My Year End Dive at Agutayan Island Marine Sanctuary

I went to Cagayan de Oro the day after Tropical Storm Sendong lashed the city. From the airport, the situation seemed normal and calm but as I came close to the city proper, the disaster brought by the storm became perceptible. As the jeepney passed the bridge crossing the brown and murky Cagayan River in Carmen District, I saw communities along the river totally washed out. People... Read More

Diving the Monsters of Coron

Coron, an enchanting place dotted with limestone cliffs, amazing inland lakes, caves, lagoons and beautiful white sandy island beaches. But all these wonders aren’t match with the superb scene underneath, the vibrant and diverse marine life and of course the important pieces of history that remind us of our past. Navigating the creepy and narrow pathways of Coron Wrecks... Read More

New Milestone: Now an Enriched Air Diver

Oxygen is toxic under pressure. A lesson that stayed on my head since I took up a new diving certification last September. It is a fact highlighted during the course. It is also a fact that the air we breath on land is composed of 21% oxygen and 79% nitrogen. In diving, the same proportion applies on compressed air. But studies and developments in scuba diving paved the way for... Read More

Medina, Misamis Oriental Dive Against Debris

A scene underneath the water of Medina Port It is always a slow day at the port of Medina, a small town north of Misamis Oriental fronting Gingoog Bay. Save for a big fishing vessel quietly docked in the town’s concrete port, traffic and activities are almost always very light. The big fishing boat was captured by local authorities in the neighboring town of Magsaysay... Read More

Dive Weekend: Back in Balingoan

Finally, I got a chance to dive again in Balingoan. It has been a year since I last visited the place when Ate Claudia and I dive in Mantangale and Mantigue Island in 2010. Since then, I was enthralled with the unspoiled beauty beneath. It is among the underrated dive spots in the country and I promised to return. While most tourist frequent the place only as jump off point to Camiguin,... Read More

Amazing Dives at Sabang, Puerto Galera

It was raining hard for two days prior to our scheduled dives and on the day of our trip, the sky continued to pour its seemingly endless tears. Batanes is not really for us this year. The unfavorable circumstances were enough reasons to give up our dream of visiting the land of beautiful lighthouses and rolling hills. There are reasons for everything and there maybe deeper reasons... Read More

Tubbataha Logs Day 4: Last Day in Underwater Paradise

Down to our last day in Tubbataha Reefs, our ship cruised back to the Northern Atoll. The sky was overcast and the water was choppy. The bad weather was as if condoling with us that our Tubbataha dream was about to end. Dive 1 (Malayan Wreck): Back to Malayan Wreck On our first dive of the day, we went back to Malayan Wreck, the very first dive site we visited on Day 1. Armed with... Read More

Tubbataha Logs Day 3: Close Encounter With A Whale Shark

From the Northern Atoll of Tubbataha Reefs, our boat cruised southwards to the Southern Atoll for our third day of diving. As usual, we woke up before six o’clock in the morning and had light snacks before our first dive. Everybody was enthusiastic, hoping for a great third day of diving in Southern Atoll. A cute juvenile Flagfin Angelfish Dive 1: Delsan Wreck (Wow! Diving... Read More