I originally was checking out Tubbataha Reef but it was going to be closed for when I was going to be there. A friend then told me about another UNESCO World Heritage Site (protected areas), Apo Reef, that was going to be open.
Yeah, so, it’s one of those things like in Malapascua where it was going to be an epic pain in the ass to get to. It’s an island kinda life and, in a sense, it’s a good thing it’s that way because otherwise, it means that it’s become so touristy and industrialized that it would lose value in its serenity.
Sablayan
A quick Google search would bring up Sablayan Divers which were one of the few dive shops that I was able locate with a set schedule. There were liveaboards but liveaboards are expensive (averaging at $4k USD/week) + liveaboards are too much: 3-4 diving/day for 5-7 days straight. I know I kinda did that in Thailand because I hadn’t gone diving in like 5 years at that point so I got a little too excited but I mean I couldn’t even get out of bed by the end of it.
Just to give you an idea of how much diving takes away from your body:
An hour of martial arts burns about 400-600 calories
A tank of diving (this can last you from 20-45 minutes depending on depth and your air consumption; the deeper you go, the more air you consume, and the more pressure it is on your body) burns about 300-500 calories. Imagine doing that 3-4x/day for consecutive days.
It’s one of those things too where you don’t feel your body is working it up until you get out of the water like why am I so tired and why am I so hungry?
Sablayan Divers were great by the way. I would highly recommend them as they really cared about the divers, were very good-natured, and they made excellent feasts!
But first, let me tell you how to get there.
I woke up at 4am and took a cab to the Manila airport to catch my flight. All I knew at that point was that I needed to get to the bus or van terminal to get to Sablayan from the airport. Online research can really only get you so far with these things as you’re going to have to rely on blogs (like mine!) or some other articles that tell you how to get there. So everything is all in theory because nothing is officially registered or set in stone. I thought I’d land there and figure it out. The first thing I did was open my Grab app which was no dice…
“Magkano? (How much?)” I asked the trike driver as I got off.
“Bahala ka na ho ma’am (It’s up to you, ma’am),” he replied. I frowned. “Huh? Di pwede yun! (Huh? We can’t do that!),” I told him.
“Isang daan ho (₱100 – about $2.50 CAD, $2 USD, €1.60).”
I happily paid him ₱100 thinking the price was more than fair… it wasn’t until later that I found out that I got super ripped off.
Once I got to the “terminal,” it didn’t really look like much of a terminal at all. I didn’t get the chance to take photos unfortunately as I was too caught up in making my way. There are no set schedules. The van or bus eventually leaves when it’s full. It was chaos; they were filling everything up including the middle aisle with makeshift and foldable seats so people who sat at the back, like myself, wouldn’t be able to get out unless everyone in front would go as well. I didn’t really have an issue with that except for two things: 1) I forgot to empty my bladder 2) The lady beside me decided to argue with the operators about the price and throw up in a fricking plastic bag while she was seated amidst all the people in the van.
Fantastic. 😒
The ride was beautiful though. It was all farmlands. Just take my word for it because I wasn’t able to comfortably take out my phone amidst the throwing up in a bag, the noise, and the funny smells… still, I have no regrets.
After 2-3 hours, I finally arrived at the terminal at Sablayan. From there, I also had no clue as to how to get to the hotel but I did see a line of trikes. Thankfully, there was phone reception here so I was able to look up where the hotel is and it was close enough to be trike-able. I shared the trike with another lady. The driver said it’s cheaper for us that way and it’s good for him too for profit.
I got off at the hotel and he charged me ₱20 for a little over a kilometre/half a mile ride. I paused. I couldn’t believe it; remember that their gas prices are the same as ours over here in North America, converted. “Bente lang (Only ₱20)?” I asked.
“Oho bente lang (Yes, just ₱20),” he replied.
I handed him ₱50 and told him to keep the change.
“Naks naman! Pamasko! (Nice! For Christmas! – it was December 21st)” he happily exclaimed.
Dear ladies, gentlemen, non-binary, and whathaveyou: if you’re going to travel around these parts, please tip service workers generously. Their minimum wage is nowhere near ours yet the cost of living is close to ours.
I checked in Sablayan Seasons Hotel which was not bad though it didn’t look nearly as luxurious as its photos. I didn’t take any photos just out of being tired and wanting to get shit done.
I was tired AF. I had to get up at 4 to take the cab to my flight, fly for an hour and a half, go on a trike ride to the bus/van terminal, go on a 2-3 hour van ride, and then trike to the hotel. When I settled my stuff in the hotel, I contacted the diveshop right away. They wanted me to come in for a fitting of the equipment and wetsuit so when I got to the hotel, I still had to go find out how to get to the shop. I was getting quotes from ₱500 (about $12 CAD, $10USD, €8) which was exorbitant because I was under the impression that it was close. As it turns out there was a misunderstanding because the vicinity where the shop was had the same name as another pier far out.
I was exhausted… but one of the things I was after in this whole trip are parol, which are Fillipino Christmas lanterns that I miss so much as they gave me much comfort as a child. I have a painting print of it back home in Toronto.
I actually have another destination specifically for these things but that one turned out to be a little more industrial.
Imagine my excitement when I saw parols right in front of my hotel.
“Sinisindihan ho ba yung mga parol (Do they light up the parol)?” I asked the security guard.
“Oho mamaya pa ho ng konti kasi umulan (Yes though it will be a little later today because it rained).” he replied.
I didn’t think I was going to make it because I was just so tired but it was too early to sleep so I walked around the plaza which, to my delight, turned out to be a cultural centre 😊
I heard some commotion at the gym and found out that there was a basketball game happening. I decided to check it out to pass the time, in hopes that my energy could make it to when they light the lanterns.
“Magkano ho entrance (How much is the entrance)?” I asked the lady who was sitting by the ticket area.
“Bente po (₱20 – about ¢.50 CAD, ¢.40 USD, ¢.30 Euro),” she replied. I handed her my payment and made my way in.
I got pretty hungry after some time so I decided to go out and get something to eat. The lanterns still weren’t lit at the time but they did have an area with street food!
At some point, the basketball court was getting filled up (good for them). It was then I decided to check out if they’d turned on the lights yet… and they did!
I wasn’t even planning on posting or saying anything about Sablayan but the sense of community really touched me 🥰
Later on, I had a conversation with Endoy, who was one of the divemasters and also a co-owner of Sablayan Divers, about it. He informed me that the parol bit of the festivities is actually a competition amongst the barangay/bario (the smallest vicinity sort of division in the Philippines, roughly translated “village”). I asked him if it was institutionally sanctioned at all and he said “Hindi. Sila sila lang dun sa Sablayan ang nag-o-organize nun (No. It’s the people in Sablayan who organize it),” he replied.
“I hope corporations don’t fucking go in there and meddle because they’re gonna ruin it,” I bitterly said. Endoy nodded his head.
They know.
I was wondering when I would feel this sense of peace in simplicity. The hotel I stayed in wasn’t luxurious at all. The hallway looked creepy as some of the lights didn’t work. It looked like it would’ve made a good location shoot for one of those subtly scary horror films like The Grudge or something as it was also quite rundown. The upper lock on my door didn’t work either as they gave me two keys but one was useless. I just didn’t bring it to the staff’s attention because it was only going to be one night and I couldn’t be bothered with the hassle. Plus, it was fine by me. I brought one of those safety lock things anyway so I used it later that night. Either way, I felt safe there. The people are even-tempered, sensible, honest, and overall chill.
I can’t tell you how much this place touched my heart. I wanted to stay a couple more nights to immerse myself more in the festivities but I was on a tight schedule. Had I known this was going to come, I would’ve planned to stay at Sablayan for at least 2-3 nights. I really wanted to stay… I mean, I wept in my room that night because I was brought back to places in my childhood when I felt like everything was going to be alright and everyone and everything was safe. Of course, as adults, we all know that’s not true even though we were all born with a clean slate. Somehow our slates get tainted along the way and before we know it, we’re essentially doing all this internal work to undo the damages we incur.
Life is hard for everyone and sometimes therapy can take on the form of being in a completely different state of mind, with modern machines as extensions of ourselves, within an environment that’s not intrinsic to us as human beings.
Sometimes that’s what it takes to revive and celebrate our inner child.
Apo Reef
I was in the shop by 6:30 the next day. I met the people who were doing the 3-day dive trip with me.
The original itinerary is as follows:
Day 1 (December 22nd): 3 dives
Day 2 (December 23rd): 3 dives
Day 3 (December 24th): 3 dives
It was 9 dives total including the tent, food, water, equipment, and everything. It was a great deal and they were an amazing crew. They were chill, and very pleasant to be around (super important you develop a working rapport with people you dive with). If you’re headed this way, I highly recommend Sablayan Divers.
There were 7 of us diving: myself, a French guy, a Filipino-Australian couple, a Korean guy, a Colombian guy who moved to Australia, and his Aussie girlfriend.
“You looking forward to it? I’m just wondering if there’s fresh water like how the setup would be living on an island,” I said to the Filipina-Aussie woman.
“Yes! I’m just worried about where to poo and stuff!” she replied.
I didn’t want to admit it but I thought that too.
We went on our merry way, all excited and getting comfortable in the boat, napping in random spots (the best part).
On our way to the island, we learned that we were going to do one dive before getting on the island so we started prepping.
Since I have so many videos from the dives, I just went ahead and turned it into one long edit.
Here are some highlights:
– so many sharks! We saw grey tip, white tip, and black tip. They’re actually quite timid of us and funny enough, we were the ones chasing them. They were just so elusive.
– a school of eagle rays! It was amazing! They were about 10 metres deeper than the depth we were trying to keep so I was only able to shoot it from a distance but some coordinating happened underwater as some of my mates went a bit deep to get a good shot. The Korean dude had some serious equipment. I just have a lowly starter Cressi Leonardo whereas he had this watch that he can just hook up to his divelog and it populates all the details automatically. He also had this underwater horn that was pretty loud (efficient!) and a mirror lens on his wrist (to view his mates behind him, he explained). He was really sweet; he was looking out for everyone like a divemaster would. He’s had like over 1000+ dives (we asked and he said after 1000, he stopped counting).
– giant lobsters hiding in coral holes
– turtles!
– cuttlefish
– Nemo
– Dory
– Flounder
It was amazing though we had a last-minute change of plans to the number of dives per day. We did 4 dives on Day 2 so we can go home early on Day 3. On the final dive, there was a strong current. I fucking hated it. We were swimming so hard to get to the wall of corals like I saw one of my mates swimming really hard but staying in one place. After 8 dives within 2 and a half days, I was done.
Diving takes a lot out of your body, “Scuba diving exposes you to many effects, including immersion, cold, hyperbaric gases, elevated breathing pressure, exercise and stress, as well as a postdive risk of gas bubbles circulating in your blood. Your heart’s capacity to support an elevated blood output decreases with age and with disease.” – Divers Alert Network
I decided to call it quits and cancel my dive. I have my own dive computer so I managed to ascend alone and we have just been in the water for about 10 minutes at that point. I kept signaling to my mates that I was okay and gesturing that I was tired. I was using up so much air and we haven’t even gone on the wall yet. I was just done. Tired. Exhausted.
The divemaster gave me his diver’s buoy. I signaled “What about you?” then he pointed at the Korean guy (serious equipment dude) and signaled okay because he had a buoy that they could use. My mates then went ahead while I did my pit stop (3 minutes). It was kinda creepy because the visibility was bad on shallow areas so I was in the middle of the ocean with a blurry view of the ocean floor and nothing to see on all sides. I thought to take a video but I was too busy trying to ascend safely.
I didn’t have a horn or a whistle or anything so when I got to the surface, I had to keep waving the buoy until the boat crew saw me and sailed towards me.
When my mates finally ascended, I asked them if they saw anything special. Apparently, just one tuna fish, and I’m like… cool. I wouldn’t have wanted to work for that. The dude with the serious equipment was telling me that I needed to descend further down, like on the floor, for when the current was strong so we could swim under it. I kinda knew that but I was just done.
Living on an island for 3 days and 2 nights is a whole experience in itself. Like my mate, I was a little concerned over the washrooms but I surprisingly was able to do my business every day. Two of our mates though didn’t poo the entire time. I don’t know how they did that, drinking coffee each morning and diving, compressing our bodies. 😂
“‘Pag inulan tayo, tatakbo na lang tayo ‘dun (If it rains, we’ll just run over there),” he said pointing to the building. The building was something the government was working on because they wanted to make a bustling spot out of the island but it never happened so now it’s just an abandoned place. It’s where the washrooms are.
I just kinda shrugged off his comment, thinking it won’t rain. That night, however, I started feeling some drizzle and then the winds got strong. I had to get up and hold the tent and I thought it would only last for 15 minutes. When it didn’t, I finally looked out and saw the staff helping out one of the other divers and that’s when I knew it was serious and that we were going to make a run for it.
It was stressful AF. I mean, I had my stuff laid out in the tent and everything plus I was half asleep. When the crew finally came around to my tent, I hastily grabbed my stuff and shoved it in my backpack. They took the tent and I carried my stuff along with some of the bedding. It was so dark especially since it was raining pretty hard. We were all discombobulated though we managed to settle in our respective “rooms.”
Since there were no fans or AC, we were relying on the breeze to help us sleep… but the rooms had walls that blocked the wind so it was pretty hot. I used a handheld fan that my friend gave me but my hand stops working when I fall asleep so it was a bit of a funny little problem. The bed was also semi wet and there was sand all over the tent. It was very uncomfortable.
All throughout this journey, I cherished every moment, including the difficult ones and I never daydreamed nor missed home… except for this time. That night, I longed for my memory foam bed and my duvet. If I want maximum comfort, I tend to leave my window ajar to let some cold wind in. This way, I tuck myself in my sheets and bury myself in the comfort. This was the only time I missed Toronto.
“Last night was an adventure eh?” I said to one of our mates the morning after.
“Oh, it was a movie.” he replied.
So true.
Everything else went well after that though. So many insightful conversations; from one of our mates and me admitting that we’re gluttonous Westerners (one of the staff members doesn’t eat at night and then we mentioned how we can’t do that) to numerous dive stories.
We asked our divemaster for shitty occurrences in his career span. “Oh my God. Too many to count.” 😂 Poor guy. Life is hard enough as it is. Imagine problems underwater?
We pressed him for the worst story which he indulged us with.
Apparently, the guy straight up stood on the corals to take photos, which destroyed the corals. Endoy, the divemaster, gestured 🤷🏽♀️ and to come up. The guy wasn’t ascending from the coral floor. On the next dive, the divemaster went close to him to encourage him to stay off the corals but the diver grabbed his arm and pushed him away. The divemaster told the owner of the shop (he was working for another shop at the time) and so they kicked the turd out and never went diving with him again.
Endoy and I chatted a few times. I told him about the movie, “The Triangle of Sadness.” It stars a Filipina woman as a protagonist, which was a nice surprise for me. I only watched the film on Prime because it looked interesting. It’s about a boat crew for a rich people’s cruise and it makes a mockery of the social disparities that different human beings, from different walks of life, experience along with the ridiculous demands. When I told him I was 38 years old (now 39), he was surprised. I said, “You know the saying, ‘Asian don’t raisin?'” He looked puzzled. I looked to his wife (she was the cook), “Anong Tagalog ng raisin? (What’s Tagalog for raisin),” I asked.
“Pasas,” she replied. Endoy’s face lit up, “Ah! Like your face and wrinkles.”
“Yes!” I replied.
The Korean guy, who has 1000+ dives, on the other hand, was telling us about the Maldives. Apparently, over there, there is a good chance of you coming across a school of sharks that will swim around you (harmless). He was very funny and actually quite sweet though things got lost in translation.
We didn’t decide to do 4 dives on Day 2 until after Dive 3. I guess he didn’t get the memo because he took his bag from the boat. He did this by jumping into shallow water and getting a staff member to hand it over to him. He crossed the waters holding his bag over his head and when it got to dinner, he ate quite a bit because he thought we were done. When he found out, he was shocked and gestured how much he ate and that he might throw up. “Good for the fish,” replied the divemaster.
He was fine though. He didn’t throw up. You’re usually advised not to eat too much food because of the compression in deeper waters. It could cause you to throw up and I have seen a diver throw up underwater. It doesn’t look fun so in as much as diving is a fun and relaxing sport, it’s always important to take precautions because you are putting yourself at risk.
That night, a group of freedivers came to the island. We didn’t party with them or anything (they blasted the music for a few hours and were drinking Tanduay which is half gin and half rum- they were hardcore) but a few of my mates spoke to them and I heard something ridiculous like one of them can freedive for 2 minutes down to 40 metres (130 ft) and one of them can freedive for 2 minutes down to 20 metres (65 ft).
We were like, “WTF?!?”
We learned that they were seasoned scuba divers looking for the next challenge… my mates and were like, “Yeah, we’ll stick to diving. Thanks.” We were totally put to shame. The thing is with freediving, you mostly concentrate on your thing. They’re not like divers; once we get comfortable down there, we just kinda play around, look at the fish, swim after sharks and turtles you know. We’re chillin’; can’t do that with freediving.
=========================================
Next Up: Pampanga and Mountain Province