galera, anilao boasts of a diverse mix of diving for all levels of diving enthusiast.

That being said, I must also mention that anilao has been a marine protected area since the 70's and diving has kept this strict adherence to conservation alive over the years. It is a town, built by diving and has given so back soooo much to philippine diving as a whole.

Not too long ago Anilao was merely a local's secret spot if you will. Resorts were filled with local guests and foreigners always looked over it as they passed through to the more popular puerto galera.

Today though as the philippine diving industry is starting to boom internationally it is hard to over look anilao and all its splendor. This is the one place in the philippines that i can say really has alot for everybody. And no matter what your skill level, or interests may be Anilao more than likely will be able to satisfy your need for underwater adventure.

For those who like the bigger animals, anilao has little in terms of the bigger animals.  Sometimes  sharks, rays, and the occasional whaleshark or bigger animal could be spotted while diving but your chances are slim.  On the other hand  good-sized schooling fish like trevally and barracuda are not unlikely to spot . These are found at the more advanced sights with good currents and some deeper reefs (eg.mainit point, bahura kanto, mapating larry's garden and twin rocks).

If nice easy diving and colorful soft and hard corals are your thing then anilao satisfies this hunger to the fullest. Being right in the middle of the coral triangle, anilao boasts of some of the widest diversity of coral life you can find on a dive. Good sized hard corals like brain, table and staghorn corals are on almost every dive. Mix this in with an array of soft corals, large sponges and gorgonian fans and you can have the most picturesque dive you can ask for. the greatest part about it is that it doesnt end there.

For those with a keen eye and a love for critter photography, anilao delivers critter diving equal to the best critter diving in the world. Sights like the more recently discovered "secret bay", and the anilao classic "basura" offer critter diving equalling the shores of dauin, and even lembeh in indonesia. Critters like the frogfish(the giant, clown and the hairy), wonderpus, flambouyant cuttlefish, and lately even the pinnacle of critter diving the rhinopias have been spotted on a regular basis off the shores of anilao and have been photographed on a regular basis.

This plus the fact that Anilao has a wide variety of resorts and dive operations to suit all tastes and budgets make anilao one of the best all around diving destinations in the philippines. Yes it cannot offer the thresher sharks of malapascua, and the millions of sardines at pescador island but if your looking for a no frills, easily accessible diving destination then i have to say anilao is it!...

Photo by Lee Allan Black

For more information email m.santos@bluewaterexpeditions.net