Anilao Dive: My first 30 ft deep sea encounter with Nemo

05 February 2008: The Sumbrero Island quest is a good start of the year; it was trailed by a deep sea encounter with Nemo just a month after. 

I used to call him Kuya Dolfo; a cousin/bestfriend of my Daddy which is based in Guam. He’s a diver and owns a small shop that sells diving stuff and accessories as well as offering diving packages somewhere in Guam. He used to visit us every year and never ever end his vacation without diving in Anilao, he found the place a superb and a naturally beautiful unlike other diving spots he’d gone through.

That day, I’m not thinking of diving into the deep sea of Balayan Bay or in Isla Verde passage, rather I just want to jump (a casual dive) again in the middle of the bay and intentionally record it because I forgot to do that last time with my cousins.

Maricaban Island (view from the rocky shore of Anilao)

on the way to dive site

Kuya Tonio, Daddy and Kuya Jojo 

Few hours after Kuya Dolfo, his Japanese friend (Kaemi?) and their local dive master (DM) fix their diving stuff, we headed into the middle of Isla Verde passage and they dove into the sea and we’ll be waiting them in the boat for half an hour. Then, this is my time to do my unfinished business, jump/dive into the open sea, record it and that’s it. Done! Since I did what I want, I’m already happy and my day is now complete.

(recorded by my brother-in-law 'Val', can hear also voice of my Daddy)

Thirty minutes had passed and we saw the divers few meters towards our left. After their fulfilling dive, we took a rest to the nearby shore, had some drinks and chips. Out from nowhere,

Kuya Dolfo asked me, “Do you want to see the life under the deep sea?” 

Then I excitedly replied, “Yes! Of course but I don’t have my diving license yet.”

Kuya Dolfo said, “It’s ok, I will take good care of you.”

I immediately get the extra diving suit we brought, extra 30-minute oxygen, goggles and other diving accessories. He oriented me for a few minutes about the basic signs in communicating underwater. Actually, I’m not that excited because I did already my unfinished business. Besides, I’m not really thinking of doing that because I don’t have diving license yet. But here we go, straight from the shoreline we swam few meters away and reached the 30 ft deep sea and saw the stunning home of Nemo and his friends. The corals look amazing and the sound under the sea was relaxing. It feels like you are in a world of fairies and fantasies. It was a 15-minutes breath-taking encounter with Nemo, an unexpected experience to treasure and to pursue in time.

Kaemi? (Japanese friend of my Kuya Dolfo)

Unfortunately, I haven’t still got the underwater photos from my Kuya Dolfo until now. Photos and video here came from my Nokia 6300.