Philippines A Fantastic Diver Getaway
Puerto Galera, Philippines“By Any Means” 2016 Tour was an awesome adventure. It started off crazy enough. A car accident on the Tristate Tollway, to O’Hare pushed the traffic back to over an hour. It required a lot of rerouting with our drivers to get us there. On our arrival to O’hare Airport we were greeted with long security lines. If it wasn’t for some of our more attentive, earlier divers, we would not have made the flight! They had a much better location in the security lines, so we just worked our way up to them, and ingratiated ourselves in along side them. So, right at the outset, Toucan Dive was in over their heads in adventure. If this is how our trip is starting, this is going to be one incredible two weeks. Things calmed down after that. Our quiet 14 hour flight to Hong Kong was peaceful enough with plenty of legroom and lots of movies to take in. After a 3 hour layaway in Hong Kong, we were off to Puerto Galera.
Puerto Galera The Amenities
Puerto Galera is a wonderful island. We actually stay in the area of Sabang. Sabang is a very friendly area. The people are so nice and welcoming. Our resort, Atlantis Puerto Galera is an awesome place for a diver to hang his hat. The accommodations are nice, and clean. Well landscaped, the rooms are are well appointed. The service in Puerto Galera Atlantis is incredible. Everyone there knows your name! They fed us well with great dishes, and the 50 Bar is a great place to settle after a great day of diving.
Puerto Galera Diving
The diving in Puerto Galera is terrific! In particular, getting over to Verde Passage which is a World Heritage site, brings diverse and immense populations of fish life. Finding the smaller creatures is a lot of the fun in diving Puerto Galera. Lots of nudibranch, cuttlefish, pygmy seahorses, frogfish, seahorses, and feeding sea cucumbers will keep you in the hunt. Some of my favorites are the flamboyant cuttlefish and the disco clam. If you have never gone diving that side of the world, you do not know what your missing. I have a saying to compare the Caribbean to the Philippines. It’s like comparing a black and white television set to a colored one. It is that much of a difference! Due to a new moon, the currents were a bit more robust than usual during our time in Puerto Galera. Our Toucan Divers rose to the occasion and put their good training to use. We all had a wonderful time. Below is the photo gallery of the Puerto Galara excursion, as well as a great video from Rob Jacobson. Check it out!
