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CORALREPUBLIC Malapascua,
2011
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Trip
dates: |
22 September – 2 October 2011 |
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Boat
/ resort: |
Ocean Vida Resort, Malapascua. Marina Bay Sands in Singapore. |
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Dive
centre: |
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Photo-friendly?: |
Getting even better: new facilities installed in the renovated
dive centre; charging station, camera table with pressurised air dryer, same
unrivalled attention to photographers from staff (Martin would not
allow me to carry my camera…) |
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Number
of dives: |
Only 9 out of the 16 planned over our 6-day stay, courtesy of
Typhoon Nesat. |
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Diving
conditions: |
Stormy the first 4 days (windy and overcast, no rain). Choppy
seas, bad visibility. The last two days were fine, sunny and calm. Water
temperature was a balmy 30°C. |
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Comments: |
Fifth visit to Malapascua, and a very special one, because this
was around my 50th Birthday, and I simply wanted to to go to the place where I enjoy my diving passion the
most. We had not been in the Philippines in this part of the year
before, and we soon learnt why it is called low season: typhoons! They had
had a bad one just two weeks before, and there came Nesat
just the day after our arrival. It was a huge storm, with about 650Km
diameter. The eye made landfall in Luzon, well to the north, causing much
misery and casualties. My heart goes to the brave Philippino
people, who cope with these terrible tragedies with incredible courage and
resilience. With that size of a storm, we in the Visayas
were bound to get hit by the winds, and we did. Coupled with a bad case of
jetlag – not sure why – we missed much of the first diving day, when winds
were starting to pick. On our second day, we managed a dive in Monad shoal,
but decided to leave it there. On the
third day, we insisted in going out and dive the sheltered north-east side of
the island at Deep Slope, but found it so murky! Nevertheless, macro was
still more than OK and that’s was I was shooting anyway. On our 4th
day, no diving was possible and we sat the storm out in the bar. The day
after, the storm was gone and we did a full day. The final day was in Monad
shoal and Gato, in the usual good conditions, even
if visibility could have been better. We had 3 dives in Monad Shoal and saw threshers every time. Low
season meant fewer divers around. Also, they have now set lines on the bottom
to keep divers away from the cleaning stations. I think this is a very good
idea. You just have to accept that your chances to see the threshers up close
are lower now. With so-so visibility, some people will be disappointed. Not
us, we did have at least one close pass. In addition, dive centres have
agreed to stagger their timing at half-hour intervals, so not really crowded.
However, with the lines the space is limited, and you might find the best
spots taken. Good to see that the coral cover in the Shoal is improving too.
They have also set lines to protect the recovering patches. All in all, these
measures will make diving there sustainable. And they come not a minute too
early. The number of dive centres in the island keeps increasing, and there
is a need to manage and minimise the impact of such intense diving on the
reef and on the sharks. Since I fully intend to keep coming back to
Malapascua, I can only approve. We stayed at Ocean Vida, the new resort built by Sven and
Fabienne, the couple that runs Sea Explorers on the Island. The lucky two are
having a great life down there, with their lovely son Yannis,
who is everybody’s little pet. The resort is very nice, cosy and well
appointed. Their new restaurant is lovely, and the dive centre facilities
have been improved. Business seems to be booming in the Island, by the new
bars and hotels we saw, but Malapascua’s soul seems
to be well conserved, thank God. Mind you, I did notice food and drink is
getting more and more expensive. Even so, it’s still quite reasonably priced. My birthday was on the day we were leaving the island, but the
guys wanted a party and so we had one the day before. We put the money down and
our friend and best ever DM Martin organised everything: he bought a pig,
which he then had roasted in a pit full of embers for 4 hours. We then had it
for dinner with Sea Explorer staff, families and friends invited. This was “lechón”, the most festive meal you can have in the
Philippines. We had such a great time, with the delicious food and all the Tanduay rum, to finish the evening with a midnight swim
in the warm waters of Bounty Beach. Fantastic. I could not have asked for a
better birthday party! Martin is such a nice man and such a good friend! His
family is adorable, especially little Nivea. Note that the day before,
another lady in the Island had her own birthday party and we were invited
too. What a place. Have a look at some more images from Malapascua above the
water (including the party) here. We then flew back to Singapore for a one-night stopover at the
incredible Marina Bay Sands Hotel. A hotel with 2 500 rooms!!.
We paid a very reasonable +/- 300 EUR for a Horizon Grand Room. Reasonable if
you note that more than a room, this was a true apartment, bigger than the
one I lived in for 14 years in Brussels! There were no less than 3 huge flat
screen TVs in that room, one in a dedicated home-theatre room (!!), one in
the large living-dining room and the third in the huge bedroom. Insane. What
a stopover. If you’d like to see some pictures of our Singapore Stay, have a
look here. Another unforgettable trip to my favourite place in the world,
not just for the diving, but especially for the people, real friends we can’t
wait to meet again. Malapascua rules! |
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