Philippines: Visayas - February 2008
Dear English-speaking readers, this page is an automatic translation of an article originally written in French. I apologise for any strange sentences and funny mistakes that may have resulted. If you read French, click on the French flag below to access the original, correct text:
Français
A last picture, today, of the black sand beach of Dauin. We can see, in the background, the island of Apo. The sun is finally back... the day of my departure, of course!
Chilly, me?
The gray weather persisted during my stay in Dauin. It is not very annoying for the dives, but still, a little ray of sunshine is always welcome to warm up when you get out of the water.
It was 27°C, but as usual I was a bit shivering when I came back to the surface, despite my lycra + wetsuit + shorts.
I'm not the only one playing onion skinner. Our guides and the clients who have their own suits do the same. The most frigid and the most fragile ears even wear hoods, scarves and other protective headbands.
Diving in Dauin and Apo Island
The dives here are the most spectacular of all the ones I did during this Philippine stay. The area is full of life. There are plenty of fish and a variety of sites that allow you to alternate between diving muck (on sand), drift dive, drop offs, reefs ... A real festival.
I didn't stay long enough to explore all the sites. But I have every intention of returning. Maybe next year? But preferably in March or April, just to be sure to have good weather all the time...
Among the dives you must do: those ofApo Island. It is quite simple, the first time, we do not know where to go, so rich in fish and corals are the sites of Apo.
Be careful though, on the sites located on the east side of the island, like Cogon, there are currents that could pick the nudibranchs apart... But the feeling is quite exhilarating, especially when you are surrounded by schools of trevally, huge groupers and when a really big humpback parrot suddenly appears.
Hard to take pictures at this place, with the current. If we see a beautiful nudi, not sure that the rest of the group stops too and waits for the time of the focus... But there are other sites more protected from the current around Apo, on the west side, and there, we have time to stop and take pictures of some nice creatures.
The center Sea Explorers with which I dived is very well organized and equipped with large bancas (the traditional boats with pendulums) powerful, which hold the swell and allow to quickly gain the different sites.
We decide on our dives more or less from day to day. My favorites among the ones I made : Apo Island, The Pier and Masaplod.
Nudibranchs everywhere
My compact camera being more adapted to take pictures of the "small" than of the ambiance, I had a great time with nudibranchs... It's quite simple, they are everywhere! For those who, like me, love these little sea slugs, Dauin is a paradise!
The staff and guides are very caring. There are many photographic divers among the mostly German speaking clientele at the resort Pura Vida, affiliated to Sea Explorersthan at theEldorado neighbour.
But I still found some French people and I got along well with Frédérique and Thomas, a very nice couple from Colmar, with whom I had a chat in the evening, with Hervé, around San Miguel. We dive into books about nudibranchs identification, we tell each other divers stories...
