Anilao, Batangas
Villa Trono
March 07, 2009
One warm but overcast weekend in March, a number of friends and I went to Anilao to dive. It was the first time I'd be out in the open water after I got certified by Scuba Schools International (SSI).
Anilao is reknowned for its captivating dive sites, as well as the diversity of its marine life. It is one of the most highly regarded dive destination in the country as well as being very accessible from Metro Manila.
We stayed at "Villa Trono" (N13 43.406 E120 52.735) which is owned and operated by Romeo Trono - Country Executive Director of Conservation International Philippines, and his wife. The Villa is just a few steps away from the much larger and seriously more expensive Eagle Point Resort.
Accommodation and buffet meals for two days cost a mere Php 2,000. The Villa is Just a few meters from the shore, and was purposely built with the diver's comfort and relaxation in mind.
I can't help but admire the architecture of the place. Ifugao craftsmen constructed the house and skillfully sculpted the various ceiling, walls and floor adornments. The house itself is unique as it is constructed out of corals which were excavated from the foundation of the house. Every nook and cranny seem like a piece of art that is meant to be beheld.
There is a karaoke machine on a treehouse, a stage set complete with songbooks dating back to the 1970s for some acoustic jamming for those who like to play their own music, a rooftop bar with hammocks for those who want to take it all in under a clear night sky, a clear view of Mt. Gulugod Baboy, for which you can grab the binoculars and watch mountaineers trace a line up the mountain.
The meals prepared by Mrs. Trono was a pleasant adventure in itself. I have never tasted so many exquisite flavors on a single trip before. We feasted on fresh salads, and dishes garnished and seasoned with herbs grown in and around the house. Familiar dishes are sometimes recreated with a twist such as the spicy banana flower dish that was cooked in rice husk to give it that distinct and memorable smoky flavor. We were served a large portion of skip jack seasoned with freshly plucked basil and lemon grass, baked and roasted on a genuine pugon. We experienced what it was like to sink out teeth in tender giant squid flesh. Needless to say, Mrs. Trono's kitchen prowess is formidable to say the least.
At our beck and call, 3 server ladies attended to our every whim, bringing us glasses of ice cold water after every dive or seeing to it that our unlimited supply of freshly brewed coffee remains hot in the pot.
The only drawback for divers is that Villa Trono does not have its own compressor. You will need to source your air elsewhere and doing so will set you back Php 200 a tank.
We dove only once on the first day, as my companions and I were more interested in relaxing and savoring the warm breezy afternoon, than donning on our scuba gear.
We dove Trono House Reef (75ft) which is a small swim away from the Cathedral. There was a great abundance of reef fishes and coral structures. As with many places in Anilao, numerous points of interest will keep any diver preoccupied until he or she runs low on air. They have a marker there: a coral covered statue of the biblical Mary, looking out towards the infinite blue of the ocean beyond the shallows.
The next day we dove three times.
We went to The Cathedral (60ft) (N13 43.467 E120 52.645) and were harassed by spoiled reef
fishes that would swarm around you effectively reducing visibility to about 5 inches from your nose. We hung around the cross for a while, wary of the trigger fish that they say lives on the base of the building-like coral structure to the right side of the cross.
We almost missed the Cathedral while following the "line of corals" which serves as a landmark to reach the dive site. Swimming out towards the ocean, we managed to reach 85 feet with no gigantic coral structures in sight. At 85, we broke left and swam towards shore back to 60ft and lo and behold! A huge dark structure greeted us from far away. It was awesome! Surrounded by white sand, huge building-like coral structures juts out from the ocean floor, and around it, swarm fishes of all colors and shapes.
We also dove Twin Rocks (60ft) (N13 41.596 E120 53.220). This will have to be the most interesting dive yet for me as we encountered the famous large group of Jacks that have taken up residence in this dive site. If you do it gently enough, you can actually drift into the large school of fish with each fish about two hand-span long. I never thought eyeballing a gang of fish can be such a relaxing activity. Interestingly, inside the school swam a larger darker fish doing the same thing the whole school is doing, only that by standing out, it looked humorously out of place and awkward.
Our final dive was at Arthur's Rock (50ft) (N13 42.486 E120 52.482). They have some mean looking large fishes drifting in crevices and spots along the wall of corals. I had a feeling that they were staring at me as I drifted along, and not the other way around. There was a bit of a
current but that didn't make the dive any less fun for us. We swam and explored coral columns that jutted out from the floor of the ocean but lay just 5 ft underneath the surface.
The abundance of life in Anilao is absolutely mesmerizing, and to think, we've only explored a tiny fraction of what the place is offering for divers.
But come to think of it, diving is not only about hitting the water wrapped in a scuba gear. Rather, I'd like to think of it as the entirety of a great weekend experience.
©www.suntoksabwan.com
Villa Trono
March 07, 2009
One warm but overcast weekend in March, a number of friends and I went to Anilao to dive. It was the first time I'd be out in the open water after I got certified by Scuba Schools International (SSI).
Anilao is reknowned for its captivating dive sites, as well as the diversity of its marine life. It is one of the most highly regarded dive destination in the country as well as being very accessible from Metro Manila.
We stayed at "Villa Trono" (N13 43.406 E120 52.735) which is owned and operated by Romeo Trono - Country Executive Director of Conservation International Philippines, and his wife. The Villa is just a few steps away from the much larger and seriously more expensive Eagle Point Resort.
Accommodation and buffet meals for two days cost a mere Php 2,000. The Villa is Just a few meters from the shore, and was purposely built with the diver's comfort and relaxation in mind.
I can't help but admire the architecture of the place. Ifugao craftsmen constructed the house and skillfully sculpted the various ceiling, walls and floor adornments. The house itself is unique as it is constructed out of corals which were excavated from the foundation of the house. Every nook and cranny seem like a piece of art that is meant to be beheld.
There is a karaoke machine on a treehouse, a stage set complete with songbooks dating back to the 1970s for some acoustic jamming for those who like to play their own music, a rooftop bar with hammocks for those who want to take it all in under a clear night sky, a clear view of Mt. Gulugod Baboy, for which you can grab the binoculars and watch mountaineers trace a line up the mountain.
The meals prepared by Mrs. Trono was a pleasant adventure in itself. I have never tasted so many exquisite flavors on a single trip before. We feasted on fresh salads, and dishes garnished and seasoned with herbs grown in and around the house. Familiar dishes are sometimes recreated with a twist such as the spicy banana flower dish that was cooked in rice husk to give it that distinct and memorable smoky flavor. We were served a large portion of skip jack seasoned with freshly plucked basil and lemon grass, baked and roasted on a genuine pugon. We experienced what it was like to sink out teeth in tender giant squid flesh. Needless to say, Mrs. Trono's kitchen prowess is formidable to say the least.
At our beck and call, 3 server ladies attended to our every whim, bringing us glasses of ice cold water after every dive or seeing to it that our unlimited supply of freshly brewed coffee remains hot in the pot.
The only drawback for divers is that Villa Trono does not have its own compressor. You will need to source your air elsewhere and doing so will set you back Php 200 a tank.
We dove only once on the first day, as my companions and I were more interested in relaxing and savoring the warm breezy afternoon, than donning on our scuba gear.
We dove Trono House Reef (75ft) which is a small swim away from the Cathedral. There was a great abundance of reef fishes and coral structures. As with many places in Anilao, numerous points of interest will keep any diver preoccupied until he or she runs low on air. They have a marker there: a coral covered statue of the biblical Mary, looking out towards the infinite blue of the ocean beyond the shallows.
The next day we dove three times.
We went to The Cathedral (60ft) (N13 43.467 E120 52.645) and were harassed by spoiled reef
fishes that would swarm around you effectively reducing visibility to about 5 inches from your nose. We hung around the cross for a while, wary of the trigger fish that they say lives on the base of the building-like coral structure to the right side of the cross.
We almost missed the Cathedral while following the "line of corals" which serves as a landmark to reach the dive site. Swimming out towards the ocean, we managed to reach 85 feet with no gigantic coral structures in sight. At 85, we broke left and swam towards shore back to 60ft and lo and behold! A huge dark structure greeted us from far away. It was awesome! Surrounded by white sand, huge building-like coral structures juts out from the ocean floor, and around it, swarm fishes of all colors and shapes.
We also dove Twin Rocks (60ft) (N13 41.596 E120 53.220). This will have to be the most interesting dive yet for me as we encountered the famous large group of Jacks that have taken up residence in this dive site. If you do it gently enough, you can actually drift into the large school of fish with each fish about two hand-span long. I never thought eyeballing a gang of fish can be such a relaxing activity. Interestingly, inside the school swam a larger darker fish doing the same thing the whole school is doing, only that by standing out, it looked humorously out of place and awkward.
Our final dive was at Arthur's Rock (50ft) (N13 42.486 E120 52.482). They have some mean looking large fishes drifting in crevices and spots along the wall of corals. I had a feeling that they were staring at me as I drifted along, and not the other way around. There was a bit of a
current but that didn't make the dive any less fun for us. We swam and explored coral columns that jutted out from the floor of the ocean but lay just 5 ft underneath the surface.
The abundance of life in Anilao is absolutely mesmerizing, and to think, we've only explored a tiny fraction of what the place is offering for divers.
But come to think of it, diving is not only about hitting the water wrapped in a scuba gear. Rather, I'd like to think of it as the entirety of a great weekend experience.
©www.suntoksabwan.com
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