Diving Underneath the Blue Waters of Sumilon Island

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by Chasing Potatoes

         This happened during Valentines Day and my companions were three couples. I was the odd one out. Haha! Well, it was fine with me because I had a date, too, —  a date with the awesome underwater realm of Sumilon Island. I was really in the state of extreme joy at the thought that I would be having my second dive in this island. This will also be an additional piece of experience for my wanders to keep.

          Sumilon Island is located at the southeastern part of Oslob. The municipality of Oslob is a famous tourist spot in Cebu because of several attractions, some of which are in my bucketlist.

          1. Whaleshark Watching – swimming with the gentle giants. Bucketlist Checked ✓

          2. Tumalog Falls- Getting wet under the gushing fresh water. Bucketlist Checked ✓

          3. Mainit Spring –  Taking a dip at its hot/warm spring. Bucketlist Checked ✓

          4. Cuartel – Strolling the heritage area and learning a bit of the history of the place. Bucketlist Checked ✓ Here’s the link of my Oslob adventure if you wanna see the photos. ( The Shots and Scenes in OSLOB )

          5. Sumilon Island – Diving in its marine sanctuary. Bucketlist Checked ✓ and this blog post is about my dive in Sumilon Island.

          6. (What other attractions can you suggest?)

          Here goes my diving story…

          From Cebu City, we headed to Oslob, specifically in Tan-awan, Oslob to get a boat ride bound for Sumilon Island. Tan-awan is also the site of Whalesharks Watching viewed by many tourists. The boat ride to Sumilon Island took us about 15 minutes. Situated on the island is the Sumilon Bluewater Island Resort which made the island a getaway haven for tourists. From my research, I learned that Sumilon Island was the first marine protected area in the Philippines and was created as a marine sanctuary in 1974. It is famous for the exceptional beauty of its dive sites. Hmmmm, because of these facts, I just couldn’t wait to dive in its waters.

          This time in Sumilon, I went scuba diving twice.

          My first dive in Sumilon Waters

          As soon as I submerged myself into the water, a sight arousing admiration and wonder met my eyes. I saw an abundance of a variety of tropical marine species and coral reefs with different structural designs. The underwater beauty in Sumilon can be multiplied three times more than that of my first dive in Mactan. Fishes of different descriptions and other numerous sea creatures and the underwater geographic formations were magnificent sights to behold. How I wish I were a mermaid. Hahaha! My first dive was 68 feet and this was the maximum I got as of this time. Wooh, I conquered my fear. It was indeed memorable.

  My second dive in Sumilon Waters

          My second dive in Sumilon was more memorable. My co-divers and I saw not just one black tip sharks but four and one huge silver tuna. I was frightened at first because I thought they would attack and eat us. Hahaha! But thank God, they just swam and didn’t even notice us.

Descending...
Descending…
Clown Fish
Clown Fish
Triggerfish.
Triggerfish.
SHARKKK!
SHARKKK!
There are plenty of fish in the sea
There are plenty of fish in the sea
Happy ♥ Day!
Happy ♥ Day!

 

 

 Wanna dive, too, in Sumilon?

Here are some tips for your trips:

1. Contact a dive master to guide you to the diving sites. In our case, Kuya Dodong was our dive master. You can look for him at BCDs Place Resort.

2. You may contact him at this number – 0943-509-7348/0935-743-0967

3. You may email him at this email ad – Dodong_jugo@yahoo.com

* You can also contact Sumilon Bluewater Island Resort for they offer scuba diving package.

  Expenses for your diving

  1. Boat rental –  Php 2,500.00

  2. Tank – Php 200.00 per tank

  3. Environmental Fee –  Php 200.00 per person

  4. Dive Master –  Php 1,000.00

 *We brought our own gears but you may rent there at BCDs Resort.

           It’s recommended that you are an EXPERIENCED/LICENSED DIVER. Be sure to be eco-friendly. DO NOT TOUCH anything underwater, may it be a fish or coral, or whatsoever. Those marine creatures might be very poisonous or harmful.

          Aside from diving here are some glimpses of our wanders in our Oslob and Sumilon ventures.

The view in Tan-awan, Oslob

During the boat ride going to Sumilon Island
boat
Me, Ate Jai and Nudi
Ate Mylinn and Poi
Ate Mylinn and Poi
 Side tripping in Sumilon Island sand bar

HP Valentines
Happy Hearts Day! ♥
Chasing Potatoes When In Style

Oslob ♥
Oslob ♥
Selfie with the cool kids
Cute kids ♥
Tumalog Falls

Groupie with the Gang! ♥
My first time to experience free dive where I encountered sea snake. WAAAH!

DCIM103GOPROGOPR2368.

          Before I end this blog, I would like to express my gratitude to Kuya Rain and Ate Jai for letting me join them and experience diving in Sumilon. Thanks also to Kuya Roderick and Ate Mylynn for the nice accommodation and transportation, and to Atty Joan and Kuya Nino for inspiring me especially with the idea that it is possible to have travelling dogs. haha!

          Truly if you have a dream, the universe will work jointly with you to realize your heart’s desire. On my part, my diving won’t stop here. My wanders will continue and I’ll be forever learning from everything that life brings. Thanks for the visit.

*Credits to #rainjai_gp for some pics in this blog.

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Chasing Potatoes

Why Chasing Potatoes? I’m Chasing Potatoes. I chase time and opportunities because just like round potatoes they roll and get lost. I chase them to store memories to last a lifetime. I make haste, running after them, fearful that they might be gone. That’s why I go places on land or in water.My story tells about the journey of chasing time and saying yes to wonderful opportunities.

32 thoughts on “Diving Underneath the Blue Waters of Sumilon Island”

  11. Jasmine Walker
    2015-03-09 12:26:00
    (from destinedtobegreat.14webs comment)

    Wow! You took some incredible photos! That is so exciting that you got to see a shark and I can’t get over how many fish there were! It looked like you had the most amazing time, I can’t think of a better valentines day date (even if you were seventh wheeling ;)). I am seriously so envious right now, the water looked amazing! Also that puppy is the cutest! I hope that you had a fantastic weekend 🙂 xxx

    Like

    1. 2015-03-10 03:04:00

      Hi, Ms. Jasmine, thank you so much for dropping by. YES, I really had an amazing time and how I wish I have a travelling dog too. That would be an awesome travel buddy. hahaha. ♥ Have a great day ahead of you.

      Like

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