The Philippines - Bohol (Acro Point)

My prayers have been heard and after last night’s storm the sky was clear. As we got on the boat and started towards our dive site I realised that today is the perfect day for diving. The sun was shining but not burning as from time to time a thin sheet of cloud covered it for a while. The sea was as calm as I’ve ever seen it before, reflecting back the sky. We had a smaller boat today as there were only four of us signed up for today’s dive and the couple seemed like seasoned divers so everything was calm and relaxed.

It could’ve been lovely except for one thing.

The reason I like the way Paul takes photos is that he doesn’t hinder anybody’s dive, not even mine. He tries a few shots and hopes one of them is good but would never spend more than a few minutes with a certain animal. This couple however was different. The man seemed to be the spotter (spotted things to be photographed) and the woman took the shots. This however took her a very long time and we spent precious minutes using up air waiting for her many times during one dive. I understand that this is her dive, her time and she wants to take a perfect photo of something she might never see before but at the same time it is our dive as well and I think it doesn’t cost anything to be a bit more considerate towards other people in your group. This was the first time I experienced something like this.

 

Apart from these little annoying moments the dives were great. The dive spots were next to a white sandy slope and the current or the waves pushed the sand down to the wall we were diving in front of. This made the whole underwater scenery look like a winter wonderland, it was very special. It also lent a great background for some of the photos as the colours looked vibrant against the white.

This fish is called the pegasus (or sea moth for the less imaginative). Can you see its wings? 

These fish swim upside down. You can see their eyes close to the sea floor.

The break during the dives was again very peaceful. The French couple wasn’t up for socialising and we were happy to lie and soak up some sun, getting up only to pop a slice of pineapple or two in our mouths. One of the crew started fishing from the front of our boat. A fisherman on his boat quietly passed us in the distance. We saw a school of flying fish jumping in front of our boat here and there. It was so peaceful! Our guide even fell asleep but miraculously got up exactly after an hour break and ordered us to jump in again.

Nice dive again, our last one in Bohol. 

We were back for lunch. Then, as we had nothing to do, we went to the beach. We laid our towels down. We went into the sea to swim (without diving gear) the first time we started our holiday. We got out and just read our books in the sun. I actually felt like I’m on holiday! We were resolved that we will go home paler than we looked before the holiday but this afternoon gave us a chance to get some tan. We both burnt, of course, even with sun cream on.     

We finished our day with dinner on the beach.