Mactan (the most underrated Philippine Destination)

Overlooked...

The Wide Deck of a Fun and Sun Boat

When most normal people think of Philippine Diving Destinations Getting there usually entails a plane trip maybe 2; a land transfer of significant proportions and in some cases IE PG, Ticao and Malapascua a boat ride to an island and on to your dive center.
















Not many really take Major transportation hubs into consideration when thinking diving destination.  Such is the case with the country's second largest City and should I say International Airport Hub Mactan on the island of Cebu.    Many dive plans include this airport only as a transfer hub to other more exotic destinations such as Balicasag, Moalboal, Malapascua and even Puerto Princessa enroute to Tubbataha.

Since it is just another airport code on the plane ticket Mactan is often overlooked as a serious diving destination.   An oversight that when addressed can lead to some extremely good diving experiences and underwater encounters.

When you land on Mactan Island all the resort and Dive Operators servicing the area are within 30-45mins of the airport.  This is one Island which you can literally be diving the same hour that you land.  Numerous Operators serving every preference and usually divided by nationality are present on Mactan.  The ones that I use often are Fun and Sun Dive Travel (they are known to have the best Banca's in the cebu area) and Feel Deep Diving CYC (these guys are more for a fun as well as chilled out day on the water).

Dive sites in Mactan range from the main shoreline slopes, Sandy Reef Plateaus, Sheer Walls that seem to go on forever and Shallow muck dives for the photographers in all of us.

Let me tell you about two of my favorite Mactan Dive Sites.

Swimming into the Deep at Talima

1). Talima Island Sanctuary - The Talima Dive Site is a Sandy Reef top plateau from 10-17Meters where it ends at a wall that drops down to well over 100Ms.  As you get dropped off by the boat you will descend to a reef top consisting of a sandy bottom dotted with Coral heads heading into the deep.
Be sure to explore these coral formations carefully as Talima is a good place to spot and Photograph Macro Critters in Clear Water.   Ornate Ghost PipeFish hidden in the crinoids, to Diff kinda of Chromodoris Nudis, to the occasional frogfish; are some of the things you can expect to see at Talima.

Group Photo at the statue at Nalusuan

As you go deeper and closer to the edge of the wall you will reach the wreckage of an old wooden boat.  Here if the current is right usually there is a bog school of Jacks Swimming in their Silvery Tornado.  Take time to admire the movements of the school as it is truly a mesmerising sight.
From here you can actually choose to go deep of the wall into the abyss, or just let the current drift you back up the reef top to the exit point.

Talima is a good place for photos but on certain day the current picks up making macro photography a chore if at all possible.  But as diving goes sometimes a mental photograph is all we need.


My second favorite dive spot at Mactan is the Nalusuan Island Sanctuary.  This Dive Site is only doable in the summer time due to its location it entails a long crossing and a position that is prone to the elements.  But a trip down to Nalusuan can be extremely rewarding.  On good days Divers will be rewarded with 30-40M visibility as well as a colorful reeftop abound with fishlife.  I personally spend a whole day just diving this Island if we do make the trip out here.

Hitching a Ride...

All in all if you have a couple of days... Mactan gets my vote on one of the places divers must visit to get a feel of Philippine Diving.  30mins from the airport into the water?!... What more can you ask for?

Have Present Day Macro Photography Practices taken the Self-Discovery out of Diving?

Well Its been awhile since I've written something on this Blog and today the topic I choose is one that I have been thinking about since I moved to Anilao.  As present day Macro Photography practices go... Alot of what a Diver now sees or doesnt see, depends highly on the guide whom they are assigned.  Are the days of Self Discovery and Self-Study gone?... Are Dive Guides now the new Dive Maps and Detailed Dive Briefings of Old?...  Looking at things in the Macro Photography Setting that I find myself in at Anilao.  This does seem like the case...



Before anyone takes offence in what I am writing, let me say that Good Marco Guides are The Super Stars of Macro Photography... To a So-So Photographer, a really good guide can mean the difference between a snapshot, and a print one can really be proud of.   And to a professional photographer it could mean the difference between UWPOTY and just another contest entry.  A good guide is definitely worth their weight in gold.  



That being said though, the practice of just going down into the water and waiting for the said guide to point something out seems to take half the fun of discovery out of diving.  The discovery that comes from poking around under rocks and corals and other such things.  Stuff which I almost automatically learned how to do all those years ago in order to find and observe something new.  Now it seems that the divers follow the guide and just wait.  Talk about not working for their dinner.  LOL.   Seems almost like spoon feeding a baby.  


Even worse still is Divers that started off like this tend to stay like this throughout their diving careers.  It takes some of the competence youd learn from diving experience away; as present day divers sad to say are too dependent on their guides.  

This being said, I guess Im using this as a challenge to all of us... All of us divers, UW photographers, Instructors Dive Pros and the whole of the worldwide diving community.



Next time you go underwater... try to spot things for yourselves... try to find your subjects on your own.  Im not saying dont follow the guide... I'm just saying there is only one of him and most of the time 5 of you.  Most likely youll get more images if you dont spend half the dive waiting for the guide to finish spotting for everyone else so he can spot you something new to shoot.  
   
   

 Sometime you may just surprise yourself and find something so amazing that the guide missed.
   
That is my challenge... Lets all learn to spot these critters we so love...
   
Lets return to the Real Essence of the sport we love so much...

Discovery...