We love liveaboard experience as you feel much closer to the sea and everything you do is diving, eating, sleeping, a little talking, diving, eating, sleeping... We therefore concluded that an additional liverboard trip mustn't be lacking in our philippine trip.
We chose the Philippine Siren, a 40 m motor-driven sailing boat, with a crew of 11 people and space for 16 guests. On our trip we were only 6 guests, consisting of 2 swiss (us), 2 filipinas (Alya and Amelia) and 2 chinese (Andy and Haian), which obviously meant a crew of 11 people for 6 guests, unbelievable!
Susie and Thomas, a married couple of english and german origin were leading the adventure as our dive and trip guides, both sensible and gifted divers and fotographers. I was often thinking that there is nothing more beautiful, than to have somebody with the same interests, who shares the same valuable experience and to be able to have an occupation which very much includes everything you love and appreciate. Both of them possess the ability to see hidden things and rejoicing in even the smallest creature floating through the water or scamper between anemones and soft corals. I liked to observe the way they were moving through water and looking for small stuff in a graceful and gentle manner.
The main crew consisted of 9 people, half filipinos and half indonesians. Every single one of them very devoted to their work and everything done with much love. No stiff environment but sincere and of course professional too.
Every single guest had its own "station" with tank and diving equipment and own everyday fresh towel. Everthing has been taken care for: After diving Tata was waiting with hot tea, hot chocolate, water or beer (after last dive) at the reiling. After diving the crew took care of the washing and hanging of the diving equipment. After the nightdive a warm towel would already wait for us. After every dive a snack or meal has been prepared. There are even more things to list but these have been the most valuable ones to us.
From left to right: Andy, Roberto, me, Alya, Amelia, Susie and Haian
The other 4 guests were from the Philippines and China. The 2 filippina women Alya and Amelia are 2 experienced divers (Alya with 30 years experience) and it seemed as if they have been buddies for ever. Under water you could see and feel how much they harmonized and even without speaking a word they have had their own way of conversation through gestures about this coral and that creature. Alya is a journalist and works for WWF writing about her underwater experience and environmental topics and she also publishes articles in diving magazines. Amelia with chinese origins and knowing the divespots in Anilao and Puerto Galera like her left pocket has given us additional valuable information about beautiful dive sites in the Philippines, good restos and spas. The 2 chinese men, Haian and Andy live in Beijing. Andy does investments, has branches in all over the world, is well travelled, open minded and humorous. Andy also encouraged Roberto and me to do the Rescue Diver as the practical knowhow on what to do in an emergency case has given him more confidence and security. And it is not so long since Andy has been challenged once during the Siren trip and was well prepared as certified Rescue Diver :)...
The south visayas trip started in Mactan harbour passing Cabilao, Panganan, Balicasag, Siquijor Island, Dauin and Apo Island and ended in Dauin, Negros. Throughout our trip we have seen lots of macro creatures, such as nudibranchs, pipefishes, ghostpipefishes, seahorses but also scorpion- and lionfishes, turtles, stingray, sepias, different kinds of crabs and shrimps, moray eels, beautiful coral gardens and also the mandarin fishes.
Roberto and I spent 5 magnificent days on the Philippine Siren, with its crew, Amelia, Alya, Andy and Haian, which we will never forget and we definitely intend to repeat a trip with Worldwide Dive and Sail.
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