Ticao Island Classroom Dive
I took the photos on this page at the Ticao Island Classroom Dive. Ticao Island diving in the Philippines has a great diversity of habitats (soft sediments, corals, seagrass, etc.). Additionally, the Philippines has more coastlines per unit than any other tropical area on earth. The Philippines has long been recognized as the world’s center of marine biodiversity. Also, in these islands, five of the seven sea turtle species known to exist in the world today occur in the Philippines waters. We also found the Philippines is one of the most reliable spots in the world to encounter the gentle giant whale shark.
These photos are from a 2 week trip to 2 different resorts in the Philippines. Our first destination was the Ticao Island Resort. Here our guide for Ticao Island diving was Jan Esteban. He was a tremendous help in finding all these amazing small creatures. The Ticao Island Resort is right on the beach. In addition, it has a fabulous view of the distant volcano.
Thresher Shark Dives
Our second location was Thresher Shark Divers on Malapascua Island. It is a first-class dive operation. Wilbert Arriesgado was our expert dive guide during the week. Wilbert had a keen eye for finding microscopic creatures. He was fantastic!
Divers do not often see the Thresher Shark as it is nocturnal and spends most of its time in deep water, but on the small island of Malapascua, just off Cebu’s northern tip, Thresher can find it in the early morning hours.