Philippines

[Grateful Diver]

Just got back from my first trip to the Philippines. I was pleasantly surprised at how good the diving was. We spent a week in Puerta Galera ... a couple hours south (by car) from Manila and a short (1 hour) boat ride out. We then flew south (1-1/2 hours by commercial jet) to Dumagette for another few days of diving. I capped it off with a morning swim (snorkel gear only) with the whale sharks in Cebu, which is not far from Dumagette.

PG has a nice mix of muck diving and vibrant coral reefs ... and nearby Verde Island is a wide angle photographer's paradise.

Dumagette is almost all muck diving, although nearby Apo Island has some outstanding soft coral reefs.

For those of you who don't follow me on Facebook (I made daily postings there), here's some of my favorite shots from the trip ... I took almost 3,000 pictures in 10 days of diving and the one-hour snorkel with the whale sharks ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

[Bric Martin]

Wow!!!!! Those pics are great!

[Jan K]

Superb ! Looks like you hit a jackpot, all the picturesque critters of the Western Pacific in one trip.
Beautiful.

[Scubie Doo]

Super jackpot!!!! Those are awesome.

[Jeremy]

Stunning pictures, congratulations!

[Tom Nic]

Wow. Gorgeous shots!

[ScubaJess]

Great job Bob!!!
Such amazing critters! Thanks for sharing!
Sooo glad you had a nice trip!!!

[GearHead]

Wow, you really checked off the bucket list critters.


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[Penopolypants]

What an amazing experience! And what lovely photos!!

[Gdog]

Omg. That is at the very top of my bucket list. Gotta corner you and talk about that trip. Great great shots!!

[Grateful Diver]

Happy to talk your ears off about this trip ... I will definitely be going there again ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

[Steiger]

Awesome.

[oldsalt]

Bob: Since you have dived extensively, you realize that what you have here is exceptional. I have dived in the PI a couple of times while deployed in the Navy. The first time, in 1968, it was much as you show - an underwater paradise. I dived the same sites in 1990 and found over fishing, including fishing with explosives, seriously degraded the reefs. Your gifts as a photographer brought back many wonderful memories, and showed me things I missed. I am particularly impressed with your shot of the banded sea krait. My phobia caused me to give them a large berth.
Thanks, Curt

[Grateful Diver]

Thanks Curt ... that means a lot to me. The reason I take pictures is to share them with friends ... many of whom don't dive and have never seen the things we see underwater. Glad I was able to bring back memories for you as well ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

[ScubaJess]

I cannot get over how cute that squat lobster is!

[johndo88]

Regarding your picture of the turtle, I imagine what's going through its mind: "Warning, Terrain, Pull Up, Pull Up".

[Norris]

<sarcasm>Too bad you were not able to get any good photos</sarcasm>

[Tangfish]

Great photos from one of my regular spots, Bob.

Glad you got to see the yellow pygmys.

Did you do Washing Machine out at Verde?

[Grateful Diver]

No ... they said we weren't allowed to take a camera in there. I figure if I can't take a camera, why go? We did the Coral Garden instead ... which I found to be a bit underwhelming compared to most other sites we did that week.

My favorite site at PG was Giant Clam ... a muck dive. There was so much to see there. At one point we had two mimic octos, a seahorse, and a flamboyant cuttlefish to choose from, all at the same time ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

[GearHead]

As I recall, Washing Machine has that name for a reason. Wouldn't be the best idea for the typical tourist to bring a camera there, but the dive guides don't understand how well seasoned most Puget Sound divers are.
I liked Coral Garden as the second dive on our second trip to Verde Island at the end of the week. By then I was content to just drift while looking at pretty fish.


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