Malapascua Island Dive Trip Oct. 2008
I got back from my last dive trip to Malapascua Island a few weeks ago. I was really nervous about travel this time due to the baggage restrictions most airlines adopted. I fly EVA and they even weigh the carry on bags. So I really tried to minimize as much as possible but the carry-on was quite heavy due to the photo and scuba regulator/computer gear. I even got one of those travel vests to stuff with the heaviest stuff to make it appear my carry-on bag was within limits at least at check-in. Everything went well including my Philippine Airlines leg to Cebu.
I dived with Thresher Shark Divers for about a week and 19 dives. The weather was a little unsettled after I arrived on island but cleared up a few days into my diving. I was very lucky with the typhoon season in full swing. I have been to Malapascua at least 7 times so I only note what really caught my attention on the following dives.
1. Bantigi - sandy bottom w/ lots of little stuff - Nice muck dive with a snake eel and the usual mantis shrimps and pipe fish.
2. Quiliano (newer site) - A coral mound off the north end of the island. I saw several Starry Moray last May but no luck this dive.
3. Bantigi - Snale eel again but getting walked on by a cleaning shrimp, sea moths, pipe fish and mantis shrimps.
4. North Point - rocks and corals with sand bottom - frog fish and corals with a little current thrown in.
5. Bantigi - snake eel, pipe fish and sea moths.
6. Monad Shoal - Thresher Shark!!! Great sighting with a close swim by. I used the video on the camera because of the low light level.
7. Chocolate Island - corals and sand bottom Octopus, Juvenile Sweetlips and various nudibranchs.
8. Monad Shoal - Manta 4 meters across but bad visibility due to current.
9. Lighthouse (night dive) staghorn corals with sand bottom - Mandarin fish and cuttle fish. Unfortunately we got going a little late and missed the mating ritual.
10. Monad Shoal - Thresher Sharks again but not so close. The other group saw three following each other thru the cleaning station.
11. Gato Island - Lots of nudibranchs. Yeah!
12. Gato Island - Pigmy Seahorses three pink ones on the fan coral.
13. Nunez Shoal - coral wall dive.
14. Calangaman Island - coral wall dive and beautiful sand beach that curls and disappears into blue water.
15. Chocolate Island - Blue Ring Octopus!
16. Big Rock (new site) - big rock with corals surrounded by sand bottom - Pigmy Seahorse yellow one on fan coral, large cuttle fish and plenty of nudibranchs.
17. Monad Shoal - Thresher Sharks again! Another great sighting with just me and the guide for at least 15 minutes. Even got some video with the sharks circling behind me.
18. Gato Island - Pigmy Seahorse little pink guys again. They are so cute!
19. Gato Island - White tip reef shark and lots of nudibranchs in the shallow safety stop zone!
Thresher Shark Divers are building a restaurant on top of the scuba shop. I hope it is open the next time I visit. It was nice to have the bar on top as well to catch whatever breeze might be present. All the boys at TSD took good care of my gear and were always polite and helpful.
I stayed at Cocobana Resort so the shop and dive boat was only a short walk away. The Italians are still working on rebuilding their restaurant after having to tear down anything within 20 meters of the water. The main beach is looking quite nice as well now that all the structures are now the same 20m back from the water. There is a new team of sirens at the Sunsplash restaurant for lonely travelers to tease and play Jenga with in the evening. There were a couple of discos on the island during my stay there as well. Seemed like everyone was having as much fun as did I.
Cheers, Jason.
I got back from my last dive trip to Malapascua Island a few weeks ago. I was really nervous about travel this time due to the baggage restrictions most airlines adopted. I fly EVA and they even weigh the carry on bags. So I really tried to minimize as much as possible but the carry-on was quite heavy due to the photo and scuba regulator/computer gear. I even got one of those travel vests to stuff with the heaviest stuff to make it appear my carry-on bag was within limits at least at check-in. Everything went well including my Philippine Airlines leg to Cebu.
I dived with Thresher Shark Divers for about a week and 19 dives. The weather was a little unsettled after I arrived on island but cleared up a few days into my diving. I was very lucky with the typhoon season in full swing. I have been to Malapascua at least 7 times so I only note what really caught my attention on the following dives.
1. Bantigi - sandy bottom w/ lots of little stuff - Nice muck dive with a snake eel and the usual mantis shrimps and pipe fish.
2. Quiliano (newer site) - A coral mound off the north end of the island. I saw several Starry Moray last May but no luck this dive.
3. Bantigi - Snale eel again but getting walked on by a cleaning shrimp, sea moths, pipe fish and mantis shrimps.
4. North Point - rocks and corals with sand bottom - frog fish and corals with a little current thrown in.
5. Bantigi - snake eel, pipe fish and sea moths.
6. Monad Shoal - Thresher Shark!!! Great sighting with a close swim by. I used the video on the camera because of the low light level.
7. Chocolate Island - corals and sand bottom Octopus, Juvenile Sweetlips and various nudibranchs.
8. Monad Shoal - Manta 4 meters across but bad visibility due to current.
9. Lighthouse (night dive) staghorn corals with sand bottom - Mandarin fish and cuttle fish. Unfortunately we got going a little late and missed the mating ritual.
10. Monad Shoal - Thresher Sharks again but not so close. The other group saw three following each other thru the cleaning station.
11. Gato Island - Lots of nudibranchs. Yeah!
12. Gato Island - Pigmy Seahorses three pink ones on the fan coral.
13. Nunez Shoal - coral wall dive.
14. Calangaman Island - coral wall dive and beautiful sand beach that curls and disappears into blue water.
15. Chocolate Island - Blue Ring Octopus!
16. Big Rock (new site) - big rock with corals surrounded by sand bottom - Pigmy Seahorse yellow one on fan coral, large cuttle fish and plenty of nudibranchs.
17. Monad Shoal - Thresher Sharks again! Another great sighting with just me and the guide for at least 15 minutes. Even got some video with the sharks circling behind me.
18. Gato Island - Pigmy Seahorse little pink guys again. They are so cute!
19. Gato Island - White tip reef shark and lots of nudibranchs in the shallow safety stop zone!
Thresher Shark Divers are building a restaurant on top of the scuba shop. I hope it is open the next time I visit. It was nice to have the bar on top as well to catch whatever breeze might be present. All the boys at TSD took good care of my gear and were always polite and helpful.
I stayed at Cocobana Resort so the shop and dive boat was only a short walk away. The Italians are still working on rebuilding their restaurant after having to tear down anything within 20 meters of the water. The main beach is looking quite nice as well now that all the structures are now the same 20m back from the water. There is a new team of sirens at the Sunsplash restaurant for lonely travelers to tease and play Jenga with in the evening. There were a couple of discos on the island during my stay there as well. Seemed like everyone was having as much fun as did I.
Cheers, Jason.
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