Punta del Este Puerto Galera

Sounds of Sabang

It's early morning, 6 A.M., and I’m sitting beach side because there is a good signal here for Wi-Fi. Beach side has it’s own sounds which are different from Walkway side. And the sounds differ and ebb and flow depending on the time. Right now, it is mostly natural sounds, the waves lapping on the shore gently, the wind blowing through the coconut palm fronds, a few ...

... all sooooooooo cute. Unfortunately, I wasn’t the only photographer and the other guy had a much better and bigger camera than me so he usually got to be right in front of the animal while I am taking photos off to the side or from the rear. Still it was incredibly exciting. I am very amazed that I didn’t suck up my air too fast. What an incredible place for diving.

... to sell you something, there are also plenty of people here that are just happy to have a job and be living here with friends and family, both locals and expats. So it is a very friendly place and very relaxed place and very good place. There are plenty of problems as there always is with a country that knows a lot of poverty. But for now, I am happy to be here and relax in the atmosphere and get in some good diving.

From Manila the station of the bus going to Batangas fort is found in Cubao..The trip from Cubao to Batangas is about 2 hrs and when we reached the fort we took a boat going to White beach Puerto Galera..We spent around 1000 php or 25 USD for a one way trip,,,included the bus and boat.It's an hour boat trip not so long enough to enjoy the scenic view and the crystal bluewater..Upon reaching the place many people offered accomodation since it was off season time we ...

... along with two Israeli guys I met on the bus we set off for an introductory loop walk. We walked up the road to the main point and then through the terraces back. Amazing that even people in the fields speak English.
Banaue is a very little town, facilities are limited here, but at least I got my hair cut and enjoyed food on the market. I tired also snake fruit, similar to longan, but with a thicker snake resembling skin.

... more buoyant than most. Maybe it's excess body fat (her words, Russ knows better than to suggest that. On drift dives she always seems to end up in front of everyone and this is what happened in Sabang. Our first dive was Hole in the Wall. Jane immediately drifted to the front of the pack and since no one attempted to swim ahead of her, she was left wondering "who's supposed to be leading this dive anyway"? Deciding that ...

... out that, despite being in one of SE Asia's cheapest countries, we managed to rack up a bill that was equivalent to the sum of two of our flights into the country earlier in the day. The next morning we packed our bags, boarded a bus and headed for Sabang. This small town found on the island of Mindoro was advertised across the Internet as the low-cost party paradise of the Philippines. After an hour-long ferry ride from the island of Luzon (where ...

... a couple of guys I had met, who live in Benalmadena in spain, walked past and asked us to join them for a drink up at the next bar. So we finished up and watched the Ladyboys bust out a dance routine before we went. John had a Filipino girlfriend who was 19, to his 57, filthy old git, misjudged them two! So we met Samantha the lady boy there and had a goodnight, we were also joined by Sherwin and the two Korean guys that had moved into the bungalow next to ours. One of ...

Off again! Wow it was a long few months... they really got their monies worth from me this time. I must say I really need this one! Agenda for this trip: Spend some quality time with Sylvia, get salty and start the Divemaster course. I stayed at the El Galleon this time which was a great choice! Top notch and friendly service! Attached to El Galleon is Asia Divers. The whole team was great and I learned a ton! Ali sure knows how to crack the whip but it's ...

... mins of this and we reached the other side only to see that we had to get off the boat onto the coral. The low tide meant that the boat could not get any closer to shore. The plank was lowered and then this very small dinghy pulled up beside us and that was to get us to shore. The only problem was that it sat just on the top of the water and the small waves were knocking it about. We managed to get Tianna and the bags in there and as ...