diving at Pescador

Perhaps this is the best summer I had in so many years. In a span of two months I had three dives and some snorkeling tries in between. Snorkeling is much more fun actually, especially when you're with adventurous people (like I was with yesterday) who don't get scared of exploring the seas, be it going farther from the boat or to the forbidden spots.

For this week, we tried the Pescador Island, Moalboal.



The island is 15 minutes from the Panagsama Beach by motorized boat. It is lovely from afar, just ordinary when you get closer. But hey, its beauty underneath is incomparable to anything including your handsomest boyfriend or prettiest girlfriend. Wahahah!

The closest you get to the island is about ten meters from this site. We tried getting here, and I just ended up scraping my left thumb when I held onto a big rock for support to reach this side. And it bled like hell during the first hours! Darn, I hate Moalboal rocks!

The left side of the island. You can go snorkeling around this big rock/small island of Pescador and still get the same enjoyment the scuba divers do when they go down under. You don't get to see the "cathedral" (a cave underwater) though. And the white tip shark, the barracudas, among other variety of marine creatures that are said to reside several feet under this water. Even pro divers from our group, although they wanted to see that shark, were apprehensive of actually seeing one face-to-face. Nyaaa...

The right tip of the island.

The Pescador water. From the boat you can already see the different types of corals, but up close, the sight is so cool, you don't want to go up for fresh air again. But you be careful because a few meters away is the "kantil" (the cliff), which is approximately 200 fathoms deep. Its deepness alone is already scary. In my previous post, I said it was no more than 90 feet, and I was wrong. One fathom is 6 feet, and when you do the math, you get 1,200 feet. At least 1,200 feet, sus ginoo!

After the dive. I only got closer to the kantil. Pramis, mahadlok jud ka, hadlok gani'ng mga pro divers, ako pa kaha! They told me (they were the first to dive) that they don't want to see that part of the sea because it is very dark, very opposite to the other side where corals have painted it with different colors. So when my guide/instructor brought me closer to that direction, I really don't know what part of his gear I was heavily tugging at, that he immediately brought me back to the safer zone without using that "OK" hand signal. Sometimes, I am a total pain in the ass, and whether it's likable or not, I'm sticking to it.

Why would I dare go to that part anyway, when the area that I'm allowed to is already amazingly wonderful (i.e. the different colors of fish blending well with the corals of varying sizes and shapes, the white stony seabed, etc). Well, save for that "tigwalo" they saw on the other side of a rock. That's like a snake I was told, and yeah, I am not fond of this kind of creature. Pakit-a nalang ko'g dragon, utang buot.

So anyway, I've been to Pescador Island, and next stop will be the Tubbataha Reef in Sulu Sea. Hahahah!