In October '05 I traveled to Balicasag Island, a short slow boat ride from the larger island of
Bohol. The island is small enough to walk around in 30-40 minutes if not stopping for
photos. The residents seem to make their living serving the Dive Resort and selling souvenir
rare shells to tourists, not fishing. All were friendly. I don't know how they survive. Nothing
seems to be grown on the island. The Dive Resort has 20 cottages, one dive shop, bar and
the only restaurant of Balicasag. The Philippines Tourism Authority operates the business. I
was there for eight days of SCUBA diving at a leisurely pace of two to three dives per day.
Costs to me were very low as typical worker wages are about $3US per day.
Diving was excellent, but not fantastic. One side of the island had a fantastic wall. The other
side a sloping reef. I saw and photographed most all of even the rare creatures, but did so
with one opportunity only most cases. I had my own private dive guide (no extra cost) as I
was the only diver for a few of my eight days.
Food was good. Many of the familiar dishes were subject to Philippine interpretation.
Mango juice and mango shakes couldn't be beat.
My first flight was one hour late departing, and so made me quite anxious, but all
connections went without problems.
I took my digital camera (Canon 20D) for the above water photos and used my film camera
for the underwater shots (Canon A2E in Ikelite case, dual strobes) which gave me greater
freedom than previous trips for daytime photography.
Click on the link below for a gallery of images underwater (fishy stuff), dry land island stuff. I
hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoyed "hunting" for them.
All copy rights reserved
Steve
notes for photos in the galleries:
#4825: the city of Tagbilaran; home of the nearest airport
4828: departing "harbor"
4863: checking nets for a rare shell catch
4877: remodeling resort cottage with hand tools. No Makita here
4882: new engine for an island taxi. In the US we would rent a crane of sorts for hundreds of $'s. Here:8 guys,
10 minutes; $8
4903: caught a sea snake
4913: "my 7-11"
4939: my dive guide/master
4940: my dive boat driver over his 16Hp Briggs & Straton
4996: restaurant in Tagbilaran with a cowboy theme. My guide had no idea where Wyoming or Colorado were.
4981: island taxi
00171: black frog fish eye