#cebu #philippines
Monad Shoal is an underwater island on the edge of a 200m drop-off. It is the only place in the world where divers can observe thresher sharks daily because it is a cleaning station for pelagic giants such as manta rays, devil rays and thresher sharks.
Since the early 1990s, Monad Shoal has become one of the premier places for scuba diving in the Philippines, and the reputation of the dive itself has drawn thousands of divers from around the world to experience the wonder of this remarkable place.
Monad Shoal is roughly a 30-minute boat ride from Malapascua Island. The shoal is rather unremarkable as it is essentially a sea mount or rock stump with a relatively flat top approximately 20 meters down from the surface with few defining features. What little coral reefs remain on the shoal have been damaged over the years from fishing methods that were destructive to the region.
Monad Shoal is the best-known site in the world for attracting thresher sharks.
Gato Island, locally known as "Isla del Gato", Spanish for "Cat Island", was named so because of its shape; it looks like a curled sleeping cat when looking from the mainland of Cebu. Isla del Gato is about 15 kilometres northwest of Malapascua Island.
The island is constantly washed by strong currents, thus creating side cuttings with high rock faces. Of all Gato Island dive sites, the Cave understandably claims the most attention; few islands have a natural underwater tunnel going clean from one side to the other.
The rest of Gato Island is characterized by good coral (especially soft coral), excellent fish life, dramatic topography, and an abundance of goodies for macro-lovers. Plus, of course, the consistent backdrop of whitetips and sea snakes.
Kalanggaman Island is a small island paradise located in Palampon, Leyte. It is famous for its crystal clear waters, lush palm trees, and beautiful sandbars on both ends. The island got its name from the word 'langgam', which means bird in Bisaya.
Around the Island and the Nunez Shoal, the wall drops between 300 - 500 meters, and then it moves very quickly to 800+.
Chocolate Island is a beautiful shallow dive site and a macro photographer's delight! Unfortunately, shooting macro on a GroPro 10 isn't a thing. The island is home to healthy soft coral and a large variety of life: sea snakes, snake eels, moray eels, cuttlefish (including flamboyants), seamoths (Pegasus), large crabs and juvenile batfish. The macro includes nudibranchs, flatworms, shrimp, shells and cowries.
Deep rock is 5 minutes from Malapascua. It starts at 5 meters and slopes down to 30m. The tiny sunken island in the northern part of Malapascua is one of the better local dive sites. The flat top of that rock lies in about 14m of water, and it drops down to 30m, with a slope on the south side towards the east. The reef walls are full of stunning and very colourful soft corals. Frogfish, nudibranchs, different shrimps and crabs are guaranteed, but Deep Rock always has many more extraordinary surprises.
Lapus Pinnacle is an underwater pinnacle. The shallow area starts at about 10m and slopes gently down to a maximum depth of 23m. On the other side, we find a small wall about 10m deep that ends in the sandy bottom.
At Lapus Lapus Strong currents create a perfect habitat for different soft corals in a colourful coral garden. Rock formations, small canyons, holes and an overhang give plenty of hiding opportunities for nudibranchs, frogfish, flatworms and many more species. Giant sponges and sea fans are common; even pygmy seahorses are here if the conditions are right.
CHAPTERS
0:00 Welcome to Malapascua
0:47 Arriving at Sea Explorers
2:11 Monad Shoal - Arrival & Briefing
5:32 Monad Shoal - Thresher Sharks
11:17 More Monad Shoal
15:31 Gato Island - Arrival & Briefing
18:27 Gato Island - Dive 1
26:30 Surface Interval
26:49 Gato Island - Shark Cave Briefing
29:50 Gato Island - Dive 2 'Shark Cave'
39:22 Chocolate Island - Arrival & Briefing
42:25 Chocolate Island - Dive
47:45 Deep Rock - Arrival & Briefing
51:33 Deep Rock - Two Dives Combined
58:32 Kalanggaman Island - Journey, Arrival & Briefing
1:03:10 Kalanggaman Island - Dive 1
1:07:06 Kalanggaman Island - Surface Interval & Exploring The Island
1:08:38 Kalanggaman Island - Dive 2
1:13:17 Lapus Pinnacle - Arrival & Briefing
1:16:05 Lapus Pinnacle - Dive
1:18:25 Lapus Lapus - Arrival & Briefing
1:20:20 Lapus Lapus - Dive
1:25:19 Drone Footage
1:25:42 Reflections on Diving Malapascua
1:33:55 Heading Back To The Mainland