Have Internet Will Travel A blog about travel freelancing in the Philippines

We got back from Siquijor Tuesday night and spent most of Wednesday relaxing, catching up on emails and doing a bit of work we’d put off before we left.

On Thursday we headed into town to run some errands. We had a few things on our list to accomplish, the most important of which, was to renew our visas. We weren’t sure how long the process would take and since we’re planing to head to Boracay next week we decided to get it over with sooner rather than later. We had a rough idea where the immigration office was, but after wandering for a few blocks more than we’d have liked in the hot sun, we came across a travel agent (next on our to-do-list), so we decided stop in there. A friendly filipina helped us with a couple of options on getting to Boracay and then pointed us in the right direction of the immigration office.
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While Kelly is a certified Dive Master and has done more than 150 dives during her various travels, I was always somewhat reserved about getting involved in the sport. Partially because it was her hobby and I was into motorcycles, giving us each our own independent, expensive, recreational interests. More so because the idea of submerging yourself underwater with a can of air can be daunting at first. But, given that we’re in such legendary aquatic surroundings, I decided to do a discovery dive.

After getting fitted with a wetsuit, fins, mask, weights, regulator, and BCD (Buoyancy Control Device… basically a vest that fills with air) another couple and I submerged below the surface of the five foot deep pool at the resort and proceeded to learn the basics of diving from Phillip our instructor. Learning to clear the mask when full of water, signs to communicate underwater, how to find the regulator if you should lose it, and basic buoyancy control came to me quickly. So that afternoon we continued the discovery dive in the house reef beside the resort. Lucky for me, the house reef at El Dorado is a marine sanctuary with an abundance of fish, corals, and sea life. Going no deeper than 10 meters, I had an amazing first dive surrounded by all kinds of coral and small fishes. I was even lucky enough to see a turtle. Needless to say, I was hooked and dubbed the ‘Canadian Fish’.
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Saturday morning we left for Siquijor. A small island about 45 minutes from Dumaguete. We got up early and took a trike into town, had breakfast and then headed to the pier. We had planned to take one of the larger car ferries because we heard they were reliable and unlike the fast ferries there is room to walk around, stretch your legs and check out the view from the open decks. However, when we arrived at the pier we were informed that the 10am ferry was cancelled during low season, so instead we ended up taking one of the Delta Fast Ferries, instead.

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OK I know I missed a week. But some how the days here just seem to fly by. I’m amazed by people who manage to post everyday. Here I am living in a tropical paradise where my biggest decision of the day is ‘should I read my book by the pool or in a hammock?’ and I can barely manage to post once a week, let alone once a day.

Anyway, over the last two weeks we’ve been settling in to life in the Philippines. As I mentioned in the last post we moved into a new place, which has been great. After three weeks of eating out it’s been great to be able to cook for ourselves. And although it’s a little small, it’s nice to have somewhere to call home, even if it is only temporary. Read More…

As some of you know, before we left Canada, I purchased a brand new, and very expensive toy to allow me to take, what I hope will one day be some great underwater shots.

I started by testing my new toy in the pool. I wasn’t quite ready for that big blue ocean, and decided that somewhere safer, like the resort pool, would be a better first step. Plus this way if I flooded it on the first try, at least it wouldn’t be in salt water.

With Mike as my test subject I cautiously stepped into the pool and slowly submerged my expensive camera. When I was confident there were no leaks I splashed around a bit and took a few shots. It’s heavier than I expected and took a bit of getting used to, but once I’m deep in the ocean the weight wont really be an issue.  Read More…