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I learned to dive 30 years ago in Boracay and returned for the first time the other day. Three decades ago, Boracay had no paved roads, few concrete buildings, no hotels or resorts (just bungalows) and one dive shop, run by a Swiss guy named Wally. Viz was 50 m+, the sea was churning with life, big and small and the coral was practically dayglo.
Boracay is now wildly overdeveloped, trash is everywhere and package tourists abound. Many come for a first dive course and the conditions are amendable to that.
I did two dives off White Beach and was disappointed not only by the poor (10 m) visibility ("plankton bloom," "global warming," "runoff"), but from the dearth of sea life. I didn't see a single turtle, moray, shark or even grouper. There are the usual nemos and smaller tropical fish, but their beauty is muted by the hazy conditions.
Most of the soft coral is dead--although a few briliant tufts emerge here and there, the dives were a lesson on how overdiving and overdeveloping a small island (7 x 1 km) will, probably within a generation, destroy its tourist potential.
I spoke to over a dozen shops about diving neighbouring islands (Carabao, about half an hour away). Only one showed the slightest interest, but is still hemming and hawing.
The lack of knowledge among many dive shop staff struck me as remarkable. One DM told me that there was a "slight current" at one site. I said, what does he mean by "slight"? He didn't know, then finally said "5 knots." I said "5 knots is a pretty fast drift." He replied, "OK, it must be less than that."
Boracay is now wildly overdeveloped, trash is everywhere and package tourists abound. Many come for a first dive course and the conditions are amendable to that.
I did two dives off White Beach and was disappointed not only by the poor (10 m) visibility ("plankton bloom," "global warming," "runoff"), but from the dearth of sea life. I didn't see a single turtle, moray, shark or even grouper. There are the usual nemos and smaller tropical fish, but their beauty is muted by the hazy conditions.
Most of the soft coral is dead--although a few briliant tufts emerge here and there, the dives were a lesson on how overdiving and overdeveloping a small island (7 x 1 km) will, probably within a generation, destroy its tourist potential.
I spoke to over a dozen shops about diving neighbouring islands (Carabao, about half an hour away). Only one showed the slightest interest, but is still hemming and hawing.
The lack of knowledge among many dive shop staff struck me as remarkable. One DM told me that there was a "slight current" at one site. I said, what does he mean by "slight"? He didn't know, then finally said "5 knots." I said "5 knots is a pretty fast drift." He replied, "OK, it must be less than that."
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