Certified Diver

The Philippines is blessed with hundreds, probably thousands, of excellent dive sites. I frequently heard my friends talking about these places and, while snorkeling is nice, it's just not the same as going down there to take a close-up look.

Luckily, several of my friends are either dive masters or dive instructors so I decided to sign up to find out for myself. The basic PADI course was for three nights in nearby Makati and the certification dive(s) were in Anilao, Batangas, roughly a three-hour drive from Manila. I passed the "practical" with flying colors but then had to go back to take the written test ... a real pain in the ...!

It was worth it. Anilao has somewhere around 45 diving sites .... really fantastic views of tropical fish, coral, and plant life. We visited only four different sites ...so there is plenty more to see there.

We stayed in a very nice resort with only four guest rooms different rooms .. and a pool. Incidentally, the sunsets in Anilao also were quite spectacular.

For those of you into diving, this is the spot. Everything is arranged for you. The boatmen carry the tanks and equipment to the boat, help you out of the water, carry your stuff back to the resort.. What a life.

Noel was to have joined me in the course but he opted out at the last minute. Hopefully, he will take it in the near future as diving is supposed to be done on the basis of a 'buddy' system and not solo.