Day started out pretty much the same as yesterday, brekkie followed by diving. This time I headed out by myself with John. Apparently the level of difficulty was too high for the others. A wreck dive! M/S Alma Jane, lying at 30 meters, a cargo vessel purposely scuttled in Sabang Bay to create an artificial reef and dive site. Nice to have this dive all to myself: a bit of penetration, albeit quite easy: the cargo hold is open on both sides, so no lines or even flashlights are even needed. And a bit of nitrogen in my blood.
Returning from the dive went shopping at a local market. Figured that we were blowing a bit too much money on food in the Phillies: budgeted $10 per person per day, was closer to $20. So today it was a cooking day. Bought some chicken, sauce and noodles to make chicken afritada. But the cooking had to wait, because our second dive was looming.
We headed out to Sabang Point just with Krysia and John, to practice some of her OW skills. It was fun to finally have her as a buddy, though she was doing the "get your ass up in the air" thing and floating with her bootie up. Oh the adventures of a beginning diver. But the girl loves diving and she's going to become a certified mermaid soon.
Back home it was cooking time. That turned out a bit of a disappointment, since afritada sauce is basically tomato sauce. But the missus liked it: it was probably the chicken (the meaty girl she is). A break from the routine nonetheless and a big meal to boot. Both of us seem to be losing weight as planned. Not that we're jumping on scales daily: there are none around. But all the clothes are starting to feel a little bit loose. Will soon be time to lose some luggage as we go on.
Note to fellow divers: don't bother taking your equipment if you're going backpacking. If this were just a stationary diving holiday I could justify carrying the extra 10kg of equipment, but considering that we're spending 75% of our honeymoon doing other activities, hauling my stuff was a mistake. The bag is quite inconvenient.
In the evening it was the same routine: Krysia studying her theory (final exam tomorrow) while I went out to catch some Wi-Fi at Eddie's. Internet here is really on and off and my trip was mostly in vain. A beer later I was able to finally get my dad on Skype back at our room. Now comes decision time. The original plan was to go to Banaue and Sagada (rice fields and hanging coffins) but that requires a trip back to Manila followed by a 9 hour night bus each way. Considering we only have three days left before we leave the Philippines, this idea doesn't seem so fresh. An opportunity arose to go dive the Apo Reef in the west. But we're facing the same problem. It's a bus ride, followed by a couple hour boat ride, followed by a four hour bus ride, followed by a boat ride. Plus diving there is horrifically expensive: we're looking at close to $200 per person for just one day of diving in conditions that are far from perfect. So our decision is to stay here for two more days, perhaps do one additional day of diving and then do a trip to a beach and just chill before heading out. At this point, our honeymoon is about relaxing, not about busting our balls going place to place.
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| Night view from our dive shop. Courtesy of Stefan Uhlmann. |
We headed out to Sabang Point just with Krysia and John, to practice some of her OW skills. It was fun to finally have her as a buddy, though she was doing the "get your ass up in the air" thing and floating with her bootie up. Oh the adventures of a beginning diver. But the girl loves diving and she's going to become a certified mermaid soon.
Back home it was cooking time. That turned out a bit of a disappointment, since afritada sauce is basically tomato sauce. But the missus liked it: it was probably the chicken (the meaty girl she is). A break from the routine nonetheless and a big meal to boot. Both of us seem to be losing weight as planned. Not that we're jumping on scales daily: there are none around. But all the clothes are starting to feel a little bit loose. Will soon be time to lose some luggage as we go on.
Note to fellow divers: don't bother taking your equipment if you're going backpacking. If this were just a stationary diving holiday I could justify carrying the extra 10kg of equipment, but considering that we're spending 75% of our honeymoon doing other activities, hauling my stuff was a mistake. The bag is quite inconvenient.
In the evening it was the same routine: Krysia studying her theory (final exam tomorrow) while I went out to catch some Wi-Fi at Eddie's. Internet here is really on and off and my trip was mostly in vain. A beer later I was able to finally get my dad on Skype back at our room. Now comes decision time. The original plan was to go to Banaue and Sagada (rice fields and hanging coffins) but that requires a trip back to Manila followed by a 9 hour night bus each way. Considering we only have three days left before we leave the Philippines, this idea doesn't seem so fresh. An opportunity arose to go dive the Apo Reef in the west. But we're facing the same problem. It's a bus ride, followed by a couple hour boat ride, followed by a four hour bus ride, followed by a boat ride. Plus diving there is horrifically expensive: we're looking at close to $200 per person for just one day of diving in conditions that are far from perfect. So our decision is to stay here for two more days, perhaps do one additional day of diving and then do a trip to a beach and just chill before heading out. At this point, our honeymoon is about relaxing, not about busting our balls going place to place.
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