During my several months working in the country, I was fortunate enough to dive in both Boracay (tourist mecca) and La Union (where we were the only ones in the water) as well as several places in between, so I was able to experience a good cross section of Philippines diving potential. Unfortunately large fish are somewhat scarce at many dive sites in the country due to overfishing and weak environmental preservation policies, so I did more macro photography here than on typical dives.

Entry into the water is from banca boats, which take some skill entering and exiting. Some have small ladders; many do not. Getting back on board the ladderless variety necessitates slowly removing the diving gear one piece at a time to make you (hopefully) light enough to be able to push up and propel yourself over the top of the edge and into the boat without tipping it over. Needless to say, it's not the most graceful thing to watch.

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An immediate first impression diving in the Philippines was the amazing variety of clownfish and their proliferation over the entire reef. Large or small, dark or bright, they were in abundance everywhere. I found this to be the case in both Boracay and La Union.

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The variety and amazing number of lionfish were also a pleasant treat.

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Scorpionfish are also plentiful, but much more likely to be passed over unless you are paying close attention.

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Copper banded butterflyfish were also constant companions.

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A night dive in the shallow waters off White Beach in Boracay was an easy way to glimpse some nocturnal life. It was nice to see urchins on the march, which is something hardly ever seen during daylight hours. And this was the first time I encountered squid on a dive, a truly fascinating experience as I watched them bounce off the bright beam of my flashlight. Their pulsating colors are mesmerizing, but left me with the age-old question: if no one is there to shine a light on them, does anyone else see it?

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Coral, of course, is great for macro photography since it doesn't move!

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All good things must regrettably come to an end, and the thumbs up sign here is a signal that it's time to surface and clamor back up into the boat.