Puerto Galera and its Sub-Aquatic Critters

By Terry Booth / Photos by Charlene Kwan

The channel between Puerto Galera and Verde Island, known internationally as the Verde Island Passage, is “the center of the world’s marine biodiversity” according to American scientists – making Puerto Galera’s underwater world a favorite amongst dive enthusiasts. Puerto Galera’s natural landscapes both above and under water are its foremost assets with many beaches and coves, named and unnamed; mountains and forests, waterfalls and rivers. Puerto Galera Bay is regarded as one of the most beautiful in the entire planet.

With spectacular dive sites very close to shore, and with Puerto Galera being just 3 to 4 hours away from Manila, it makes for an easy weekend getaway.

We opted for Sabang as our port of choice. A popular destination that facilitates diving in the nearby sites, with a variety of options catering for all skill levels and sub-aquatic interests. Whether you are after a wreck littered with critters, black volcanic sands home to marine oddities or fast drift dives out in the blue - you can take your pick.

We delighted in finding a healthy array of delights such as nudi branches, orangutan crabs, ornate ghost pipefish, seahorses, leaf scorpion fish, snake eels, cuttlefish, shrimps and turtles. The undoubted highlight though was being transfixed by a coconut
octopus ‘moving house’ as he scurried across the sea bed, each tentacle loaded with an unimaginable amount of clam shells as he searched for a suitable new location for his new dwelling.

Thank you Puerto Galera, we shall return!