October 21 dawned bright and clear, a perfect day to spend the weekend in the company of other divers going to Anilao, Batangas. Bell requested that he pick me up at my office at The Fort at 6am as he is passing by for another diver who lives along Mckinley Road in Forbes Park. The other diver turned out to be the one and only Mr. Dong Alegre, producer of musical plays in the Philippines, notable of which was Ms. Saigon, when it was staged here.
Enroute to Anilao, we stopped by McDonald’s located among the many petrol stops along the south superhighway (yikes, I used the words “petrol stop” instead of “gas station”….too much exposure to my aussie boss). We met up with the other divers there before proceeding to the much awaited destination, Outrigger Dive Resort.
Bell took the most scenic route, Tagaytay. He knows the road so much that we were zigzagging along the ridge similar to an advanced party motorcycle paving way for the SUV with the diplomat plate. Upon reaching the Arco ng Nasugbu, Bel made a left turn heading towards Lemery and as we continued zigging and zagging along the beautiful winding country road, the two guys made a running commentary about life, love and its related risks. With this topic, you bet we reached Outrigger thinking, “uy, bilis ng biyahe.” Hehe!
So there we were at the Outrigger Patio, 15 people with various diving skills under the watchful eye of Bell. I was roomies with 2 other girls, Michelle and Ivy, both working as analysts for Proctor and Gamble. Right after an early lunch (11:30am), we assembled our dive gears and waited for Bel for the Dive Plan.
We were to have 4 dives, 2 that Saturday and another 2 on Sunday. The first Dive Site was at Dive n Trek, a marine sanctuary where we enjoyed feeding the many colorful fishes and admiring the corals. Depth was a very comfortable 75 ft, visibility perfect, current nil. There was a statue of the virgin mother marking the spot in the sanctuary called Cathedral. Wish I can show a photo of what I saw as I’m very unfamiliar with the various coral species and names of the fish. Next time, I'll make sure to get one from the other divers. The second dive site is called Ligpo, where we were also at a comfortable depth of 60ft. Fish were not as plenty, though still as colorful, and there were a lot more corals here.
The long day ended with me having a light round of beers with the guys and some magic card tricks courtesy of Bell and Rommel. It was a perfect night. Stars out, fishing boats dotting the horizon, light breeze. I was the newbie and while the girls sang their hearts out in the karaoke room, I was getting the question and answer treatment from Bel and the other guys, a counselling if you may, as it was a nostalgic night and my story must've elicited some male instinct to protect the pretty girl with the teary eyes. Honestly, I really heard what they were saying and I understood them perfectly. Now, if only the heart can recover faster than you say ”diver down”. I remember a long ago blog post when I started questioning my actions and someone said, “go with the flow.” Puta, this is where it led me. Oh well.
Sunday also dawned bright and clear. After a light breakfast, Bel showed the dive plan for the day, Beatrice and Twin Rocks. You’ll see in the photos below how adept Bel is in drawing the dive sites, haha!
So, onto the chaseboat we piled and off to the 1st Dive Site we went. Unfortunately, we didn’t go down to Beatrice because the currents were strong so Bel directed the bankero to Bahura. I didn’t do too well in Bahura. Bel took us down to 90ft and I started hyperventilating. I guess I wasn’t used to seeing that number in my depth guage. Also, there was already a mild current going on and I was having problems keeping up with the others. When I got hold of my DM Dive Buddy, Jordan, I didn’t let go of his hand anymore. Bahura is a nice dive spot. Inspite of my difficulty, I did manage to appreciate the corals and fishes. Bel even signed Shark (!) but I didn’t see it. Sayang I didn’t enjoy Bahura too much coz I was busy figuring out what I was doing. Next time will be better.
After a short stop at El Pinoy Dive Resort which Bel and the others consider their second home, off we motored to Twin Rocks. This was a comfortable 70 ft dive. No current and corals and colorful fish abound here and there.
We returned to Outrigger dive post with me positively hungry. After lunch, I excused myself to get some sleep. I got really tired in Bahura!
We left for Manila around 5pm with Bel again taking the Tagaytay route. Even if it was close to getting dark, Bel still managed to zig and zag his way through the winding roads. Upon reaching Manila, he and Dong waited with me at the Merville Caltex station until my Dad picked me up. They didnt have to, but they did, which was really nice.
Enroute to Anilao, we stopped by McDonald’s located among the many petrol stops along the south superhighway (yikes, I used the words “petrol stop” instead of “gas station”….too much exposure to my aussie boss). We met up with the other divers there before proceeding to the much awaited destination, Outrigger Dive Resort.
Bell took the most scenic route, Tagaytay. He knows the road so much that we were zigzagging along the ridge similar to an advanced party motorcycle paving way for the SUV with the diplomat plate. Upon reaching the Arco ng Nasugbu, Bel made a left turn heading towards Lemery and as we continued zigging and zagging along the beautiful winding country road, the two guys made a running commentary about life, love and its related risks. With this topic, you bet we reached Outrigger thinking, “uy, bilis ng biyahe.” Hehe!
So there we were at the Outrigger Patio, 15 people with various diving skills under the watchful eye of Bell. I was roomies with 2 other girls, Michelle and Ivy, both working as analysts for Proctor and Gamble. Right after an early lunch (11:30am), we assembled our dive gears and waited for Bel for the Dive Plan.
We were to have 4 dives, 2 that Saturday and another 2 on Sunday. The first Dive Site was at Dive n Trek, a marine sanctuary where we enjoyed feeding the many colorful fishes and admiring the corals. Depth was a very comfortable 75 ft, visibility perfect, current nil. There was a statue of the virgin mother marking the spot in the sanctuary called Cathedral. Wish I can show a photo of what I saw as I’m very unfamiliar with the various coral species and names of the fish. Next time, I'll make sure to get one from the other divers. The second dive site is called Ligpo, where we were also at a comfortable depth of 60ft. Fish were not as plenty, though still as colorful, and there were a lot more corals here.
The long day ended with me having a light round of beers with the guys and some magic card tricks courtesy of Bell and Rommel. It was a perfect night. Stars out, fishing boats dotting the horizon, light breeze. I was the newbie and while the girls sang their hearts out in the karaoke room, I was getting the question and answer treatment from Bel and the other guys, a counselling if you may, as it was a nostalgic night and my story must've elicited some male instinct to protect the pretty girl with the teary eyes. Honestly, I really heard what they were saying and I understood them perfectly. Now, if only the heart can recover faster than you say ”diver down”. I remember a long ago blog post when I started questioning my actions and someone said, “go with the flow.” Puta, this is where it led me. Oh well.
Sunday also dawned bright and clear. After a light breakfast, Bel showed the dive plan for the day, Beatrice and Twin Rocks. You’ll see in the photos below how adept Bel is in drawing the dive sites, haha!
So, onto the chaseboat we piled and off to the 1st Dive Site we went. Unfortunately, we didn’t go down to Beatrice because the currents were strong so Bel directed the bankero to Bahura. I didn’t do too well in Bahura. Bel took us down to 90ft and I started hyperventilating. I guess I wasn’t used to seeing that number in my depth guage. Also, there was already a mild current going on and I was having problems keeping up with the others. When I got hold of my DM Dive Buddy, Jordan, I didn’t let go of his hand anymore. Bahura is a nice dive spot. Inspite of my difficulty, I did manage to appreciate the corals and fishes. Bel even signed Shark (!) but I didn’t see it. Sayang I didn’t enjoy Bahura too much coz I was busy figuring out what I was doing. Next time will be better.
After a short stop at El Pinoy Dive Resort which Bel and the others consider their second home, off we motored to Twin Rocks. This was a comfortable 70 ft dive. No current and corals and colorful fish abound here and there.
We returned to Outrigger dive post with me positively hungry. After lunch, I excused myself to get some sleep. I got really tired in Bahura!
We left for Manila around 5pm with Bel again taking the Tagaytay route. Even if it was close to getting dark, Bel still managed to zig and zag his way through the winding roads. Upon reaching Manila, he and Dong waited with me at the Merville Caltex station until my Dad picked me up. They didnt have to, but they did, which was really nice.
So, that was my weekend. Until the next dive.