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 our cameras, unlike the first, we descended once more to this beautiful wall. Scholl of Breams We... 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 with a Whale Shark!) At 0628H, we descended near an old destroyed wreck on a sloping bottom that... Read More

Photo Blog: Postcards Above Tubbataha Reefs

We are already halfway on our Tubbataha Dive Logs series, but before we proceed, let us take a break to have a peek of how the place looks like above sea level with this photo blog. Located in the open water of Sulu Sea, the UNESCO World Heritage Tubbataha Reefs is under the jurisdiction of the town of Cagayancillo, Palawan. It is believed that around 90% of the marine species in Philippine waters are found here. The area is comprised of  two coral atolls, the North and South,... Read More

Tubbataha Logs Day 2: Devil Ray, Sea Turtles, More Sharks and Other Species!

A tiring day on the water and a full stomach put me to an early slumber on our first day in Tubbataha Reefs. I was already down at 2100H and had a good nine hours of sleep on day one. I woke up before 0600H and had a light snacks before the first dive of our second day, still on the North Atoll. Triggerfish are everywhere! Dive 1: Sharks’ Airport (Warning! More Sharks Below!) At 0612H, our boat stopped to a site where we descended to a vast area of soft and hard corals,... Read More

Tubbataha Logs Day 1: Sharks Tale

From an overcast sky of Puerto Princesa, our boat Hans Christian Andersen cruised for 13 hours in the  vast water of Sulu Sea. We woke up on a sunny blue sky above of the Tubbataha Reefs of Cagayancillo, Palawan. A perfect weather and calm seas, just as what we prayed. There were 25 divers aboard, all excited to dive the reefs of Tubbataha. More than half of the divers were Filipinos, while the others were from different parts of the world – Australia, Canada, Slovakia,... Read More

A Note Before We Sail

Two-and-a-half years of being a scuba diver, with close to a hundred dive count across the Philippines and here I am now in the country’s last frontier, aboard a ferry that will take us to the dream dive site for most Filipino divers – the Tubbataha Reefs! My rendezvous to this important milestone in my diving career is just pure excitement, this is the only UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Philippines that I haven’t visited. As of this writing, I am sitting... Read More

Seizing Tubbataha Dream

My very good friend and dive buddy Ate Claudia Artazo shares how our Tubbataha Dream started, deferred and will finally come to reality. With  less than a month to go, our road to Tubbataha is coming to an end. See you soon Tubbataha! Prologue: Measuring 99,600 hectares in size, the Tubbattaha Reef National Marine Park (TRNMP) is made up of 2 atolls rising in the middle of the Sulu Sea. A Study by Conservation International has confirmed what Scientists long theorized, that... Read More

Travel Guide: Moalboal

What seems to be a sleepy town in western Cebu is booming with active coastal life. Moalboal, a two hours drive from Cebu City is a gateway to some of the best diving spots not only in Cebu but in the entire Philippines. Home to around 28,00 inhabitants, this provincial town is a well known tourist and diving paradise due to its unspoiled fine white sand beaches and diverse marine life. Divers and snorkelers will enjoy the rich and colorful underwater life of its numerous dive... Read More