Crinkly III Philippines adventure day 3 - Diving to sea some thresher sharks (7/24/19)

Wake up at 4am and make our way down to the shop in the rain so we can make our way out to Monad Shoal to hopefully see some thresher sharks (the sharks with the long sweeping tails). Its a beautiful sky with the clouds from the morning rains as the sun rises. Go down and they have a few areas where you can sit and hopefully see sharks. We actually get to see 5 which was cool but they are some weird/sad looking creatures. 

Partner boat and us set sail in the wee hours... blessed with a beautiful sky to enjoy the long ride out. 

Let the views begin

So many colors... stunning.

Fiery sky with a boat cruising in the water

We have reached the spot, clearly this is why people come to this island.

Made it back to our lil island after our dive

Look how clear that water is...

Crinkly and I posing with animated thresher sharks

Crinkly is ready for some more diving

Crinkly getting suited up

View of the northern part of the island from sea

Crinkly enjoying the views

More wonderful views

Crinkly met a horsy friend

Day being book-ended with amazing cloud action with sun set and rise. 

Jeff enjoying the sky

Younger bro and a wonderful sky line. Good times.

Come back to the island and grab breakfast at the shop (found out they have this great french toast deal that comes with a drink (either smoothy or iced coffee drink) so I get that and it is delicious. Head back out on the boat and do some dives at Chocolate island and Lapus 1 which both had some similar creatures as yesterday but the amount and diversity isnt nearly as great as it is so close to the island compared to the place yesterday which was 45mins by boat from the main island. Get back and relax back at the dive shop with some dinner before heading out for our night dive. This dive has a strong current and instead of going with it our guide has us fighting it to see things which gives both of us these huge headaches from overexertion. Didnt get to see much either, it was a few cuddle fish and urchins and a bunch of crabs just burying themselves as we come to see them. Once we get back, we drink a bunch of water and head to bed by about 9 to sleep off the headache.

Crinkly III Philippines adventure day 2 - Time to do some diving (7/23/19)

Wake up early to do some diving and head to Devocean to try their vaunted breakfast which was delicious but really expensive (which is to be expected) compared to other food places on the island (caters to tourist and divers not locals). Hang at the dive shop until the boat pulls in to take us to Gato island. We do 2 dives in the area. See some sharks chilling in some caves, some huge beautiful starfish, insanely pretty and somewhat unique coral, a few seahorses, cuttlefish, frog fish, and a giant sea snake swam right next to Jeff and I which was pretty cool. Head up to the boat for some lunch then go back down and dive in a cave where we see a bunch of lobster, some crabs running around, some random animals with these glossy beautiful shells and then some cuttlefish eggs near the end of our dive. 

Our chariot awaits

Time to dive

Another group diving in the area as well

Sailing around the island

Out on the open seas

Another beautiful sunset. Hard to get tired of these views.

Heading out for a night dive 

Army of boats cruising by with an interesting sky

Soooo beautiful!!!

Colors are our friends... love how the clouds help accentuate them

Get back to the boat, and cruise on back to the dive shop. Go to hostel to drop stuff off and regroup before going to the little market next to the hostel and get a nice cheap dinner. After eating, grab our gear and head back to the shop to do our night dive. Saw a gorgeous sunset on our way out and then head down to start the dive as it gets dark. See a load of octopuses ranging from tiny to pretty large, some crabs, squid, and these awesome urchins that have these cool neon colors and patterns on them which is amazing in the dark as it glows with the lights. Once we get back on the boat, we head back to the island, shower, and go to bed early as we have to wake up before dawn to get on the boat for our dives the next day.

Crinkly III Philippines adventure day 1 - To Malapascua (7/22/19)

Check out, grab some water bottles, then walk down the road for about a mile or 2 to get to the bus station. we find the bus we were supposed to take and they tell us it will leave in 10 minutes so we go to one of the stalls and order some breakfast sandwiches to go. Right after we order, the bus starts pulling out and we just look at the guy and Jeff goes and tells them to wait as they are leaving early and we were supposed to be on the bus. So they wait for us having pulled out from the station and once we have our sandwiches we jump on board and head out. Bus has AC which is wonderful. Traffic trying to leave the city is no joke, just cars everywhere and congestion everywhere. Make a few stops on the way out of town and then get on the highway and head to the ferry terminal while watching the greatest showman on the lil TVs in the coach. Wait at the ferry terminal for enough passengers to make the trip make sense then we head out on the lil boat across to Malapascua island. They pull as close to shore as possible and have everyone jump out and we walk our way to the Malapascua budget inn to check in. After putting our stuff down, we head over to Devocean to check in and get situated for the next couple days of diving. It is recommended that I get my nitrox certification to stay down longer so I do that that night while Jeff goes wandering. 

Crinkly getting some continuing education done so we can dive with my bro on some of these dives coming up

How far are other Filipino places from where Crinkly is at?

Not a bad view for dinner

Sunset views of the boats on the water by the dive shop

There late enough so we eat dinner at their restaurant (I had the pork adobo which was good) and then head back to the hostel. They were sitting around the main lobby area (outdoor patio where the checkin counter is) singing loud ass karaoke just as a group. I go to shower and get ready for bed but the showers have low pressure so it takes a while and the water tastes like it is salt water which is kinda weird but it is a shower so I will take it. The little shower stalls have no place to put things to keep things dry so it is a challenge keeping clothes and towel dry before the end of the shower. After getting ready for bed, go to lay down and my bunk is the top bunk against the wall and they put the ladder in the bunks against the wall so I have to climb up at an angle as there isnt enough space to climb up normally. Rooms have AC at night so that is nice for sleep.

Crinkly III Philippines adventure day 0 - Flying across the world (7/20-21/19)

Work the day before heading home to finish packing and then getting an uber with my brother to the airport for our red eye flight (leaves just before 1am) to Taipei. As I usually travel light, the airline (Eva Airlines) is strict with their carry on limits and holds their carry on and personal item weights to the published 7 and 5kg respectively. My carry on was at 9 so I had to check my bag which was annoying but is what it is. Due to the hassles, they did give us an exit row seat which was nice to have the extra leg room on the long trans-pacific flight. The plane itself was an older model and showed it. Drink selection wasnt that great but the staff was extremely helpful and attentive. As we fly I come to realize that the movie selection was pretty bad so had to watch what was available while also enjoying the food on the flight quite a bit. As we come in to land, a couple of the over head compartments opened up (like I said plane was old and worn). 

Crinkly looking at some huge orchids in the airport

Some nice window views both real of the city and with printed stickers

Crinkly about to float away

Crinkly is intrigued for some escape sling action

Alright hes ready, lets get some sling action going

so pretty.....

All welcoming prayer room

Crinkly found Pumba

Not sure what this summer promotion is, but Crinkly wants in

Crinkly for scale.

Gates in the terminals had themes which is what we spent our time walking around to find and explore.

Crinkly found some more window art as we walked

Nice little place to chill for a little bit

Crinkly learning some moves

Frands!

The picture youve all been waiting for. We found the kitty.

Get over to and through security after we land and then we go our separate ways as I want to walk around the airport and check it out; the Taipei airport is absolutely beautiful and artistic with each gate having a different theme with informational exhibits and all kinds of cool things to see. Flight to Manila is delayed so we hang out a little more before boarding our flights. Get into Manila and get held up in immigration before finally getting through and getting our bags and find the shuttle to get to the terminal with our flight to Cebu. The airport was a little confusing as the terminals are somewhat spread apart (1 and 2 are very close, maybe walkable, with 3 and 4 each being a distance from each other and from 1 and 2). They load the shuttle with bags and people and we eventually get to terminal 3 where we hang out for a bit before a gate change brings us to the other end of the terminal. All the terminals we were in had free wifi which was nice to stay connected while in transit. Quick flight down to Cebu. Take a taxi to the hotel which is near the bus terminal for the morning commute. Based on the map it showed on my phone the driver took a bit longer route which I guess happens in a lot of places. Check in and put our bags down (the bed had oil stains on the comforter - hotel was the RedDoorz Premium) before heading out to try and find an ATM to get some cash. We walk around the area looking for a bit to different ATMs, get rejected at 4 or 5 before finding one that would work with one of our cards. Walk around a little bit more and grab a quick dinner at the hotel restaurant before grabbing a shower and turning in for the night. 

We have earned a good nights rest. Time for bed.