Sloely but surely getting ‘back in the saddle’ after a spell of feeling a little under par.
After a relatively light breakfast (a whole banana and slice of bread) we head out to dive Bethlehem, this is one of those coral rubble areas which hides all sorts of critters.
Immediately after submerging I check the camera. The sharper minded amongst you will not be at all surprised to learn that I executed those two tasks in the wrong order.
What no strobe power on my snoot torch? I must have put the dang battery in the wrong way around (being male I’m qualified for such bafoonery) I take my camera back to the surface and check but, no, it was in the right way around, ok, so it must be flat (I assumed). So I head off to do the dive using my conventional strobe instead. No drama, just different pictures.
We see all kinds of Nudi’s as well as the now ubiquitous (though formerly uber rare) Rhinopia so we take pictures though nothing super clever, I different lens would have helped.
Back on the boat it’s time for coffee and oreos. The mis behaving snoot torch is investigated, the source of the issue being crud on the battery compartment seal.
Romnick takes a knife to it and before long, it’s all polished up and ready for action once again.
The second site is Minilog which this time produces a plethora of the big pink nudi’s with the yellow gills (hugely photogenic) as well as a fair few other species, including one which measured 7″ long, a monster nudi!
We return to the boat and then to base where a number of guests have left so we elect to change positions in the camera room (a failing light and duff power sockets were just too much of an issue!) whilst there are plenty of unoccupied positions.
Then off to lunch where I had chosen something off the menu, yes, I had gone all off piste and chosen noodles with vegitables, it was lovely though it was pointed out that it looked (and tasted) like a ‘pot noodle’. I was happy and shall be ordering that again soon.
For a change we did not have to order our evening meal after lunh as we are dining out tonight at ‘Joannes’. Not a local bistro but actually the house of one of the members of staff here who we have come to know well.
Back on board in the PM for a swift couple of dives (we limited them to 1hr as we had a date night at 7.00pm so first we dive at Sun View where a coarse sandy seabed is loaded with coral outcrops with plenty of critter action. We then stay on board whilst the boat is moved around to Mainit School which is another critter rich site, even more rich now that the light has gone.
Fairly soon we come across a flamboyant cuttle fish which is out on the hunt, after that it’s mostly nudi after nudi, awesome!
Again we curtail activities at 60 minutes which is just as well because when we get back to shore we find that our hosts are already ready for us so it’s a quick wash and change then off we head.
Joanne leads us along the path through the densely packed accommodations, pointing out who lives where along the way. Everyone here is so very friendly.
Before long we arrive at Joannes place where we meet her aunty Sonia and husband Dave and are greeted by a packed table of freshly prepared food which included Pork Adobe, roast chicken deep fried Talapia, rice, fries, salad, Lumpia, all manner of dressings and dips (chili’s were well represented here) and a selection of fresh fruit.
Plenty to drink including water, Royale, coke and Red Horse beer, what an amazing feast.
The doughnuts were a present from us, I was under strict orders not to eat any of them!