This is it: back to Paris

After a very long journey, catching 3 planes and being lucky enough to fly at all (typhoon threat) we made it back to Paris on Wednesday.
Luckily the weather was very warm here though the temperature has dropped. So much for the summer but hey, next week the South of France!
Below a picture from Hong Kong Airport.

Last dives

Funny that it was enough to get to a different side of the island to find almost a perfectly flat ocean!
We went diving on the reef wall descending some 30m deep. My dive buddies were Japanese (the girls) and Filipino.
Ah, last dives before many months...

Stormy morning

We had a huge storm last night. Ferry and air services were interrupted and several boats were completely destroyed (see the picture below) but still I decided to dive as this was my last chance before flying back to Manila tomorrow and then to Paris.

Wet season

I wasn't posting much recently or a very simple reason: it rained quite a lot so I just hanged around the pool or the hotel room and that's it!

The rain was rather spectacular, first glance: our resort

Fish & coconuts

Look at these pretty fish. We marvel about them when scuba diving and snorkelling, so pretty and then guess what? You can eat them from barbecue on the beach!
Second picture is my today's breakfast: buko, local name for coconut.
Tomorrow: scuba diving!

Back to Panglao Island in Bohol

We're back!
And the sunshine too!
It's probably the only place in the Philippines where it doesn't rain and the weather is not cloudy.
After one night at the same resort we stayed at last time we changed it today, a more luxurious and comfortable one although better price!
We're loving it.
After a whole day spent by the pool we went for a massage and a lovely seafood (birthday) dinner on the beach.
What a lovely day!
In the programme we have more scuba diving around the island.

Ship Wreck scuba diving

Luckily Coron Bay is well known of its Japanese ship wrecks from WWII. There's 10 of them I think and some of them are over 200m long!!!!
We went for a day of scuba diving, at least it didn't rain. I saw 4 wrecks and dived into 3 of them. It is really amazing to be entering a sunken ship and different rooms one after another at sometimes 30m under sea level. Narrow passages, scared fish..
It really seemed like making Titanic again with James Cameron! Great experience. It really improved our experience of Coron.

But tomorrow morning we're leaving for Manila and... back to Bohol, Panglo island :)

From Cebu to Coron

I thought: let's not go to the most popular beach island (Boracay) but instead let's go to one of the best diving spots (for ship wrecks) in the world: Coron in Palawan.
It wasn't a successful decision really...
When we got here, in the middle of nowhere, there was no actual beach, it was raining and we could count foreign (read white) tourists on two hands fingers....
Decision was quick: we have to escape! But there was something we would do here before we go. Check the next post!

Miss Swimsuit Philippines 2012

Tonight we were in the front row of Miss Swimsuit Philippines 2012 competition, great fun! Just check the photos.

Cebu

Here we are in Cebu, a big island in the middle of Philippines and an important economical centre.

The weather has been cooler here which is a refreshing change from the usual over 30 degrees and humid air.
We have been out and around a lot and eaten in some great restaurants like the private Japanese cooking dinner, Shangri La and others. But we also took the pleasure of tasting the simplest of foods served in the streets in improvised eateries being really converted rooms in a house where the family still lives. (grandma does the cooking).
The last photo is of durian - an Asian speciality fruit highly sought after. It's hmmm VERY smelly. But yummy! What kind of smell? The poo (shit) smell! ;)

Tarsier and Chocolate Hills

Two days ago we went on a tour around the island (with a private driver mind you). He took us to local main attractions: preservation park for tarsiers (the smallest living primates) - so cute! and to Chocolate Hills.
Why they are called this way? Because these strange landscape formations turn brown in the dry season. Beautiful view.

Food!!

We are very much experiencing the local food. When in Bohol we mostly went for seafood. Delicious!

The Island of Panglao in Bohol

We spent over two days on a lovely island Panglao in the Bohol province.
We stayed in a tiny resort belonging to Marjorie's friend. Close to a lovely beach with white sugar sand and blue waters.

I went scuba diving one day and must say it was one of the best dives I had! The richness of the sea life, fish corals and sea turtles was very impressive.

Swimming with dolphins!

Yet another of my big dreams came true last Sunday when we went to Subic Bay, north of Manila to an aqua park. We were able to swim with the dolphins!
A truly amazing experience! Unforgettable!
Wonderful creatures, hard to believe that Japanese slaughter them to eat their meat...

1st stop in Philipines: Manila

Last Sat we took the plane to Manila, the capital of Philippines.
It is a huge, I mean really huge agglomeration made of several cities. Population: 15 million.
What can I say about the city? Ugly and messy although there some nice areas.
Apart from the picture with my Paris friend David (who lives and works there) I have no other pics from Manila. You know why...