Philippines’ Critter Capital

Hello adventurers and hello fellow human beings.

Even though this is probably more of a personal perspective than it is a story, I’m happy to share my thoughts with this absolutely fantastic community.

So here it goes.

First of all, I should probably admit that I wasn’t a huge scuba diving enthusiast before coming to the Philippines. I really wasn’t. This however changed dramatically after I was introduced to the miraculous wonderland of Romblon. The sphere of critters, which “The Three P” are home to, is so amazing and so clearly in a class of its own that it needs to be experienced first-hand to be fully understood. It really is a special “kingdom of critters” and to me, that’s what made diving with “The Three P” such an unbelievable adventure.

Today, after having spent many weeks on Romblon Island (and with the “The-Three-P”-family), I am almost afraid that I am a little bit spoiled. Not only because of Romblon’s seemingly “always-perfect” conditions for diving but even more so regarding the uniqueness of its underwater creatures. Talking with many professionals and experts from around the globe, it became apparent to me that within a few days and dives, I was able to see and experience what many scuba divers and in particular macro photographers have at the very top of their “wish lists”. Melibe Colemani (aka Ghost Nudi), Cyerce Nigra (aka Tiger Butterfly) and Bulbonaricus Brauni (aka Pughead Pipefish) – you name it. Romblon has them all and they are there for you to see.

After a couple of weeks it became abundantly clear to me that it was not me who was extraordinarily lucky or fortunate during his dives. I came to understand that my personal feeling of being completely blown away is a common and recurring theme here. To me it almost seemed as though no matter when and where people went diving or what kind of experience they had before, in this place everybody comes back beaming and with glowing eyes from almost every dive. Eager to recount what they just captured with their cameras, divers sometimes have this shared feeling of explorative curiosity that oftentimes created something like after-dive frenzy. The resulting positive vibe of the community in and around the resort is what I probably enjoyed the most. I guess that’s just the way the cookie crumbles when you go diving with some super friendly and knowledgeable people in a place they call “the center of center of biodiversity”.

It really is this very particular location and the knowledge of the Three P family which make this place so extraordinary special. This is my way of admitting that I would not have been able to find a single one of these incredible critters on my own. So after all, being accompanied by guides and spotters with this amount of experience and patience is where I actually got lucky – and I do appreciate that a lot

Having said that, I want to make use of this opportunity to thank David and Weiwei as well as Sunny, Bobby and everybody at the Three P for showing me their territory and for allowing me into their world of underwater adventures. An extra special “thank you message” goes to Liang Fu (aka Fire Dragon) for allowing me to use all these amazing photos that you can see in this blog. Thank you, Liang –  you are an amazing artist.

I also don’t want to miss out on saying thank you to the entire and absolutely amazing Eschweiler family. Peter & Beanne, Patrick & Jasmine and their wonderful three daughters – and last but not least Kati & Philipp and the never-tired and always adventure-seeking Fiona – for being the best hosts, friends and family that I could envision – for such a long time. Thank you for providing me with a home, for teaching and helping with so many things and for a million lifetimes worth of laughing that resulted in all those incredibly happy memories. Your understanding and patience has been true a blessing.

It’s true. This has been an unparalleled experience and I would not want to trade it for anything in the world.

On the contrary, I am planning to come back as soon as I can ?

Thank you, people!

Sincerley, Bruce