By Terry Booth / Photo by Terry Booth & Brian Hood
For 12 years, diving was made convenient to me with
weekend trips up to Tioman, the Anambas Islands or into the South China Sea. In
the off season, half day excursions to Singapore’s Southern Islands sated my
diving appetite. However my back yard is now Anilao, the birthplace of
Philippines diving. A mere 1.5 hour drive South of Manila takes you to a string
of backpackers’ lodges, guest houses and hotels along the Mabini Peninsula. The
gateway to Anilao caters for all budgets.
As we gear up, we observe bancas gliding across the calm azure sea, taking eager occupants to
their chosen destinations, the vast selection of dive sites on offer suitable
for all levels of experience.
Once the water’s surface is broken, the reefs’
kaleidoscopic colours saturates ones senses, it’s iridescent hues filling the
seascape. Infinite nooks and crannies hide marine treasures; nudi branches of
varying shades and texture, ponderous pufferfish and shy seahorses. Lugubrious
turtles forage for food. A spiny devil fish, with a face only a mother could
love, scurries across the sea bed searching for sanctuary. A pair of ornate
ghost pipe fish dance harmoniously in the gentle currents.
And as the weekend draws to a close, I retrace my
steps back to the metropolis of Manila knowing that I will soon return. After
all, I was diving in my backyard.
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