Capturing the Moment

  Apo Island   Apo Island is a small island off the coast of Dauin, Philippines. The scuba diving here is a stark contrast to the nearby shoreline of Dauin. Huge coral reefs cover every square inch of ground in some areas around the island. Massive schools of jacks hang just off the deeper parts of the reef bathed in current and rich in food. Small reef fish stay close to the protective corals they call home. They do have to share their beautiful neighborhood with turtles, sea snakes, and cuttlefish as well.   Soft corals fight hard corals for space in the shallows and down the submerged walls of Apo Island. It is usually done as a day trip from one of the many dive resorts over in Dauin. We planned a 3 dive day trip. When I saw how small the island was and how fast the current was I thought we would see everything on the first two dives but our guide saved the best for last.   The first two dives were drift dives along the sloping walls. This is where we...

Colors of the deep, who knew?   Scuba Diving Gato Island, Philippines    Since the discovery of a thresher shark dive near Malapascua Island, adventurous divers have been flocking to the golden sand shores of this little tropical island north of Cebu, Philippines. Everyone wants to see big animals like the threshers. Those in the know come here for two reasons; thresher sharks and tiny macro critter hunting. The place to go for the latter is a nearby rock, jutting straight up out of the clear blue water, covered in dense jungle. Terns squawk as they fly in and out of caves and overhangs, but the real wildlife lives just underwater. Gato is famous for sea snakes but also houses treasures like sea horses, nudibranchs, frogfish, and even little white tip reef sharks.    Colors and patterns of all kinds shock the senses as you dive around the island. The shallows are best for nudibranchs and frogfish, while the sea horses like it a bit deeper. Wi...