Diving Puerto Galera

Hello Everyone

I made it to Manila Friday evening as the sun was setting and after 28 hours of travel (26 hours of flying; two 1-hour transfers in Taipei and Singapore). I do not know how much I slept on the flights, but I was not overly tired. Manila is a pretty busy and smoggy city, especially at rush hour, but my taxi driver got me to my chosen hotel in the Ermita District. Getting from the airport to your hotel may seem a small feat, but it seems as though taxi drivers always have a better hotel in a better neighborhood, which of course, is much better for you...

After checking into my chosen hotel, which was actually fully booked after all, I walked around the 'hip' part of the city and met some bicyclists. Wanting to plan ahead for my return, I asked if they knew where I could rent a bicycle for myself. I was told I could rent one as late as 2:00am at the wharf a few kilometers away. So already realizing that taxis do not move as quickly as the bicycle taxis with side cars, I rushed over to the CCP to rent a bike for a few hours. Unfortunately, bicycles were being rented only for use in the parking lot....I saw point to riding in circles and fortunately remembered my way back to my starting point.

I took a 4-hour bus ride the next morning to Batangas for a ferry to Puerto Galera (PG) and to SCUBA dive for a few days. I am actually in Sabong, which is quite nice and the place to be. There is basically a walking street along the beach. The walk street has shops on either side and twists and turns like a covered maze. It's not a large city, but you do have to explore the maze. If anyone of you want necklaces or fake watches and coins from the US occupation in the late 1800s, let me know. I will make the locals very happy with a purchase....

Typhoon Durian came through here early in December and much of PG is still using generators. The military and politicians were here this morning to stage a beach cleanup. The typhoon destroyed a lot of the shallow coral, and there is a newly forming tropical depression that should be a full typhoon in the next 2-3 days....

The locals are understandably fearful and did not want to take me diving this morning - big waves are now bad luck. I have gotten a few dives in though (saw the aenenomes, clown fish, lion fish, lots of soft coral, white tipped sharks). The currents here are pretty strong, and it's fun to drift along with them 65 feet below the surface. My chosen dive operator does not consistently have a boat, but I am diving only with an instructor from England. The second dive where there were some new divers and a very strong current ended up to be quite interesting....I will do a wreck dive at noon and then make plans to leave for Boracay (also hit hard by Durian) and onward to Cebu. Leaving now will put me several days ahead of schedule...

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