Twin Dives at Dauin Poblacion Marine Reserve

Diving Itch
I couldn't even remember the last time I went scuba diving...it's been that long. Even while I go free-diving weekly, scuba is it's own thing - and I was itching for it. Well, the expense is definitely a factor, but now I have some loose change. Dive!

Harolds Sunday Twin Dives
The best deal in town is still Harold's Sunday twin dives at P1150 for 2 dives - a muck dive and a reef dive. This time however, I was the only one who signed up. Instead of having it canceled, Harold offered to charge me the direct cost (which adds about P200). To me, it was better than going back home. With Glenn as divemaster and Ronnie, a Swiss chef who signed-in for snorkelling, we were off to Dauin's Poblacion District 1.

Muck Dive
Glenn brought with him a magnifying glass which helped me appreciate the muck dive better. It's a sandy bottom with most creatures being transparent (ghost) and small - ideal for underwater macro photography. This site has been the spot where award-winning macro shots have been taken. This is also the site where I see the most magnificent lion fish - the huge dark kind with expanded fins, much like a prancing peacock with its majectic plume.

Reef Dive
I'm really a reef diver - still awed when I see the big stuff. Highlight for this dive was seeing a huge green turtle with a carapace about a meter long - still not as big as the turtle that startled me in Masaplod Norte last year, but still, quite a visual treat. I saw a ~10-kg marbled grouper which is always a crowd pleaser just by being there. I also came across a meter-long puffer fish - the biggest I've seen so far (and it wasn't puffed yet!).

Fish Dishes
When Glenn would see something interesting, he would take his slate out and write the name of the fish. On one big fish, he just wrote "sweet and sour!". I thought it was funny. If Chef Ronnie went diving with us, I could imagine he'd be wrting something like "bouillabaise".

Ending Thoughts
I was a happy camper getting my scuba diving fix. But somehow, I'd like to try a different dive site - somewhere I haven't tried before. Maybe off at Sumilon Island where sharks can be seen (harmless ones). The grand daddy of them all? Maybe Tubbataha Reef. One day...

--- TheLoneRider

Dauin Poblacion 1 Marine Sanctuary Links on TheLoneRider.com:

• Twin Dives at Dauin Poblacion Marine Reserve Nov 6, 2011
• Dauin Muck Dive with Harolds Mansion Crew Aug 7, 2011
• Dauin Dive with Marine Bio Crew Jul 22, 2011
• Skin Diving at Dauin Poblacion's Marine Sanctuary May 4, 2010
• Attack of the Titan Triggerfish Jun 6, 2010
• Oscar Night at Dauin's District 1 Marine Reserve Jun 11, 2010
• Swimming with the Green Turtle Jul 8, 2010
• Coral Bleaching in Dauin Sep 13, 2010
• Diving Dauin with Marine Bio Crew Mar 25, 2011

How to get there from Dumaguete:

• take a tricycle and ask to be dropped-off the jeep terminal going to Dauin (the terminal is near Robinson's Place) - P8.
• at the terminal, board the next jeep for Zamboanguita or Siaton or Dauin. Just tell the driver to drop you off at Dauin's Poblacion District 1 Marine Sanctuary. P15, 40 minutes.
• upon disembarking at the highway (almost immediately after Dauin's Poblacion), walk towards the beach...5 mins.
• pay P50 (snorkeling, all day) or P150/scuba dive to the caretaker and dive!

These guys like this story:

Arnold Johnson Tenorio

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