The Old Diver: Philippines Diving Part 3 - Verde Island Passage Marine Sanctuary
Enormous table coral - West side of 'The Pinnacle'
If you visit Puerto Galera, Philippines, and you only have one day to dive, make it Verde Island. The sheer volume of the marine life around this island is staggering. I have yet to dive a location with as much life crammed into one cubic foot of space as this place.
The Verde Island Passage is a strait that separates the islands of Luzon and Mindoro, connecting the South China Sea with the Tayabas Bay and the Sibuyan Sea beyond. It is considered to be one of the most healthy and biodiverse marine ecosystems on the planet today.
Tuesday, May 31st was our day to visit this incredible place. You can get a dive trip to this island from any of the dive shops in Puerto Galera. Verde Island is a huge ecotourism stop in the Philippines and every dive shop goes there. It is interesting to note however, that there is very little information about the sanctuary for the local population and almost no one, except the dive operators, knows the area is protected.
The island is remote and there are a couple of eco-friendly resorts on the southern shore that provide very isolated and eco-oriented vacation packages. We were told that electricity at these resorts is by generator only and the electricity is shut off at 10pm each night. The island is explored by vacationers on foot and that the island is a wonderful vacation if you really want to dive and totally get away from civilization.
We boarded our Banca at 8:00 am in front of Atlantis Dive Resort. The trip across the passage takes about an hour. The sky was a deep blue, the air was cool, and the sea was calm and inviting as we left out of Sabang harbor and headed East toward the island.
Verde Island is due East of Puerto Galera
There are several dive sites around the island, but you could spend the whole day diving The Pinnacle. The Pinnacle is a sea mount that rises up just off the Southern tip of the island. The peak of The Pinnacle just breaks the surface. The East side of the peak drops off sharply to the depths and the whole dive site is known as The Drop Off.
Verde Island Dive Site Map - Note "Drop Off" on the South Side of the island
We dropped in on the South side of the Pinnacle over deep water with the wall dropping off sheer below us. We swam out with the wall to our left and circled the peak counterclockwise reaching a depth of 100 feet. Everything you see in this place is extraordinary. The sheer mass of marine life is mind boggling. You're swimming in a constant cloud of life, completely surrounded always by fish.
Verde Island - Constant Cloud of Fish
The coral growth on the wall beside you as you swim is hard to imagine and equally hard to find the words to adequately describe. Besides the unequaled volume of marine life and diversity, one of the features of this dive site is an enormous sea fan at about 100 feet.
Verde Island - Giant Sea Fan
It is easily 80 square feet or larger with the size estimated by Larry, our Divemaster, to be 3 meters tall by 3 meters wide. Watch for it in the video. It is so large, that it is featured on the dive site map.
Drop Off dive site map - note the Giant Sea Fan in center
Our route took us completely around the East side of the peak ending over the North ledge of the Coral Gardens. Once back in the boat, unlike after most dives, there was very little talk, as we all struggled to come to terms with the mind blowing magnitude of the beauty we had just intimately experienced. We headed back to a charming remote beach oasis for a snack before heading back out to the Pinnacle for our second dive.
Video - Verde Island Drop Off East - May 2016
As beautiful as the East side of the Pinnacle is, the West side is, in my opinion, even more beautiful. The Drop Off West remains my favorite dive to date. I became lost in the beauty of the place. It was as close as I've ever come to an out of body experience...Zen...one with the ocean.
The West side is much less steep than the East side and slopes gently down to the West creating a mind numbing expanse of unbroken coral growth and clouds of fish. You cannot find any inch of bottom that is not touched by life on this dive. The sea bed is cloaked in color and the water is filled with a continuous unbroken cloud of fish. It is truly amazing to behold.
We dropped in over the West side of the Coral Gardens, basically where we ended the last dive, and very slowly began working our way counterclockwise down the West face of the gently sloping side of the Pinnacle. It was hard to focus on any one particular creature as the water was so full. But we encountered several different eels, hard and soft corals of such diversity it would be impossible to keep track, small, medium and large.
Frog fish of all colors and sizes, puffers, triggers, damsel, butterfly, trumpet, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera....watch the video, you'll quickly see what I mean.
Video - Verde Island Drop Off West - May 2016
Once again, the boat ride back to the beach was quiet save for the hum of the engine. We were all lost in our minds trying to hold on to every image, classify it safely in our memories so we could easily recall them in the future as a defense against the real world we were doomed to return to all too soon.
We were served a light lunch of fish and salad prepared in local fashion that we washed down with fresh coconut water sipped from a natural straw straight from the coconut. Our eyes were somewhat glazed over as we discussed and compared the marvels we had witnessed on the morning dives.
One dive to go in this beautiful remote place before heading back across the passage to Sabang. Our boat elected to finish the day's diving with some excitement and a huge contrast to the slow floating beauty of the Pinnacle. We elected to drop into The Washing Machine.
There are many many 'Washing Machine' type dives around the world. All of them created from currents that funnel through some narrow cut or canyon, creating a swift current with eddies and swirls that promise a wild underwater ride. Such are the underwater coral formations off the Northwest point of Verde Island. Very shallow and narrow coral canyons that usually funnel modest currents around the point of the island into swift rushing currents that are a fun ride for any diver.
On this day however, the Washing Machine was on gentle cycle and we were really blessed to be able to explore in detail the bottom and walls of the intricate maze of coral canyons in this area. As you watch the video, take note of the scoured bottom and sides of the entrance to the Washing Machine. You can see how the swift currents keep the bottom and sides of these canyons free of all but the hardiest of coral growth.
Video - Verde Island Washing Machine - May 2016
As sometimes happens in the South Pacific, the weather had closed in quickly and a thunderstorm had rumbled through while we were underwater. We noticed a flash or two of lightning while on the dive, but when we surfaced, the storm had passed.
The sea was a bit angrier as we headed back across the passage, but a cold San Miguel Pale Pilsner, the company of great friends, and the feeling of weary contentment that always follows a great day of diving softened the trip back to Sabang. Just like all great days of diving, this amazing day had ended far too soon.
I had visited and explored a place revered among marine scientists around the world as a haven of marine diversity and yet a place whose treasures many Filipinos are completely unaware. It is difficult now to recall in my mind's eye the scenes of beauty I witnessed.
If you visit Puerto Galera, Philippines, and you only have one day to dive, make it Verde Island.
