dp - new adventures: Dauin On-Land Activities & a Night Dive

I'm not spending ALL my time under water. I normally do 2 dives per day, then take a day off. It's unbelievable how tired you (I) get from diving. On my day off, i'm usually deleting, editing, and sorting photos ....and working on my Blog .... or taking a nap :)

One day, Kim, the Manager, and Darcy, another traveler, invited me to go to The Falls. There are mountains here too, so lots of beautiful falls, and some Hot Springs. This Blog tells the story ...plus of course, more diving photos.

On the way we stopped for some Lechon .... a traditional Philippino pork dish, a well-seasoned meat dish served with rice. We stopped in the city of Valencia for our lunch. It was a market, with tents, selling many things, especially a slab of Lechon. We sat at a small table, and they handed us plastic gloves. Much easier to eat with your hands than any kind of appliances. So flavorful !

After clean up, we continued our journey up the mountain. Kim was telling us about the 'sulphur' smell coming from the mountain. I immediately thought about Yellowstone Natl Pk in the USA. We rounded a corner on the way up the mountain and 'gasp'. It was coming out the side of the mountain ! And the stream behind me was bubbling. And yes, it smelled like rotten eggs :) That was surprising and very interesting !

There was a raging river coming out of the mountain, which reminded me of Wyoming :)

Our first stop was Red Rocks Hot Springs. We spent over an hour here and had our own private balcony cabana. The water was just the right temperature for a hot day.

Then on to Pulangbato Falls ... a very large Falls ... too dangerous to get into

...and 2 other smaller ones that we actually were able to swim toward

and play in

It was a great day, and i enjoyed 'fun girl time' with my new friends.

Darcy from Australia, and Kim, Mgr of Aivy Maes

I haven't introduced you to Sophie, the resident little pup here at Aivy Maes. Ok, for whatever reason, Sophie, is a male dog. But what a sweet dog, and so protective. i woke one morning to high pitched barking. i finally got up to see what was going on. Sophie was sitting on the porch, barking up a storm at 2 very large dogs who dared to enter HIS domain ! He's just a peanut of a pup

We celebrated Darcy's last night here, with a walk to town. Because she was encouraged to try Balot, which is a duck egg, embryo, at various stages of development. It's a 'thing' here.... YUCK.

You peel the top off the egg, add some salt and vinegar, and suck out the juices; .. then eat the yolk, and/or the partially developed duck. She went way further than i would ever go. I mean, it has feathers for God's sake !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I met Paco in Honduras in 2011-2012. He met me here at Aivy Maes and was also diving, but wasn't a fan of Muck Diving... although he gave it a try. It's not for everyone, just a few crazies.


Paco & Me

Maya and Nathan are Dive Masters - Dive Instructors here at Aivy Maes. Having dinner at Fin Bar in Dauin

Me, Paco, Maya and Nathan

This young man raises bees for honey, ... the real stuff ... nothing added. The bucket was full of honey and combs.

and yes, he walked around with bees still doing their work. A few bees fell to the pavement and he carefully picked them up and put them back on the comb. I bought a pint from him; had some on my peanut butter and sliced banana breakfast, and left the rest. i can't imagine a suitcase full of honey !

I have the beach to the front of my bungalow, and the mountains to the back ...

I did one night dive with Romel, right out front on the House Reef. I struggled to manage my camera, my light, and my stick... i needed another arm... and realized my 'bouyancy' needs improvement, ...(neutral buoyancy – the ability to remain at your desired depth and in your desired position throughout the dive) .... but a very successful dive.

First up was another Mantis Shrimp, a Tiger Mantis, ...not as pretty as the Pink Ear, and not very social.

Romel waved his light at me, that was my signal that he had found something. Yeah ... it was a Donald Duck Shrimp ! This is GREAT, ... they are so tiny, and they float around; but i managed to get a photo. You can see their mouth is long and flat ... like a duck's bill. Very cool, another favorite!

A Jeweled Anemone Hermit Crab ...very sparkly, and also on the move. Many critters are out mostly at night and are looking for food.

A BEAUTIFUL quite large Nudi. I did not spot it, but i sure could see it !

This Spider Crab was so full of 'stuff' it could hardly walk. Some crabs are called Decorator Crabs because they 'decorate' or camouflage themselves with shells and other things they find. It was on the move also.

I have no idea what this is ..... it just laid there on an open coral bed ........ never moved. Pretty little blue and yellow fish !

This one caught my eye, i looked it up, it's a Six-Lined SoapFish ....count them :)

A Common SeaHorse ... i think it's the same one i found on a day dive. I love the 'star' around their eyes.

And an amazing one for the end of the dive, just as we were coming back to shore. WoW ... a small Squid ..... i was mesmerized ! Less than 2" ... I've never seen one so small, and colorful. When-if you see them in the daytime, they are just brown/rust color.