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CORALREPUBLIC Philippines,
2009
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Trip
dates: |
4 -14 April 2009 |
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Boat
/ resort: |
Sunsplash Resort, Malapascua
(now permanently closed). |
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Dive
centre: |
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Photo-friendly?: |
You should know the answer is yes by now (if you have read my
previous reports, that is) |
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Number
of dives: |
22, over a 7.5 days of diving. |
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Diving
conditions: |
Warm and clear. Water temperature 26-27°C. No currents, good
visibility, around 20m in most sites. |
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Comments: |
Fourth visit to Malapascua, this time we decided to stay put
there and not go to another Visayas spot. We went
diving with our favourite dive master and friend Martin Pascobello.
I was delighted to take along my best BFF Naomi and Fiachra, her husband. We
liked staying at Sunsplash, which was the first
resort I stayed in with Carmen, back in 2004. Five years later, the only
thing that has changed is they do not organise a shots challenge any more
(someone must have told them at last, it is just too brutal to have people
gulp down a dozen or so of mixed shots for national pride). Now the board on
the wall just registers the numbers per country that have managed to deal
with a meter of beer. Of course our boys gave it a try. Another nice addition
is the beach setup for dinner and drinks. Easter is definitely a nice time of the year to go there. Good
diving conditions and nice weather, festive atmosphere in the island. But
things are changing. There are more dive centres, more boats, more hotels,
and the worst, more fences where a nicely open space used to be. I wonder for
how long will Malapascua retain its soul. I will
keep on going whenever I can, anyhow. The Threshers are still there, and that
is what matters. On this trip, Martin took us to new dive sites, like deep slope,
where they have found pontohi pygmy seahorses and
other rare critters. I also spotted my first blue ring octopus and an amazing
blue bobtail squid here. The nudis and pipefishes
in Gato Island were awesome too. Funny enough, they
have decided not to mention anymore that Gato is a
sea snake sanctuary. Too many people are scared of sea snakes, I guess. But
they are really nice and harmless! Never mind. We also tried Kimud for hammerheads. No luck either this time. |
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