Dive Galapagos – check!!!

it’s been a little over a month since my buddy and i took our first backroll into the waters of the other side of the Pacific Ocean.

but i can still feel the thrill…the excitement…the butterflies are still there ♥

and if it isn’t enough, i’ll share some more sea luvin, which i co-wrote with wanderlass here:

 

good to be back in Cebu after the epic Sinulog

it’s not work. it’s like another holiday :-)

when i sometimes feel i’m in the wrong business, i tell myself “think again, whiner!”

10 for 2010

we just put up the tree at my parents’ home. quite late already if i’d base it in the family tradition. but hey! we still got  a few days to catch up before sweet november ends.

if you’re havin a hard time, i’d make your life easier, baby! :-)

1. Canon S95 + Ikelite UW Case

was actually eyeing for the G11 + Canon UW case for my new P&S and UW camera, and i have already set my heart to it. whilst i was checkin prices in HK shops last week, wanderlass had me changed my mind with her 2 reasons:
– G11 is old, G12 has been long out. S95 is the best P&S now!
– she’ll be my tech support

price wise it’s not far from my choice. feature wise, woooow! i’m no techy freak but this small beast is loaded!!!

i’m now a sell out! :D

for review:
www.kenrockwell.com/canon/s95.htm

‘get ikelite it can reach up to 60m, we can use if go tech diving. regular canon UW casing is up to 40m only’ – wanderlass

ok i’m again a sell out! :D

and looks like somebody is pursuing the tech diving soon!

2. Backgammon board

i don’t even need a fancy one. i just need a board i can play on. i miss playing it already. i can’t find a shop to buy here in Manila.

3. TIMEX Ironman Triathlon Heart Rate Monitor Watch NIB

4. Nike SB Bruin

saw this first thru C. and ooooh wooow! what a lurve at first sight! ♥♥♥

www.thepremierstore.com/news_detail.cfm?ID=400

5. Diana F+ kit (deluxe set)

i just scored Holga 120N, but when i saw this set, my heart skipped a beat :-)

6. Melissa Joy

my feet have not experienced Melissa’s comfort! please be my Santa and send a pair my way! :-)

7. Polarized Juliet-Plasma-Ice Iridium or Commit SQ-Polished White-G30 Black Iridium

i feel i have extra ganda points whenever i try it on. but man!!! oakleys are effin expensive in MNL! i gotta be back in US!!!

8. Longchamp Le Pliage Large Tote Long Handle

plain, in Navy Blue please?!!

but i want it from Paris cuz it’s half the price if i get it from there. i can’t take the additional bucks if i get it from HKG or Sg. arrrrg!

9. Newton Neutral Performance Racer

i just got 2 weeks ago Nike Lunar Elite. and i think it’s too much to get another pair when i have not even ran a half mary officially. but i can’t wait for February for the Condura Race, where i plan to do a half mary. i want another pair soon!!! i feel i deserve it, especially when i’m more than ever, serious about logging those miles up for the TBRDM :-)

10.Japanese Classic Bike

vintage bike! i want!

after months and months of search, Silverprodigy pointed me somwehere in QC where i can get it at a steal!!!

PS: a basket and a krung krung would complete it! Please PM me if you’re feeling generous. At P3,000 only, you can make me immensely happy! :D

sweet escape

A weekend getaway from the hustle and bustle of the city, to some, is such a cliché. But to those souls willing to be closer again to nature and experience the great outdoors, the adventure it warrants shall never lose its novelty to true weekend warriors. Afterall, it’s the harrowing 8-hour grind on weekdays which makes the weekends  sweeter and lovelier.

Five (5) girls with shared passion for diving, even in a dinner meet-up with new found diving buddies (thanks to the failed Tubbataha attempt), an Anilao weekend dive can be conceived.

Seems like the stars were aligned perfectly – long weekend, couple of days only before hopping on the boat for the crew’s second attempt to Tubbataha and Ford Philippines has reserved one of their vehicles for us, Wandersoles, to use for our next adventure trip.

Yes you got it right! Ford Philippines is generous enough to lend Wandersoles to test drive their 2010 Escape to wherever destination we fancy! :-)

We took our sweet time at Paseo Center where we had a sumptuous Japanese fare dinner. After a couple of backgammon games against Wanderlass, with the smooth ride from Silang Cavite to Mabini Batangas, it didn’t take me long to be lulled and join Pinaydiver to sleep ;p Hey I was just lucky like that!!! ;p Wanderlass, Silverprodigy and Indayguapa (alternating respectively) volunteered to take charge of the wheels during the trip but the city driving was left to my care. Being a Ford Everest owner for three years, driving an Escape for the first time was a refreshing idea. And though I know I am not ready yet to let go of my perennial travel buddy, Gabriel (my Everest’s name),  I can’t deny my instant attraction to Escape’s sleek body yet spacious passenger & cargo room.

We arrived at Planet Dive a little past midnight. In my solid whole year of exclusively diving with PD, logging about 100++ during my freshie year only, I’ve been fantacising of getting booked to what was dubbed as the Party Room of PD. It is that big room that comfortably sleeps 5-6 persons with open air ventilation and stunning window view of the horizon and the blue waters.  Boy! Was I surprised when we were led to the dream room that night!

Slept soundly for 7 hours and was woken-up only by the familiar voices and echoing laughter of our Mamburao dive buddies. Their arrival signaled the commencement of the day’s adventure.

Our day started 830ish and did an easy dive to Beatrice’ beautiful landscape. It never fails to sweep me away with the burst of colors of corals, fish and nudis which in my neutrally buoyant state, I can only gush about with tiny, rhythmic bubbles. Little did we know that our first dive was just a prelude of what would be an intense dive at Mainit. On our second jump off the boat, only 5 minutes into the dive, Mainit right away prove its reputation of having strong current condition which sometimes border to washing machine condition. We stayed closer to the reef and tried to reach what they call the shark highway but the attempt became futile and the two groups got divided to even several, smaller groups. It wasn’t actually a dive for faint-hearted, we’re thankful though that we’re all advanced divers and are equipped for some difficult diving. Some even able to document the whirlpool condition on vids and still photos. We all came out of water relatively unscathed with only little marks on our rashies of how intense the action underwater was. We felt like rock stars ready to take whatever the upcoming Tubbataha trip has in store for us.  Saved by the delicious lunch buffet and the long SIT (Surface Interval Time) we had, we recovered from the beating we just went through at Mainit. In just a few hours, we found ourselves again gearing up and getting ready for a shore entry to Twin Rocks. We were on our own this time (DM’s knew we don’t need a guide anymore as we know the landscape like the back of our hand already) and I found myself at the front of the pack and somehow leading the group from the barge towards the twin rocks. It was a good 55min dive, registering only 18m as the deepest point we’ve reached. It’s more than enough time for those with new underwater toys to play with muck (macro photography) whilst others enjoy doing the role of a spotter of bizarre, cryptic yet colourful macro creatures.

We finished our 3^rd dive half hour past four only, and though we have actually planned for a 4-dive day trip (4^th dive being a night dive), we submitted without a fight to just chill at the inviting sundeck and watch the sun gorgeously set on the horizon.

For as long as…there’s still an adventure that underwater has to offer…sunsets still hold certain magic that can charm even the restless divers…beautiful people to share wonderful experiences of the day…weekend escape from the hustle and bustle will never be a cliché :-)

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thanks to indayguapa, pinaydiver, Noel & SPD for the photos