Swimming with Turtles on Apo island...just another normal day!

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After we had managed to tear ourselves away from idyllic Siquijor island, we took a quick ferry across to Negros and the city of Dumaguete. We weren't entirely sure what our plan would be from here, but we knew that in the next day or two we wanted to see the turtles around nearby Apo Island, so we headed to the infamous backpacker hostel that is Harold's Mansion to see if they had a room for us and to work out our options. Luckily we scored the last room and they also had a dive/snorkel boat trip going to Apo the next morning so we quickly booked on - this worked out better for us as it meant we could visit Apo as a day trip instead of making the journey over there and staying for 2 nights, something which we considered but due to time would have been difficult.

We then had a wander down to the boulevard which ran along the sea to get some lunch, and came across possibly the best bakery we have ever found - Sans Rival Cakes - and after a savoury bite to eat we decided to gorge on some of the delicious looking

cakes and pastries here. We slightly overordered, and while other customers had chosen one sweet treat each, we had gone for 5 different types as we just wanted a bit of everything, and it was all so good even if we did feel a bit sick after! From the coffee crunch slice to the carrot cake and chocolate brownie, each one was so yummy, moist and delicious, but the 'Silvanahs' were simply amazing - soft biscuit filled with chewy,nutty mirangue and creamy buttercream, each bite just melted in your mouth - makes our mouths water just describing them again! We also popped into a department store to stock up on some toiletries and were surprised to note how big an occasion Valentines Day is out here. There was a whole floor dedicated to this romantic day, with masses or pink and red flowers and hearts decorating the area and hundreds of cards, teddy's and other gifts - anyone would think it was Christmas. Anyway we got our toiletries, struggling to find moisturiser without whitening product in it, and made our way back to Harold's for a rest.

That evening we went for some dinner and found a great BBQ place

which we initially just went into for a snack, but ended up ordering more and more food as it was all so good. It served mainly pork skewers in either sweet or spicy sauce and rice and we had about 8 skewers each before we were full - the best part was they were only 7 Peso's each, less than 15p! The food has actually surprised us in the Philippines as we didn't expect much from it and it has all been really nice so far, with big portions and lots of choices, so I don't think we will lose any weight here.

The next morning we were up early and looking forward to the trip to Apo island, where I was going to snorkel and Scott had booked on to do three dives. We both really wanted to see the turtles which the island is famed for so joined the rest of the group and set off towards the boat which was leaving from Dauin, a 25 minute drive away. The boat set off and the water appeared a bit choppy but the sun was out so it was fine and after sailing for a while we had reached the first dive/snorkel point - this is where we would hopefully see turtles so I went off with the other snorkellers while Scott got ready for his first dive of the day with a few other divers and the dive master. As soon as I got in the sea and put my snorkel gear on, I swam for maybe 1 minute before someone in the group shouted 'turtle!' and when I looked back under the water I saw my first turtle! Then for the rest of the 45 minutes we snorkelled for I just kept seeing them, either swimming gently down to the corals or feeding in the shallows - they are such amazing creatures and I was over the moon to have seen so many in such a short space of time - I saw at least 6 turtles and they were all incredible. The water was really clear too so it made it even easier to see them, and on his dive Scott also saw some turtles and some other marine life including clown fish and a huge bump head parrot fish which is quite rare, so we were both very satisfied as we had heard of people comign here and not seeing anything which would have been such a shame. We stopped twice more throughout the day at different sites, I continued to snorkel with some of the other non divers and Scott did two more dives, spotting sea snakes, lion fish, a scorpion fish and mooray eels, and even though the sea was quite rough it remained clear and was like swimming through an aquarium at times , the coral was so alive and colourful.

At one point in his last dive, Scott had a problem with his BCD inflator and his air supply started to leak and then ran out quicker than it should have, he had to share oxygen with the dive master during the final 5 minutes and ascend but he had seen a lot by then and was getting a bit cold so came up from the dive sooner than he needed to. We both had a great day on the boat and would reccomend this trip to anyone wanting to see turtles and thinking of visiting the island from Dumaguete. On the way back to shore the water got quite rough and the waves hitting the boat were huge - we were sitting on the top deck and getting soaked by them!

We had arranged to go for dinner and drinks with a group of cool people we had met on the boat, with the rumour of ending the night in a Karaoke place later that evening, but after diving/snorkelling all day everyone was pretty tired, so we just had a bite to eat and a couple of drinks but then called it a night before midnight after a brilliant day. The next morning we were up early again and after a quick breakfast at Harold's it was time to get back on the road, as we were heading to a super sweet place...



S&V's Travel Info & Tips:

General Info: Approx 65 Peso's to £1. We paid 1,000 Peso's each for the trip to Apo and Scott also paid a bit extra for his dives, approx 2,300 for 3 dives - all in all it was a good deal.

Transportation: We paid 120 Peso's each for a ferry from Siquijor to Dumaguete which took just under 2 hours. From the ferry pier to Harold's we took a tricycle for 10 Peso's each although it wasn't far.

Food: The cakes at Sans Rival are a must! Also Barbeque Jones for the pork skewers was delicous. Harold's offers a free breakfast but it isn't very filling - they also provided sandwiches and fruit on the boat trip which was good.

Accomodation: Our room at Harold's cost 800 Peso's - it had air con and a private bathroom which we didn't need, but it was the only room left - a fan room costs 600 Peso's and they also had dorms. It was a good place to stay to meet people and they had trips gong to Apo every day, as well as free internet. If Harold's is full there is a guesthouse just a few doors down called Pamela's which looked fine.


Other observations:

x) You could stay on Apo, but it seemed difficult to arrange getting there and back as well as expensive, so unless you want to see the turtles more than once, it's works well to do a trip from Dumaguete.

xx) Loads of bake shops in Dumaguete as well as fast food chain restaurants - it had a nice seaside vibe to the town.

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Comments

[Auntie Anne]

Hello etc etc
Hiya to you both, I am so envious of you both whilst at the same time so pleased with what you are doing. U Steve is well jel Scottdog of your diving, he now has a lot of catching up to do. We still miss you loads here and cannot wait to see you in the hopefully not too distant future. Love and Kisses A A xxxx