Adventures in Diving - Anilao, Philippines

One of the things we really wanted to do in the Philippines was to learn how to dive. This blog entry is for Uncle David and Dave Daikens who shared their passion for the sport onto us. We have been fortunate enough to go diving the past two weekends (we now have a grand total of 21 dives!). We invested in a new underwater camera as the beauty we experience needs to be shared. Enjoy....

Here are a few highlights and interesting things we have seen and learned along the way:

Jeff's Dream.... to swim with a sea turtle, and finally on dive number 20 as he swam up over a coral cliff, he found himself face to face with this fellow. They looked at each for a moment, and then the turtle slowly swam away.

At one dive spot, Cathedral, the fish gather around you knowing they will be fed. See if you can find Linda in this picture.

And now look for Jeff...

Night Dive: Our dive master, Hernel, felt we were ready to participate in a night dive, so with lightening overhead we jumped in. It was a truly unique experience being 20 meters below the surface in complete darkness with the exception of your tiny flashlight beam. The ocean is a very different place at night - the corals open up to feed and are even more colourful, different creatures come out to hunt (we were too big for them) and other fish go to sleep. Here is a parrotfish fast asleep. Look closely and you will see that he creates a bubble around himself that hides his scent from predators.

This "little" puffer fish (approximately one and a half meters in length) calmly swam by us with his trusty little cleaner fish (juvenile Jackfish) following him everywhere he went.

Near the end of the night dive we happened upon this angry looking crab. Hernel was quite ecstatic following the dive as this the first time in his almost 10,000 dives to see this type of crab. And it only took us 19 dives to find him!

Current Dive: Another experience is something referred to as a 'current dive' and it is exactly as it sounds. The current is so strong that divers crawl along the sea bed grasping rocks and coral CAREFULLY to keep from being swept away. Its all worth it because fish love to feed in the strong current so there is much to see. Watch this video to experience the strength and speed of the current.

Most Bizarre... and the winner is the frogfish. A fish only a mother frogfish could love.

To our Mothers - stop reading now!

To the rest of you....interesting and dangerous creatures:

 

Look very carefully at this picture...do you see him? He sees you. This is a stonefish and it is considered to be one of the most poisonous fish in the ocean. As he is demonstrating, he also has the ability to change and camouflage to closely match his surroundings. Important rule, always check for eyes before grabbing coral.

Ah, the friendly and beautiful lionfish....each one of its elegant feather-like fins contain a poisonous needle. Do not touch.

This guy's scare tactic is worse than his bite as he won't come very far out of his hole during the day. This was an exceptional shot.

And to show that we actually "look" like we know what we are doing, we end with these action shots.

We looked out our window last night and this is what we saw....

More on.... "Differences" in Culture

A quick update first on Linda's last election blog..... today.... June 9th..... almost a full month after the election.... the new President was officially declared. This process included one of the candidates refusing to concede even though he was millions behind. This brings to mind an image of a man sitting in a huge hall for a month after everyone went home and got on with their lives. It also brings forward the question of "what on earth they have been doing since then?". The new President "Noy Noy" is ready to go....most of the buzz has been devoted to his smoking (a devoted heavy smoker that has responded to the World Health Organization (WHO) "Why would I stop smoking?"). It will be interesting to see how the security detail protects Noy Noy during his many smoke breaks as the Government buildings have all been declared "smoke-free". We will see if this happens....

We thought we would share some "differences" in our cultures, the way the world around us is perceived, and a few humourous observations.

• Roosters (I can't have an update without a rooster comment)
  I actually watched a show on TV that was called "Top Rooster Breeders".... it was not in English but it was a fascinating view into rooster world. So many types and such rich information. I could not sleep as I was so amped up after the show.
• Ivory Soap
  Linda bought some Ivory Soap, which we were thrilled to find. Upon closer inspection we realized the packaging was in French and English.... and was packaged in Mississauga. Seems crazy that our soap was shipped over 10,000 kms just for us.
• Different Phrases and Grammar
  There appears to be a general acceptance that if you add "est" to any word it is deemed to be okay. This even appears in major advertising campaigns. A good example is one of the major Cell Phone companies that advertise "Nationwidest" and "Broadbandest".... really?
• Health
  There is a commercial on TV that warns of "High Blood".... this makes me chuckle everytime I hear it as it is said in a low foreboding voice. There are endless commercials that advertise the benefits of Absorbic Acid.... I had no clue this was everything from a miracle cure to a way to get your kids to do better in school. Green Tea is also a cure all for such issues as "carb overloading", "work overload" and "one too many". Pond's Cream seems to rule the "Skin Whitening" market (yes, there is a full range of creams and pills to make your skin whiter). This is targeted to all ages from teens and above... a little creepy actually as the Philippine people are really a very nice colour as they are.
• Activities
  The people of the Philippines all recognize the activity of "Malling". When I first heard this phrase I actually thought they were talking about someone being beaten.... no this is referring to going to the mall and spending the day. I suppose the Canadian culture does the same to avoid the cold... when you live in a country where Air Conditioning (known here as "Air Con") where temperatures are often 36 Celsius (48 with humidity).... a little Malling feels pretty good.
• Restaurant Etiquette
  When you eat with a Filipino person it is generally assumed that everything on the table is shared. Many of the restaurants do serve the food this way. My absolute favorite is something called a "Boodle". This is a large square wooden tray (roughly 3ft x 3ft) that is covered in banana leaves. In the centre is a big pile of rice which is surrounded by different fish, pork, beef, and chicken dishes. The people around the table simply take what they like and eat it in their little corner of the banana leaf.... a lot of fun. Other differences are that no one ever asks how your meal is (I think this would be seen as a rude interruption). They will never ask if you want your bill or bring your bill unless you ask for it (a lesson learned early on in our life here). And they will rarely clear the dishes until you have left.

Happy Birthday Brenda !!