Whaleshark Hunt - Day 2 & 3

Day 2
Dive #2: Max Climax (Marine Protected Area)
Dive #3: Santa Sofia (Marine Protected Area)
Dive #4: Tangkaan (Marine Protected Area)
Dive #5: Baluarte
Dive Time: ~60mins each
Max Depth: 33m
Temp: 27’c

Day 3
Dive #6: Napantao
Dive #7: Napantao
Dive #8: Apo Reef
Dive Time: ~60mins each
Max Depth: 30m
Temp: 27’c

We've completed our 2nd & 3rd of our 4 days in Southern Leyte, where’s our whaleshark? Andrew is losing his patience… He’s had his wide-angle lens on for 3 days and all he has been shooting are landscapes and diver profile shots which I think are excellent but he is losing his patience. One thing we’ve observed is there are NO, absolutely NO pelagics in Southern Leyte. So NO thousands of barracudas swarming around you, NO schools of jacks, NO sharks, NO turtles… oh hang on, we did see 1 green turtle, and even that it’s on the surface from our boat. It’s pretty sad.

During our 1st dive, our Divemaster Pedro briefed: “So, over here we have nice corals, many corals, soft corals, nice corals, many nudis (nudibranchs)… and we’re gonna follow the corals”

Everyone nodded.

During our 2nd dive, Pedro briefed: “So now we swim on the other side of the wall, we have a lot of nice corals, many corals, nice nudis, nice corals… “

Everyone nodded.

Did we come all the way just to see nice corals??? Kweng kweng kweng… Anyways, I have to say the wall dives and corals here are absolutely stunning. I have not dived at the Great Barrier Reef before, but those who had finds the diving experience in Napantao similar to that in Great Barrier Reef.

Mosaics from Downunder

.When you run out of things to shoot, you learn to use your imagination.

Today, I’m fitted like I’m ready for snowfall, swimsuit-rashguard-wetsuit and a friggin’ hood that feels like 2 hands constantly choking me… and yet my teeth are clattering underwater. It is so damn cold. We’re exhausted. No whalesharks. No pelagics. We tried to console ourselves by looking forward to a better dive tomorrow. We roasted under the sun, at least we know we’d get a tan for sure. I guess the highlight of our day is dining at Moose and Squirrel Restaurant, the one and only restaurant in this area. Mind you we have been having instant cup noodles for dinner the past 2 nights, so simple BBQ chicken and chop-suey veges with garlic rice actually taste like heaven. I miss Thien Thien chicken rice!

Andrew's Wide-Angle Shots

.Me in my red fins, and Angel in her pinks.