Entries about subic

It was a running joke during my Fiji trip last November, that of every turtle siting on our dives, I missed Every. Single. One!

Until last night..... I saw my first EVER green sea turtle!!! No longer can my friend Bill, (who has just subscribed to my blog!) have a chuckle over my desperation that I just wanted to "see a freakin' turtle" but can now instead picture me having a cry into my reg and then trying to unfog my mask.

Night diving on the beautiful 'Canyons' site behind the quaint Grande Island is smack bang in the middle of Subic Bay. Believe it or not, Subic Bay isn't just about wreck diving, the amazing coral reefs that are abundant here have somewhat been left in the shadows; but that's just what we were looking for last night. The topography of Canyons is spectacular, weaving in and out, up and down the many valleys through the reef, cutting deep into the ocean floor, giving it it's name. At a maximum depth of on 14m, Canyons is a really beautiful dive for beginners, but the abundance of marine life; corals, fish, crustaceans and as I found out, turtles (!) makes it a photographers dream but which I found out, whilst trying to hold a torch steady in one hand, a camera in the other and also maintain your buoyancy... is actually quite difficult!

Last night's dive began with a rough start; it is only my second night dive (ever) and started off finding out that my brand new torch doesn't work. I may not have admitted this to many people before today but I am actually quite scared of the dark! From now on I draw the line at purchasing any more Cambodian-engineered diving equipment. Without having much experience, diving at night is really difficult to relax yourself into; with the absence of light you really feel like the water and the darkness is suffocating you; the only life that exists for you in that moment is what lands within the beam of your torch. Turn off your torch and you can't see your hand in front of your face. Turn your torch to your left or right and you just escape crashing into a column of rock and coral you didn't know was there! All you have to trust in is your own equipment and the dancing beams of light from the other divers. Once you can get past the disconcerting claustrophobic feeling, you suddenly become aware of all the amazing things going on around you that you miss during day light hours; electric yellow eels poke their heads out of their caves to inspect:
Tiny crabs and enormous hermit crabs are conducting their business:
Blue painted lobsters can be seen hiding under ledges and everywhere you turn, hundreds of beady little eyes are peering out at you!

But the absolute highlight was the amazing green sea turtle.
This beautiful creature, poor thing, was asleep under a ledge before Jayson spotted him and woke him up. To say thank you, the turtle did a graceful little dance, let Jayson rub his shell, bumped me out of the way and took off! Probably the most awe-inspiring moment of my life.

It was a running joke during my Fiji trip last November, that of every turtle siting on our dives, I missed Every. Single. One!

Until last night..... I saw my first EVER green sea turtle!!! No longer can my friend Bill, (who has just subscribed to my blog!) have a chuckle over my desperation that I just wanted to "see a freakin' turtle" but can now instead picture me having a cry into my reg and then trying to unfog my mask.

Night diving on the beautiful 'Canyons' site behind the quaint Grande Island is smack bang in the middle of Subic Bay. Believe it or not, Subic Bay isn't just about wreck diving, the amazing coral reefs that are abundant here have somewhat been left in the shadows; but that's just what we were looking for last night. The topography of Canyons is spectacular, weaving in and out, up and down the many valleys through the reef, cutting deep into the ocean floor, giving it it's name. At a maximum depth of on 14m, Canyons is a really beautiful dive for beginners, but the abundance of marine life; corals, fish, crustaceans and as I found out, turtles (!) makes it a photographers dream but which I found out, whilst trying to hold a torch steady in one hand, a camera in the other and also maintain your buoyancy... is actually quite difficult!

Last night's dive began with a rough start; it is only my second night dive (ever) and started off finding out that my brand new torch doesn't work. I may not have admitted this to many people before today but I am actually quite scared of the dark! From now on I draw the line at purchasing any more Cambodian-engineered diving equipment. Without having much experience, diving at night is really difficult to relax yourself into; with the absence of light you really feel like the water and the darkness is suffocating you; the only life that exists for you in that moment is what lands within the beam of your torch. Turn off your torch and you can't see your hand in front of your face. Turn your torch to your left or right and you just escape crashing into a column of rock and coral you didn't know was there! All you have to trust in is your own equipment and the dancing beams of light from the other divers. Once you can get past the disconcerting claustrophobic feeling, you suddenly become aware of all the amazing things going on around you that you miss during day light hours; electric yellow eels poke their heads out of their caves to inspect, tiny crabs and enormous hermit crabs are conducting their business, blue painted lobsters can be seen hiding under ledges and everywhere you turn, hundreds of beady little eyes are peering out at you!

But the absolute highlight was the amazing green sea turtle. This beautiful creature, poor thing, was asleep under a ledge before Jayson spotted him and woke him up. To say thank you, the turtle did a graceful little dance, let Jayson rub his shell, bumped me out of the way and took off! Probably the most awe-inspiring moment of my life.

In case your wondering I DO have proof, but we are currently experiencing technical errors. Trust me, photos are on their way!

It is a very cool experience to watch your expired air bubbles snake their way up the walls and between corals and clams on the wreck of the El Capitan. Even more cool to surface inside the wreck in a large pocket of trapped C02! Warning: DO NOT BREATHE!

The 3000-tonne freighter, launched in 1917 was built to transport merchandise during WWII. While it was moored in Ilanin Bay, Subic, awaiting a refit, an enemy Japanese Submarine approached and fired upon the El Capitan causing irrepairable damage. Over two full days in 1946, the El Capitan died a slow death, where I find her today on her port side in an average of 18m of water.

It is a site where I have seen more marine life than anywhere else in Subic.

Jayson found the most delicate looking ghost pipe fish lurking near some similarly fragile soft orange coral and a blue ribbon eel gaping from his cave beneath some coral starkly resembling a vintage gramophone.

Ghost Pipe Fish

Blue Ribbon Eel

I could hear a high-pitched squeaking of what I thought was my ears being squeezed but turned out to be the singing of the Dolphins next door at Ocean Adventure!!!

Just as an aside, remember to bring a torch with you for the wreck penetration; it's an easy swim-through amid shafts of light that beam down through gaping holes in the starboard side, but a little extra light can show you some hidden treasures in the way of abundant marine life.

When I last spoke to Brian last over some oh-so-good Filipino breakfast loganissa, I mentioned the restaurant was not quite complete without a REAL parrot to complete the vintage Pirate-esque feel he has going on at Vasco's.

This is the closet thing Vasco's currently has to a real parrot

I was devastated to find out that not too long ago, there were TWO parrots and a white cockatoo!

Brian went on the explain that tragically he had to get rid of the birds after he was visited by 'The Health Inspector.' She came, she saw, she handed down three violations, of which Brian questions:

1. 1 The restaurant needed to be fumigated

1. 2 There was no fire escapes or emergency exit signs

1. 3 No birds are allowed in the restaurant

The solution to the fire escape situation was to hang life jackets from every door and window with the word "EXIT" scribbled on each of them.
The unfortunate truth is that Brian had to remove the parrots from the restaurant, who up until that point had mastered sneaking away with bottles of local Tanduay Rum and getting drunk and rowdy like some customers. But for the sparrows and swallows, the solution is below:

The solution

The Girls at Swell Cafe

Due to the 36 degree heat, we had not only Swell, but the entire Waterfront to ourselves!

The Waterfront

Waterfront Sunset

One Too Many

A Few Too Many