3 years ago I left the rat race of life to travel the world. It all started in the Netherlands, but since a while I’ve been living in the Philippines. It’s a place where many beautiful things can be discovered every single day. My name is Latoya and I’m excited to tell you more about one of my recent discoveries.

 

The archipelago

The Philippines is an archipelago of more than 7,000 islands, covered in paradisiacal beaches and flourishing nature. Hidden waterfalls, amazing mountain views and rice terraces are some of the breathtaking sceneries here.

With so many islands, it’s no surprise that there are many different sceneries and ecosystems to discover. All of the islands are surrounded by the South China Sea or Pacific Ocean, so at least the water is never far away. Discovering the underwater world of this archipelago is therefore a great opportunity to unlock the door to new adventures and amazing, sustainable animal encounters. Tropical fish, turtles and corals are some of the species that you will be able to see once you take the plunge. But did you know there are also different species of sharks to spot?

 

Laid-back island vibes on Malapascua

Above the island of Cebu, one of the main islands of the Philippines, you can find paradise. Right in the Visayan Sea you are surrounded by a turquoise oasis and tropical beaches from the movies. This place is called Malapascua. The only way to get there? By taking a traditional Bangka boat.

The geography of Malapascua feels unique. With a length of two kilometers and a width of one kilometer, you can easily discover this island by foot. Walking from North to South will take you less than 40 minutes and if you are ready for an enjoyable day, I recommend the new Tablea Cafe for a break. Ennie provides the best and freshest smoothies and lunches

 

Unlock new adventures and discover the deepest waters

However, as I said my most recent discovery had nothing to do with walking or smoothies, but everything with the underwater world. Malapascua is a renowned island for snorkeling and scuba diving, so that’s what I did. You must wonder, why is this island so famous for diving? It’s by far the best place in the world where you can encounter the famous Thresher sharks.

The Thresher sharks, also called Fox Sharks, are separated into three species. The smallest species is the Pelagic Thresher shark, which is about three meters long. Famous for their beautiful long tail, they also know how to use it. They whip it to strike prey from the shoals as a way of hunting. Especially in the Visayan Sea, the Pelagic Thresher sharks are often seen. But, there is a catch.

What makes it adventurous is that the sharks live in the deepest waters of the ocean. They only rise during the early mornings, before sunrise. They love to get cleaned daily at their favorite cleaning station. Their cleaning station is Monad Shoal which is a sunken plateau. It is very close to the island of Malapascua. There are plenty of cleaner wrasses from which these sharks get free cleaning services. It’s not only a luxury, but also a necessity to remove parasites and dead tissues from their body.

 

How about the dive experience itself, is it even worth it?

If you are willing to make an extra effort, then yes! For this beautiful experience, your alarm is ringing at 4.00 am. It’s dark outside and we use our flashlights to make sure we are walking in the right direction. Keep an extra eye out for all the sleeping dogs. During this time of the day, they get anxious and start barking. I can tell, it was fun walking to the dive shop.

Only a few other divers are waiting for us, so with a small intimate group, we walk towards the beach. While waiting for the boat to pick us up, I enjoy seeing the beautiful sky. It is completely dark with a lot of twinkling stars and a clear moonshine. We jump on a small boat which brings us to our diving boat. On the boat, the tanks and equipment are already waiting for us. Still with the use of our flashlights, we manage to make ourselves a cup of coffee. With this, we enjoy the traditional Filipino bread, which is typical to eat in the morning. We are enjoying the moment when the sky starts to change in beautiful colors. The sun rises above the horizon and the only thing you hear is the sound of the waves with the wind lifting up my hair.

The boat ride itself is a true experience, but that’s not our goal today. In only 30 minutes on the water we reach Monad Shoal. Here, we are instructed to gear up, after which we get a clear briefing on our dive. We are all experienced divers, yet safety always goes first. When the first sun rays hit the water surface, it’s our call to dive it. This is by far one of my favorite parts, jumping to the unknown!

 

So, are you ready to feel some adrenaline kicking through your body?

Even though it is only 5.30 am, the water feels comfortable. Our first stop to see the sharks is at a depth of 24 meters, where the first cleaning station is. The sharks are very shy, and because of this, it’s advisable to kneel at one of the boundaries. Here you wait for the sharks to show their faces. The downside is that you can only stay for a few minutes at this depth due to the consumption of air.

Looking into the blue for a few minutes brings excitement. But don’t let the excitement take control as it’s so important to remain calm. During these minutes we don’t see any sharks so we decide to move up to the second cleaning station. There we kneeled for the second time, and luckily we spotted a glimpse of the shark. It was only a glimpse, as he most likely got shy and kicked his fin very hard to move away from us.

By the end of the dive, we were more at the shallow waters, where two divers spotted a shark beneath them. Again, during this moment we saw a glimpse of this beautiful creation. This reminds me that the sharks are always there. Yet, they are very shy animals and, like most pelagic fish, they are not huge fans of our bubbles.

 

What does nobody know?

The natural habits of the sharks have changed during the pandemic. It used to be the best time to encounter the shark at 5.30 am. Speaking out of my own experiences this has changed. Around 8.00 am, everyone jumped off the boat again for a second chance. This time manifesting to spot the sharks. We were lucky. While we kneeled on one of the boundaries, a shark seen in the distance came pretty close to us. This shark was not shy to have some quality time!

I’m impressed by the way he moves and breathes and by the look of his eyes. It’s quite a thrill to see these scary-looking predators swim toward you. Before you know it, it’s within a few meters. But as soon as it comes, it also turns his back on us. For some reason, I’m not scared of sharks. I get so excited when I see one that I forget that they are able to kill me.

 

Is this experience sustainable?

Yes, the experience at the moment is completely 100 percent sustainable. Every diver encounters sharks in their natural habitat. This means, there is no feeding or any other attractive actions involved. The divemasters ensure that everyone is following the rules, like staying calm while kneeling down and not getting too close to the sharks. It’s beautiful to see that they take such good care.

During this experience, there were only three diving boats, which makes it a unique experience. The divemaster informed us that before the pandemic there could be 30 boats at Monad Shoal. As this is too much for a sustainable coexistence and interaction with the sharks, I hope rules and regulations will be created to keep it the way we experienced it today.

 

How to get this experience

To enjoy a moment with the thresher sharks make sure to have your diving license in level Advanced, as you might have to descend to 30 meters of depth. However, even when you are completely new to scuba diving, you can get certified on Malapascua. On top of this there are many other dive spots to discover and you can do this all year around. The best season is late February till September. During this time there is good visibility and the sea is calm enough to dive into. One of my favorite local dive shops is Malapascua Thresher Divers. Make sure to ask for Jess. He can’t wait to take care of you together with his crew.

 

Sustainable traveling around Malapascua

Even though it is great that Malapascua offers such underwater experiences, it is also very busy at times with travelers. It is important to mention that Malapascua is also the getaway island to more undiscovered places like Carnaza and Kalanggaman Island. On both islands, you can even stay overnight.

Kalanggaman has become more known to tourists over the years. It became famous for its long white stretched sandbar. However, my personal favorite is Carnaza Island. It’s a hidden gem. A beautiful turtle-shaped island with surreal rock formations and bays. The island is so small that you will not see any cars and only a handful of scooters. There is no such thing as restaurants, so what you will get is a pure local experience. On top of this, the island is eco-friendly as the electricity comes from solar panels. Do you feel like escaping the tourist sights? Carnaza is the place to be.