That afternoon, we were to do the final dive for my IANTD Cave course. Doing the training with me was my tech dive buddy and employer, Scott Livingston.

The dive objective was to penetrate “Paul’s Peril”. This tunnel goes further and deeper into Pawod Cave. Running 30 meters farther from the main chamber, its maximum depth reaches 18 meters/ 60ft. Only a handful of men have previously penetrated this tight restriction. I was to be the 5th one allowed the privilege.

The Pawod Cave was discovered by Dr. Alfonso Amores. Trained in cave diving techniques in the freshwater caves of Florida, he is the first diver ever to shine his light into the cave and lay a line around the main chamber. In his childhood years, he was one of the many kids that used the cave’s main pool as a swimming hole to ward off the summer heat. more»

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The Philippines has one of the longest coastlines in the world. As an archipelago of approximately 7,100 islands, the seas around our country continue to be the main source of cheap protein for a majority of our ever increasing population.

Over the years, unlimited human exploitation of our marine  resources has pushed it to the point of  irreversible damage.  A good example is the classic woe of small fishermen, who now have to expend more fuel and time in pursuit of fish in distant areas. Not too long ago, a bountiful catch could be made just a few meters from the shoreline.

Fishery scientists will say that the Catch Per Unit Effort (CPU) has exceeded the Maximum Sustainable Yield  (MSY) of a particular fishery resource. 

For most of us Filipinos, this simply translates to the  prospect of not being able to afford to eat Tangigue or Marlin steak unless we  win the lotto. As it is, many can’t afford this “luxury” anymore. more»

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Dives with Fred Quilala (a.k.a. Fred Q) are always interesting – what with his laid back attitude, his penchant for offbeat humor, his quirky tales, and whatnot.

The originator of the now infamous 3P dive (infamous in most Cebu dive circles, anyway), Fred has a way of making his dive buddies fall in love – not only with the underwater experience, but with his sense of adventure as well.

Indeed, many have fallen prey to the charm of this fascinating creature, who aptly labels himself “a shark trapped in a man’s body.”

In fact, drop his name around the dinner table, and at least one person would have a hilarious anecdote to share.

To date, this dashing diver has collected numerous friends and logged 881 dives in 15 logbooks. Fifteen logbooks? How does one fill fifteen logbooks? When asked to share his most noteworthy logs, however, Fred demurred. His logbooks, he says, contain (er, uhm) personal things that are not all related to diving. Interesting reading though this may make, we have to content ourselves with a rare glimpse of the 3P dive log. more»

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"Sus intawon sir, nag ligid-ligid intawon ang inahan.  Puwerteng tyabaw."

Such chilling description of a mother’s reaction upon learning of her son’s drowning accident is not easily forgotten.  He was only in his early 20’s.

After the customary dive at Pescador Island (yes, a must if you are in the area), we collected tanks for our next dive.  We wanted to explore the wall just in front of our favorite Moalboal accommodation – Nang Ester’s. 

It would be an afternoon dive, and we would be entering from the shore.  The drop is about 25m away straight out from the beach.  From the shore, depths will be anywhere from 1 to 2m.  And then the sudden plunge into seeming darkness.

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