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Published: January 29th 2010
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Malapascua Sunset
It's easy to get used to these, but hard to get bored of them Here we are in 2010. For Paul it started on the 2nd as the 1st was almost entirely spent in bed, as the San Miguel Red Horse is rather strong. For us the Philippines was always going to be about diving and some of the most exciting sharks in the world. Malapascua is one of the few places where Thresher Sharks can be seen near the surface so we took the opportunity ...
... first dive 2 sharks! If you look really closely at the first video you might catch a glimpse (we need some practice with the underwater videography) before Nicola's head and bubbles obscure the view. But it wasn't all about the sharks as we also saw some fantastic Sea-horses and the elusive but stunning Mandarin fish.
The rest of our time on Malapascua was spent drinking with Dutch and Swiss friends, or sitting in the sunshine on a white sandy beach. All very nice but you have to move on.
Legaspi City was the site of Paul's much needed haircut. Whilst rain stopped play for a couple of days we had plenty of time to find a barber and chose well. The hairdresser was the
Ferry to Cebu
A typical ro-ro in this part of the world most fastidious ever and took 3/4 of an hour to do a no. 4 all over. He even threw in a short head massage and offered a shave, all for 60p! It was an amazing Lego Man haircut that kept Nicola amused for days.
Donsol doesn't have quite the same setting as Malapascua but it does have Whale Sharks and we planned to stay here as many days as it took to see them. The first day and our 3 hour boat ride meant a 6am start but we didn't care ... until after 3 hours we were still on the boat in the pouring rain without a Whale Shark so much as being spotted let alone being swum with.
However, the boat crew are as dogged about seeing these things as we are and kept going. After 4.5 hours we finally get our first spotting but before we can get in the water the shark had dived. Gutted, we were beginning to think that we would be leaving here with the dubious distinction of being the first people not to see Whale Sharks in Donsol. Then at last the sun came out and our fortunes changed. Our
Will you look at the size of that!
Owing to Paul's poor camera skills, the only picture of a 25ft fish that a blind man could have photographed first jump from the boat was just too late, but then success as we jumped in and nearly landed on its head. We got 4 more successful jumps with 2 sharks in 1.5 hours and 2 massive grins that lasted the next 24 hours.
We can't describe the feelings of seeing a 20ft fish from just 3m away so you will have to swim with Whale Sharks for yourself to find out.
The first leg of the journey from Donsol to Manila was a 1 hour jeepney (local bus) ride back to Legaspi spent on the roof. Great for the views and a suntan, bad for getting smacked round the head with branches. Far better than the overnight journey onwards to Manila in what felt like the freezer section of our 'comfort' coach though.
Two days in Manila (with the only memorable thing being an earthquake ... well tremor) being offered dodgy DVD's, taxis and Viagra (clearly Paul's haircut didn't get rid of enough of the grey) was plenty before heading off to Busuanga in Palawan for more diving, this time with monsters 130m long.
Back in 1944 Palawan was the scene of a massive American
Lego head
Paul sporting his Filipino barnet task force taking back the Philippines from the Japanese invaders. 12 Japanese naval wrecks lie between 10 and 50m making them very accessible for divers. For once the dive guide really earned his money as penetrating the hull and moving from engine room to holds leaves you totally disorientated. Nicola was sensible enough to check if we could abort the dive should she feel uncomfortable in a confined space, Paul just waited until we were quite a way inside to have his panic attack! His torch had stopped working and being at the back he had little or no light, only Nicola's fins to follow. Luckily there was light at the end of the tunnel and after 'encouraging' Nicola to move along a little faster we found a large open hold and he could see his gauges ... phew.
We then spent the next few days chilling out with our diving buddies, including a birthday celebration with the most sickly looking, but perfect tasting, chocolate banana cake and far too much red wine.
Unfortunately, as we have said a few times on this trip, all good things come to an end and it was time to move on
Buddies
Both drinking & diving to Indonesia. Thresher Sharks. Whale Sharks. Brilliant wrecks. The friendliest locals on our journey so far. Philippines was definitely worth the journey.
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Chris KJ
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Grey Power
I see that the extended holiday has not postponed the onset of grey hair - I thought you were there to relax!