Panglao Island Things to Do Tips by muddybok

One of many wall dives

by muddybok , 2 more photos

Balicasag Island is probably one of the best-known diving locations in the Visayans. When you're diving at Fish Sanctuary and Rudy's Rock, you'll often need to achieve neutral buoyancy in order to enjoy the wall dive & the array of fishes, corals and sea squirts will surely amazed you.

If you sign up with good dive centre with great dive master, they will know the right direction of drift for your wall dive. During the dive brief, your dive master will probably tell you the special/residence creatures at the site. Do ask them to point out to you if you're still not quite an underwater naturalist yet. Just achieve neutral buoyancy and drift on.

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Things To Do: Garden Eels at Balicasag Rudy's Rock

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Updated by muddybok

on Nov 20, 2006

Who's that?

by muddybok , 2 more photos

After hearing so much about garden eels, i finally get to see them at Rudy's Rock 4 meter level when we're doing our 3 minutes safety stop. It's like end of dive bonus and you just need to lookout for one sandy patch with some sea grasses and hundred of tiny holes on the surface. The eels probably withdrawn into their burrows when you're unknowingly dive near them.

These eels are quite shy and rarely allow you to approach them too close. If in any cases they had withdrawn into their burrows, just stay put and waiting for them to peep out slowly. You'll sure to see hundred of them sticking out from their burrows after you settle down and watch them quietly.

Although Balicasag Island is not really Panglao, but since I am based at Alona beach therefore i include Balicasag Island together with my Panglao Island's tips.

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Things To Do: Fish Sanctuary

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Updated by muddybok

on Nov 20, 2006

by muddybok , 3 more photos

Yes, Balicasag Island has one dive site named "fish sanctuary" but I just want to generalize the dive sites at Balicasag and Panglao are full of fishes, big and small. Balicasag Island Fish Sanctuary (dive site) is protected area for "Bonitas" or jacks where most divers see them in group of thousands, but I do not have such privilege to see that yet. Well, i see them in group of ten or slightly lesser.

PADI Dive Guide Description

Balicasag Fish Sanctuary
Wall and Cave Dive
Assorted Hard and Soft Corals
Breeding Site for Tropical Fish
Slight Currents
10-20 Meters Visibility
For All Levels of Diver

Baliscag Fish Sanctuary helps to preserve the breeding sites of the indigenous species of fish especially Jacks. There is a gigantic wall covered in Corals as well some small caves to explore. The lack of currents and the relaxed atmosphere make this an ideal site for beginners. Caves lower down can be explored by the more experienced. Swimming through this site can feel like you are in an aquarium due to the sheer number of fish in the area.

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Things To Do: Dive Kalipayan

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Updated by muddybok

on Nov 20, 2006

Ghost Pipefish

by muddybok , 3 more photos

I dove at Kalipayan which is located 10mins boat ride from Alona beach around 8:30 morning. We begin with long slope starting at 5 meters and slowly descend to maximum of 37 meters. We saw one banded sea snake (around 25m level), few nudibranches and we reached one small wreck where 3 huge scorpionfishes and one huge painted anglerfish claim residence here. I saw one foot long crocodilefish & 3 ghost pipefishes on and around the small wreck too.

We stay at 37 meters level for slightly less than 5 minutes and we continue our multi-levels dive along Kalipayan Wall until our bottom time almost reached 40mins.

It's important to plan your dives to include the deepest dive as first dive of the day. Although we still have plenty of air in our tank after the small Kalipayan wreck and wall dive, but without our own dive computers we have to comply with dive master's instruction and timing.

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Things To Do: Arco Point - BBC Dive Site (Bohol Beach Club)

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Updated by muddybok

on Nov 20, 2006

Hello!!

by muddybok , 4 more photos

Some dive master called it "hole in the wall" because there is one tunnel for us to dive through starting from 8 meters till almost 18 meters which can be quite tricky because you need to equalize to reduce the squeeze, you need to dive through at the right level to prevent knocking the cave ceiling and not too low to kick the coral at the bottom. To make it more difficult, you start to see big scorpionfishes, lionfishes and nudibranches as you attempt the dive through. It's like you need so much concentration to resist distractions.

Of course the excitements of your dive not just end after the cave. The remaining wall dive is excellent with great visibility when i dive. Big school of tuna & jacks swimming at the deeper end of the wall, big frogfishes, morays and some transparent sea squirts keep attract your attention. You need to be intermediate diver to dive Arco Point.

I dove at Pangloa few weeks after the typhoon hitting Philippines and the effects of typhoon can clearly seen underwater as many corals, sea squirts, frogfishes, lionfishes are covered with some sand here and there. I just cannot imagine how beautiful the Arco Point would be if typhoon had not stirred those sand from BBC beaches onto creatures and corals here.

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Things To Do: Encounter of many different kinds...

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Updated by muddybok

on Dec 6, 2006

The one with Vegetable Gills.....

by muddybok , 4 more photos

Ok, this is not suppose to be a spooky tip of what i encountered underwater, but just to share some variations of creatures that i seen before, but different from the regular kind.

Previously, these beautiful nudibranches, corals, shrimps can be right in front of my face and I won�t see them. But lately, I have developed better ability to spot irregular colors and identify them by their characteristics and associate them with names underwater (when my brain running at half speed).

Even my niece learns fast that nudibranches are snails without shells and they come with various colors and shapes. She even calls the green nudibranch's gills as "vegetable", just click into the photo and you�ll sure to agree with her.

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Things To Do: Encounter of the Very Weird Kind!

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Updated by muddybok

on Nov 24, 2006

Don't know what?

by muddybok , 2 more photos