1 gig of mixed mp3s. 1 liter of water. 2 dunkin donuts. 1 sausage mcmuffin. 2 fresh buko. 3 and a half hours of total ascent / descent time. 1 hour of total rest. 1 phone-in climbmate. zero actual climbmate/s. 1 new summit trail and one scorching hot monday afternoon.
it’s supposed to be my training climb for the mindanao climb this coming weekend. but now i’m not so sure i still wanna go…
i wanted one last big climb for the year, that’s why i said yes to the major climb in ozamis. but after my solo climb last weekend, i think thats already what i wanted. its now time to prioritize
the ape is too busy to write about it or post them top 11 pix. all i can say for now is, their tourism slogan “amazing thailand”… its not just a couple of words they use to sell their country to the tourists, i actually found it perfectly correct.
since last last weekend, my summer is officially over. its now time to take a breather and settle the damages and eventually build up the stash again. after that, then i’ll be able to really start saving up for my truck. its the rainy season now. and i gotta stay put. it was a very busy first half of the year, and these five are the best of it
RANK #5 — The Batch Sabaw Check-Out Weekend
it was the end of the PADI openwater diver course for 6 of my friends. carl, fhay, bryan, jay, pammy and joby. and the whole FunDiveAsia gang was there to give support and additional chaos. it was a weekend of compressed air, weird poker faces, silly impersonations, buffet wars, brokeback moments, underwater dryhumping and low-low dance showdowns. i couldnt wait to dive with the whole Batch Sabaw again
RANK #4 — The Calamian Islands and Wrecks
it was one of my trips this year that i wasnt really whole-hearted to go but ended up being so damn glad i did. the islands with white beaches. the surreal sunsets. the great food and laid back accommodation. the amazingly clear visibility of the wrecks. the crystalline lakes. and yea, that trip has a few firsts. first time to ride a non aircon airplane and a chaotic superferry. but still, me and my friends had an awesome time and i know id be back there one of these days…
RANK #3 — The Masbate Exploration For New Dive Sites
boss rico arranged a dive exploration in the islands of ticao in the province of masbate. the aim was to find new dive spots in that area to be promoted to foreign and local divers. it was a totally rough adventure. a few spots were a disappointment but most of the areas we tried to dive were promising, expecially the ones with the roughest underwater currents. we slept in tents pitched on white sandy beaches. ate freshly cooked local food. got drunk over cuervo golds and quatro cantos. went gorilla crazy on a huge waterfall. burned marshmallows over a campfire. and more.
RANK #2 — The Four Minus One Getaway
the original line up for this trip was me, bino, myk and dell. it was something we planned since november last year for the four of us. but since i accidentally fractured myk’s left ankle and it had to be cemented like in the old pinoy comedy films, he wasnt able to come with us. so dell, bino and i pushed thru, the first stop was apo island negros oriental, nice resort and great diving. overnight and then we were off to cebu via a ceres bus and ro-ro from dumaguete. malapascua island was the next destination and we were successful on seeing the thresher sharks. went back to cebu city and spent another night there. met new friends and roamed around the nice places in the city.
RANK #1 — The City of Smiles And Way Way More
my first time in negros occidental. and it was purely amazing. the people. the places. the authentic inasal. the seafood. the old friends. the lovely new ones. the long drives. the videoke. the tequila and jägermeister shots. the smb lights and pilsens. the beach and nice dives of sipalay. the napoleones. the cuddly big labs. the superb inaka dinner. the blabs of the drunk. and the long goodbyes. im so amazed and thankful to my bacolod friends and their family for being sooo hospitable. its the best getaway so far for me this year. i’ll see you again in the maskara festival
hehehe. sa wakas, the gang of crazies finally decided to take the PADI open water diver course. they did their check out dives in Dive and Trek Resort, in Bauan, Batangas just this weekend. Pool sessions pa lang last week, i already knew that its gonna be one hell of a crazy check out weekend nyahahaha the photos and videos aint sorted out yet and im still waiting for the other sets, so eto na lang muna, a video from that weekend, carl at his best nyhahaha…
hehehe. congrats to carl, bryan, fhay, jay, joby and pammy. happy birthday ulet syu pam
masyado pang bangag ang araw na to. eto na lang muna post ko, a video from one of our wreck dives in coron. i use an ancient olympus point and shoot cam so you gotta forgive the quality hehehe. i took this one down at the Kogyo Maru shipwreck, a japanese freighter sunk back in World War 2. CLICK HERE if you wanna look at the Coron photos (hindi pa kumpleto ang copies though)
RoaaARRR!!! bino in his glamour model pose Nitrogen Narc!!! yan ang effect ng masyadong maraming nitrogen sa katawan 1.5 Knots of Pure Kuryente! hahaha! dito sa ticao and totoong rak en rol sa ilalim ng tubig! Trust Us! Sila ang divemaster at instructor ng FunDiveAsia, o di ba, palicense na sa kanila dali! itsura pa lang ulam na! Ang Hangen Pareeh!!! agos ba kamo? lets head down to ticao Yun Yun Eh! there’s an abundance of digicams on the diveboat, what dya expect Macro Nudi!!! another great macro shot, this one is either from jox or pax, galeng!!! The Fez & The Lips! anong sinabi ni jovet moya? ha? ha?? do you know him? major yan, like major ret Maglaro Tayo ng Apoy! yan si gio, jumpin the flames after getting a dose of freshly brewed native chicken egg!! Its Complicated! the last time we dove together was decades ago, ngayon rescue diver na sya, and she kept on insisting to give me CPR hehehe joke lang jox of the sea I Got It For Ya! thats chelsey, the saturday sunset model of donsol Sweeter Than The Ray of Light! hehehehe sana ndi mag online parents ko in the coming weeks Hazel and the Rainbow Connection! hanep sa smile ah! parang nanalo ng kabuhayan showcase si hazel! Bicolandia Express! you want food? authentic bicolano food? well you gotta try Let’s WTF! Pating!!! its kinda funny something so humongous would prefer to eat the smallest stuff like mothafriggin planktons Darna!!! hehehehe ding ang batoooooh!!! ang batoooh! baket mo isinubo akin yan!
the photos and videos aint sorted out yet and im still waiting for the other sets, so eto na lang muna, a video from that weekend, carl at his best nyhahaha…
