Happiness - It's taken for granted all too often

 It’s one of those things isn’t it? I know that I am very fortunate (and maybe a LITTLE bit lucky) to be able to live the life I do.  I feel the need to explain the difference. Fortune is something that an individual can directly influence e.g. being able to find traction to stay in the Philippines because I (hope) I have earned it whereas luck is this abstract, some might say karmic, invisible force that randomly affects people along the way.

'Conquering' Sarawak, Borneo

Over the last 12/13 months I have adventured in the jungles, discovered the underwater worlds of the Philippines and spent time in my be-loved London. I think that you guys have enjoyed reading my writings as much as I have enjoyed producing them. I feel quite privileged that I have the stories to tell and the people to listen to them and for that, I thank you. Yes. YOU.

Spreading my 'good word' through
the Philippines

I appreciate I have been a tiny bit absent of late. I am not altogether sure as to why that has been the case either so I have decided that I will not be as arbitrary with my communications. I write as I sit here waiting to board a flight from Terminal 3 at NAIA Manila to Dumaguete – a place I call my home away from home... Duma-G not the airport. Why am I so excited? Well. If you were to ask me to say the first things that pop into my head it would go something along the lines of:

Seeing Tim and Zoe

Massive bro-hug with Jim

Soly and Kai’s big smiley faces

ALL of the staff. Can’t wait for a barrage of people calling my Byran (Adams), bum patting from the 

boat crew, trying to learn Visayan with the house keeping ladies, banter with the kitchen crew... oh gosh. EVERYONE

Getting into the water (and playing with my new gear)

Diving. Full stop.

The Sun. The Sea. The Sky. Capital S’s intentional

My family. Those who helped me
create MY balance and give me the support and 

I don’t know why but my heart skips a beat at the thought. My theory or life philosophy if you want me to be pretentious is one of creating balances. Pride is only a virtue if tempered by humility. Strength of mind is a good characteristic made only more creditworthy if offset by empathy... If you want me to translate this to life in London (the real world) then it would go something along the lines of this. On one hand life costs money. You need to make enough money to make yourself happy by giving yourself the options money bring. This feeds the practical side of you. On the other hand though, life is there to be lived, you have to have that something that feeds and fuels the passions that are the fire in your belly. If you are LUCKY/FORTUNATE you will get a job that will appease both but most people are NOT that lucky so you often have to choose one over the other. I have tried the money route. Didn’t do it for me. Right now, I am trying the slightly more selfish path of just making myself plain old happy. Let’s see how we go eh? I am extremely aware of how little I have actually said here but I think you’ll have to bear with me on that. I feel like I am on a roll.

I’m no Doctor Who BUT, it have now magically shifted from three days ago to today. KAPOW. I 

have been back in Liquid Dumaguete for a full two days. BLISS. Being picked up at the airport by Gery and his wonderful semi-toothy smile was a great way to be welcomed back. A few bits and pieces have changed most noteably Alf has decided to take a (Filippino) sabbatical which is basically an indefinite period of time off with a view to freelance and study more towards becoming a marine biologist.

Interestingly this concept of low season has passed us by. It was about 3 weeks ago that I called Zoe to ask if it was ok to stay in the UK for a few more weeks. At the time, it was QUIET. Turns out that lasted a night. So, we are very lucky to have Yannick working with us on a freelance basis. He passed his IDC with Tim last year. He’s a very good instructor and a all round general good guy. He has also readily stepped in as the resident attractive European man. Good to have you here buddy. Eric is also now a key member of staff working as our Fillipino dive guide. He is a mild mannered and extremely polite young man. He is a superb, if not short term member of the team.

What else has happened? Sundancer (our boat) has been dry-docked and refurbished. Now she not only looks tremendous but is also a lot more assured in the water. Have I mentioned I love this place? It is the little things that I am slowly remembering that are serving as a gently reminder of why I am here. If it’s not the constant, chirpy, happy, background noise of people’s chattering then it’s the noise of nature and it it’s not that then it’s the sound of the ocean or the view of Mount Talinis or the rice and fish that I had for breakfast. MAYBE, it’s the water. That could easily be the case. Maybe it is laced with something? I’ll do some experiments and get back to you. I know I am not the only one because we have had many guests who were due to be here for a few days who are still here a month later. AMAZING. There is a good cross section of cultures, nations and attitudes which all contribute to the wide-rangingly positive ambience that is floating in the air.

As another day ends...

I am not happily talking to guests or busily readying gear for a dive on the Dauin coast, I am playing cards with Tim, Jim and Zoe. There are many moments where I think about home BUT there are innumerable numbers of moments where I feel blessed (in the least religious way possible). Personally, I think we all need a few instances where we are forced to take stock and re-evaluate. Sadly, it is the darker and harder times where we do this like when a family comes together in the wake of a sick loved one. In theory I should use this paragraph to sell Liquid Dumaguete HARD but I am not, this place seems to sell itself. Instead, I am going to gently encourage you to have a think about what makes you happiest and make sure that you increase the time you concentrate on doing that. If you’re at a loss, try diving. It’s awesome. Especially here. (There’s the subtle sell). Make sure you indulge yourself a bit. Make sure to take the best especially from the jaws of adversity.

I’ll leave you with a song recommendation. A friend played it to me at Christmas and then again when I was home this time. It has the lyric “Long live living... if living can be this.” Right now I feel lucky AND fortunate to be able to say these lyrics as a mantra and believe it. Make sure you can do the same too. Thank for listening.

DiveMaster Life - a proleptic retrospective

The Dream Team

It has been an interesting generic period of time since the last time our literary paths crossed. I am, for once, not remorseful about the looseness of the consistency of my communications because, for once, I have been actually real-world busy.

The view I force myself out of bed for

I am becoming more involved with life at LD which I am immensely happy about. Naturally, this means I am maybe staying here a little while longer than initially planned so that means that you have more time to come and see me or if you’ve already been once before, then you have ample time to convert that yearning into come back here. It is rare that I will ever admit to this but my Dad has said for quite some time that I should work in the hospitality industry and I always gently (internally) agreed with him but I never really knew HOW on EARTH I could make that transition. It turns out that I have done it accidentally and have destiny and good fortune to thank for giving me this path. Thanks destiny. Thanks good fortune. You’re both awesome.

Look at the concentration on Isac's face

THIS is a Mola Mola. Yeah, I know, it looks like an alien

The last month has been almost utopian in the mix of the guests we have had ranging from two ultra laidback Chinese through to the Beer Jenga loving Scandanavian contingent and so the days continue to wander by sountracked by laughter, excitement and bottles opening. It’s just another day at Liquid Dumaguete. There have been MANY days recently where I walked out of my front door, stood on the balcony and looked out over the views punctuated by coconut palms, tiny boats, gorgeous blue skies with that glorious summer-ish breeze wafting around whereupon I smile to myself and think (in Louis Armstrong’s voice) what a wonderful world. Don't get me wrong, 


the oceans seem to be blooming with the joys of spring and excitement for summer. There have been continued sightings of dolphins on the way to Apo Island and from Sumilon. Ne'er a day goes by without countless stories of turtles (juveniles and dinosaur-like adults), sea snakes and a noticeable abundance of life on the reefs. This in turn has lead to an increase in predatory species to the area. Insta-disclaimer - Let me make this clear, they are predatory to other fish NOT humans. There are some HUGE schools of Jacks, a Great Barracuda, a whole school of juvenile yellowtail barracuda, trevally, a baby Whitetip shark and an adolescent Blacktip shark. AMAZING. Oh and (holy shit) - a Mola Mola - a Sunfish was spotted just down the coast from Liquid HQ.

The Zeagle Scout BCD

As a Divemaster, you are expected to have your own equipment. I am sure I mentioned the other day that I had bought an Aquamundo QR12 first stage and an AROQ2 second stage. They are excellent – pics to follow. This means, I have the breathing apparatus sorted, I have a masks (and dorkel), a noisemaker which is a metallic pink pointer with matching weight belt my favourite blue rash guard and a fetching pair of purple and gold basketball shorts for diving in. It turns out I need a Bouyancy Compensation Device - BCD - which is basically a jacket that you can put air in or take air out of to alter your underwater buoyancy. It is also the means to hold your tank in place and store all the bits and pieces you want to take with you into the blue stuff. There are many MANY types, details and personal preferences to take into account so regardless of whether you like it or not, I will explain why I chose the one I chose - the Zeagle Scout. My prerequisites include the need for a comfortable harness with an easily adjustable fitting system, a back mounted air bladder, lightweight when dry and versatile. I have taken advice and recommendations from many people and I am VERY excited to play with it when I get it. HURRAY!! 

It's not all work work work

It has been a nice time to sit back and think about how life has moved on to the current tangent. I have been a qualified PADI Divemaster for 3 months now and I seem to be enjoying it more and more everyday. If you imagine that is was a year ago today that I first emailed Zoe after a drunken conversation with Gav, a mutual friend of mine and Zoe's, about coming to Liquid. Having signed up for an initial 6 months, you have to remember that I do not think I had ever snorkeled before, I can honestly say that I regret NOTHING. THe life of a DM is not all sleeping on boats, sleeping on sofas or sleeping on the ground. There is diving to do, equipment to talk about and people to please. The INTERESTING thing for me is looking back to my humble diving beginnings and now understanding how they helped prepare me for doing what I do now. From the day arrived I knew I would be being trained in the right place by the right people seeing as the instructor to DMT ratio is usually about 1 on 1 or better (bearing in mind there are 5 instructors living and 'working' here at the moment).

I DO do stuff. HONESTLY I do!! 

Something that surprised me was how useful it was to talk to guests/customers/divers about their experiences and expectations which was made easier by to open plan communal spaces. EVERY NIGHT without fail you will hear talk amongst the hubub about dive gear, best practice, amazing sites and the inevitable nights out that precede too many early mornings after. From a trainee's point of view, the instructors or scheduling overlords employ the stick and carrot method to incentivise you. If you work hard, push yourself and go the extra mile (e.g. cleaning gear even if you are not diving) you will enjoy life much more. The package is set up to help minimise daily living costs and negate the need for additional diving cost so your biggest expense is usually the bar tab, the academic materials as well as any gear you may choose to buy for yourself. The best part for me happened without me really noticing until the time was long passed - you basically end up guiding dives and learning about dive shop operations by the time you finish. THAT is the part I really liked and is super transferable. Interestingly for me, it was not until I had been to other dive shops and seen how they run that I realised what a well run and tight operation Liquid has. Let's not forget that you live, entrenched in a team of like minded people whom you can learn with and from with the prospect of the next beer or Dumatini just a few hours away! Hurrah!! 


I know I talk the big talk about life here but I refuse to use anything but gentle exaggeration, hyperbole and superlatives. To put it bluntly, I am called ALL of YOU out on this. Come find out for yourself (that I am right). I would love to see you.


For now my friends,


Massive amounts of Love (with a capital L),


BeardFace

SEE! Me Demonstrating a 'BSAC ascent'

I WILL have my Gato and eat it... Malapascua is becoming slightly addicitive

If you have taken the time to watch this video, you are part of a collective who, with my guidance, are trying to rip apart the fabric of time. Please take care not to think too much about what I am about to say because it could cause cerebral damage.What you are watching, is me watching a camera filming me writing these words. Technically, if I re-watch this clip I am fairly sure I will open up a wormhole to another dimension. PLEASE be careful and whatever you do NOT put the video player on repeat.

As most of you might know or understand of me, the days of the week are fairly abstract in their meanings and necessity. OBVIOUSLY I understand that the concept of the Gregorian calendar and without days of the week, TECHNICALLY there would be no weekend... or weeks. Would there still be years? Would the year become the equivalent of the week? So instead of there being weekends there would be year ends. Year end - a combination of words that send a chill through my heart. Year. End. *shudders* Those accountant or finance types will understand and for those of you who did not know, in my former life I masqueraded as a management accountant -BLEURGH). Having just re-read this, I am also aware that either the heat or island life might be effecting my mental state. My brain seems to be enjoying it though.

Since the misguided, miscalculation of drinking all night and then diving first thing the next morning I have napped a fair amount, wandered around the island a little bit, eaten Lechon Baboi - spitroast pig - which seems to be becoming an integral part of my weekly schedule. On top of this, St. Patrick's day has been and gone, good food has been eaten, drinks shared with new and old friends alike, our man in Finland - Jari - has come out for a few days diving and possibly starting along the tech diving road. All in all. Wonderful things continue to happen.

The swim-through to
Shark Cave

Gato Island

There is a certain pretense I employ. I HATE the notion (with a military guerilla passion) of 'ticking things off' the list of life e.g. doing countries. Same when it comes to diving. All's well and good but there are definitely things that I have a heighten desire to see. So having seen the thresher sharks, Dona Marilyn wreck and done some muck diving I was running out of sites I 'had' to go to. Our Old Friend suggested just one more - Gato Island - and to my luck there was a two dive day trip going. Hurrah for those in charge of scheduling at Evolution. I was excited and I had a dive buddy going from a previous dive. What a delight. Gato Island delivered. I will paraphrase but Dive 1 started by swimming through a huge stone 'gate' down into the site where we were able to see white tip sharks sleeping in a small cave, many nudibranch, a hilarious number of sea urchins EVERYWHERE which forces you to maintain your bouyancy control, banded sea snakes and a pair of pipefish - one juvenile. Gorgeous.

Dive 2 was the swim-through. Something Our Old Friend had implored me to go to. Imagine going through a tunnel about the half the size of a London Underground Tube, it was dark, and about 30 metres long and then it narrows before opening up into a spectacular cave about the size of a Mongolian Ger (the round tents). I appreciate that that is a very obscure reference but I cannot think of anything else. Oh and in this cave there were 4-5 white tip sharks circling nonchalantly. One think I wanted to see on this trip was a shark or two. I now want to see many many more or these creatures. Their aggressive shape and reputation does not do justice to their grace and visual impact. WOW. Pure and utter WOW. I have to credit Esteban and Fiore for the photos of the tunnel. The site opened out into some amazing rock formation and we were also lucky enough to spot a rare Pigmy Seahorse which was smaller  than my little finger. Awesome. The rest of the dive descended into madness with me stealing my dive buddy's fin and swimming off amongst other high jinx.

I'm a Mandarin fish. That's what I do.

I am unsure whether I have talked about this concept before so humor me a second. Night Diving. It's like DIVING diving but it is done at night time this wouldn't be all that special if you lived in Svaalbad during summer BUT here in the real world it gets dark at night. So, in essence, night diving is diving in the dark, but the other interesting aspect is drawn from the different creatures that emerge at this time. We were diving House Reef with Evolution Dive shop as usual. Upon arrival there was dacu sug - big current - which is not conducive for slowly looking for little critters... in the dark. Mission abort. Repeat ABORT and re-locate to Lighthouse. This was a quiet blessing in disguise as there was a greater chance of seeing Mandarin Fish a gorgeous and skittish little fish that is fairly unique to this part of the world. I will use Shelagh, the resident DM at Evolution's description, that they look like a Picasso painting and I think that that makes some sense. You thoughts? It was fun for me because I got to dive with Jari for the first time and as usual, I just like being in the water. I spotted a few things here and there blah blah blah UNTIL, I noticed a small shadow in my light beam and assumed it was dirt on the lens. Nope. Ok, well, err. think Ads. What is it? THINK. I looked around and almost by chance I noticed a spec about the size of my little finger nail bang in the middle of my light beam. It was a teeny TINY squid. AWESOME. Then, right on cue, in the peripheries of my light, I saw a flash of iridescent blue - my favourite type of iridescence - it was a larger squid about the size of my thumb darting about give me the eye (not in a good way). I love squid. I love cuttlefish. I love octopus.

Bobtail squid

This curiosity stems from my illustrated encyclopedia of animals which I considered my bible when I was little. I am fairly sure that book formulated the foundation of my love of animals. My love for these cephalopod runs DEEP to the point of considered not eating them any more. This is a big statement because, as most of you know. I LOVE EATING SQUID. They are pretty much my go-to for comfort food. Anyway. This little fella just sat there for me and my buddy to stare at. An unforgettable moment. It was a nice swansong to finish my diving with on Malapascua.

We came, we saw, we dived.



I have to admit that my time here has been a treat. Diving with Evolution, hanging out at the bar, joking around with their boat crew and bar staff has been super-relaxing. It is no coincidence in my opinion that Matt and David who are the owners at Evolution are so successful on this island and that they share a good relations with Tim and Zoe - our fearless leaders at Liquid. They are doing it right. One day, if/when I have a family and they want to 'do' some diving then this place will be high on my list. Thanks to everyone here. Somehow you sparkle more brightly than the sea on a clear night with a full moon.

I'm not particularly sure why and it hasn't featured too heavily in my life in the past BUT the song Hold On by Alabama Shakes has been going round and round in my head. It will forever remind me of this magical island and the memories and friendships forged here. They sound bluesy with a wondrous touch of gospel vocals and a rock formula epitomized Kings of Leon. It might not set your life alight but it will give you a shimmy to your shake when it gets stuck in your head. Until the next time my friends. Look after yourself and be good to eachother.

Much love,

Ads

Dauin, I'm cheating on you... with Malapascua

Sometimes in life you look elsewhere for something new. It can manifest as food envy like when someone orders something that you wish you had. It can be fish envy where another group of divers saw a juvenile, pigmy, flambouyant manta fish (they don't REALLY exist). OR. It can be purely to experience something new and different. I am not for a minute condoning cheating, adultery or cuckoldry BUT I am suggestively suggesting you try new things. It is with this in mind that i metaphorically jumped on Our Old Friend's back on his way to his alma mater - Malapascua Island, Philippines.

"Lads on tour - the journey of awesomeness"

Forget Frodo, the Ring and Mordor we had a hefty 12-18 hour journey ahead - there was DEFINITELY some elasticity in the timings of things. One simply does not GO to Malapascua. We both knew it would be an interesting enterprise when it was a better idea for us to get out the pedi cab and walk for the first kilometre. We kinda missed our first bus but that turned out to be a blessing because we headed for a different ferry and THAT turned out to be much faster. A Ceres (bus) liner was waiting and we boarded to Cebu City - the Big Smoke. Let me explain that Ceres Liners are air-conditioned coaches driven by what I can only assume are trainee Filippino Rally Drivers although, in their defence, the faster they drive the shorter journey.

The Liquid - Aquamundo partnership continues

We arrived in Cebu, the land of buildings, roads, cars and hookers. We had already planned to do some gear shopping but when we found out that there was a TGI Friday's in the Ayala Mall we decided to stay for the night. It was a good choice. We visited AquaMundo who supply the Liquid Dive shop with most of their equipment and were greeted as old friends and treated exceptionally well. I cannot recommend them high enough for the customer service, their product quality, price and also the after-sale service. THANK YOU Joey and the team for your help.

Dona Marilyn - spooky huh

We drank and ate with gay abandon until we had to go home due to over filling. The next day was prefixed by a lunatic cab driver, another bus that we jumped on as it was leaving which is easier said than done with Our Old Friend's 30kg bag of (tech) dive gear and then suffixed by a joyful banker boat ride to Malapascua. It is all too easy to start shouting about white sand this and clear oceans that but for me, it is the closeness of the community here that has fueled the fire in my heart most.



I dived the Dona Marilyn wreck on my first full day and after two almost identical (in a good way) dives I can honestly say I have seen what a huge passeneger ferry looks like when it sinks. This particular ship sank in October 1988 during Typhoon Ruby in 130knot winds. It is slightly spooky and macabre to think that so many people sadly lost their lives in that spot. It was something I pondered while at 30metres. 

Hello my thresher sharky friend

Naturally a fella of my inquisitive nature cannot come to Malapascua and NOT go to see the thresher sharks so me and Our Kid decided to get absolutely obliterated and I ended staying up until 3:30am. This isn't that big of a deal until you realise that the thresher shark dives a Monad leave at 530am. So after one FULL hour's sleep, I was up and at 'em. I felt woefully bad but nothing a few dry heaves did not fix. Honestly, I was fairly underwhelmed. The sharks themselves were beautiful with their long ribbon tails and huge black inquisitive eyes - one of natures curious wonders. *ALERT - SOAP BOX MOMENT*. I don’t understand why everyone is kicking up such a stink over the Oslob whale sharks and the perceived detrimental effect on the migratory pattern while the circus at Monad is going on without any fuss. It was horrible seeing that many incompetent divers ripping up and breaking so much coral. It broke my heart a little bit and tainted the whole experience for me. I would love to encourage you to see the sharks (here)but I genuinely would rather the the fewer people diving there the better. Rant over-ish. I am sorry if i have trodden on anyone's toes or upset anyone BUT, like I said, I am disappointed (said in a Dad voice) that this continues to go on with no backlash. I'd happily hear your thoughts though.


I expect that most evening with continue along the lines of drinking at the Craic House - the Evolution bar - or going visiting and inevitably drinking Filippino style. Drinking Filippino style?What's all this jazz about? In the words of Destiny's Child, I don't think you're ready for this jelly... Basically, everyone sits round, and you all drink for one glass in turn. There is a gunner who is responsible for replenishing the drinking utensil with whatever the communal drink is (usually Tanduay or Red Horse / Gold Eagle - strong beer) and it also the gunner is sets the resulting pace for the night. Usually the faster the pace the better. So much so that if you take too long to drink you are berated with quips along the lines of "are you growing a tree in that". My personal favourite is "a man's not a camel. DRINK". Filippinos like to drink. I like to drink. We are a match made in heaven. Sometimes a drunken match made in heaven... but as long as heaven is there then all is well. Right? 

THIS is a useful reminder. Thanks Cebu

The day that made me smile to the core of my heart

I am only half a man without my pipe

Friends, another period of time has passed and thankfully we are reunited with our physical and mental health intact. For once I shan’t go down the faux-extistensial route about how fragile life is and how much we should cherish every second. Instead, I am going to tell you the story of what I consider to be the best full day – start to finish – almost since I first arrived here.  I appreciate that this a bold and superlative fuelled statement but I have slept on it for a few days and I stand by it.

Liquid Deco Shots - they're dangerously moorish

I will provide you with a little back story for your literary delectation. The resort has been FULL almost to the point of referring to its fullness as chock-a-block which is good for many reasons but mainly because a full resort is a happy resort. All the DMs and DMTs are busy, there is a full diving schedule and the gentle hubbub has been turned up to a roaring cauldron of activity. I have moved out of the DM village and into Grandma Darlene and Grandpa Al’s house with Our Old Friend as acting caretakers which I am very happy about not only because we get on very well BUT because it is nice to have your own self contained space AND the number of hilariously conjugated retorts never ceases to amaze me. Oh and the Liquid Deco Shots have been flowing.

Jari doing his thing

We have a new Rescue Diver/DMT to accompany Berlinda in the ‘journey’ to DiveMasterdom. His name is Jari from Finland and he will be juuuuust fine. If you imagine arriving to a new home to a game of Beer Jenga which had been underway for a while (therefore a fair few drunken people around), he settled straight in to bantering and drinking like a trooper. Welcome Jari. We look forward to many MANY more nights ahead.

The restaurant has been through a bit of a re-structuring under the guidance of Elin and so far the new roles are working like a dream. The standard has somehow increased with a new tinge of variation and much as it feels like a silly thing to talk about - the seasoning is now exemplary. I do have to add a small side point which relates to dessert. You and I already have preconceptions as to what ingredients usually furnish the sweet course of a meal so have a think on this – coconut porridge or maja blanca (coloured blue not white) with sweetcorn or banana and CHEESE crepes. Let me explain now thought that 90% of the time the desserts are magnificent but I had to give an honourable mention to these three.

For those of you who know me, I like to get a job done and I like to do it well. The hallowed day that I speak of is one of those rarities where I came away feeling like I could have done nothing better than what I did. The last few days had been busy in a fairly arbitrary way. I am affectionately known by the other local DMs as a DRIVEMaster as well as a DiveMaster because they see me driving the dive jeep as often as they see me leading dives. I have acted as an interim boat mechanic (I love getting messy trying to fix stuff); a dive guide and buoyancy guru, a never ending source of local knowledge, a cocktail developer as well as a focus for humour and beer. It was on a day punctuated by driving, carrying, liaising, smiling and planning.

The Cars - one Ferrari and one BMW

We had two new guests from Taiwan who were pretty serious divers and photographers who had been left in my charge to take them for two coastal dives using the Lobster. First of all, I LOVE driving that vehicle (it somewhere between a car and a tank). Secondly, as you know, I like to help newbies and pass on something I love, BUT it is wonderfully refreshing to dive without having to worry as much about your fellow divers’ ability. I was a TOUCH nervous because it is often the divemaster’s job to find little critters, interesting things to see as well as showing the dive site, this becomes increasingly prevalent with the divers’ ability mainly because the more ‘run of the mill’ fish you have seen, sadly, the less they are the focus for photographers. We were going to a site called Cars. Why is it called Cars? Is this a whitty, kooky joke? Nope. Basically there are two cars and a bunch of other foreign metal object sunk in the water at around 25metres. But this is pollution no? Under managed circumstances metal objects vastly encourage marine growth and much more so than natural organic matter. It will take around 6months for a metal object to be teeming with life whereas wood will take a few years to become ensconced with macro life.

Scorpion Fish

Ornate Ghost PipeFish

We walked into the water from the shore and meandered our way towards the cars. Me being me, I decided to take an alternative route via a few mooring blocks I knew of an BINGO we started off with a Donald duck shrimp and three sleeping juvenile lion fish. Confidence was on its way up. We moved deeper along the slope and found a few small coral lumps and some tangled rope where Cathy found a beautiful flamboyant cuttlefish – AWESOME. The three of us were a good team. I searched out the broader area ahead, I would alert Cathy to what I had found and she would wait for Star to come with his huge sea monster of a camera rig.  Star was busily and expertly taking photos always being careful not to get in anyone’s way or interrupting our marine hosts. I will not over describe what else happen EXCEPT what we found: two species of moray eels intertwined together, a scorpion fish, a large Sea Moth with iridescent blue fin tips, a bunch (not sure of the collective noun) of Lion fish – BEAUTIFULLY DANGEROUS, glass shrimp and 5, yes FIVE ornate ghost pipefish. The pipefish were a huge deal for me because I had never found ANY on my own before and they were the FIRST critters I was ever shown back on my first dive with DM Dan back in the day. Back then I had not real interest or understanding of the skill it takes to spot these tiny, camouflaged creatures so there was a nice circularity there for me.

There was a tidy little challenge embedded within this dive because it appears the Star and Cathy did not really need to breathe underwater, so for the first time in a LONG time, I was having to carefully monitor and ration my air consumption. It turns out that after an hour dive with most of it at a decent depth which increases consumption speed due to increased pressure and therefore air density, (well within our deco limits), we all finished with about a third of our air left. AWESOME DIVE. I could quite happily say that it was one of the best dives I have ever had the honour of being on let alone led. Adam = Happy BeardFace. The rest of the day panned out nicely, with fun and laughter, drinks were drunk and stories were shared. BLISS.

Since then I have lead many MANY customers around and continue to see amazing and beautiful creatures. I think I am in love with the ocean a little bit. I now have a favourite nudibranch (literal translation – naked lung because they breathe through their skin) Funeral Jurona. Having a favourite nudibranch was something I always gently scoffed at when i first started diving however, now I understand what the fuss is about. Look them up. 

Life here is becoming increasingly addictive. The people I call my friends are slowing setting up camp the long term section of my heart and I continue to look forward to writing to you. ALL OF YOU.

I have not been listening to as much music as usual BUT somehow (and I am not usually a fan) but FatBoy Slim’s – Don’t Let The man Get You down(Pay Your Debts) has been on constant rotation in my brain. Maybe it’s the aptness of the line “and the long haired freaky people need not apply...”

I hope whatever you are doing and wherever you are, I find you in good health and high spirits. I cannot wait to see you again and when I do... HUGS ALL ROUND!!! Hurroo!!

Love as usual,

BeardFace

A special thanks to Star, Mark Pacey and Anna for letting me use their photos in this blog!

PS. TELL YOUR FRIENDS

PPS. Yeah, that is a photo of me with a magnifying glass and 'smoking' my pipe while diving

I love it when a plan comes together

I sit here as Juilette plays guitar, I sink further and further, deeper and deeper into and smug warmth that is almost comparable to a euphoric sense of content. Why would a man use such hyperbole with such little regard for those words not considered to be worthy of the term superlative? As Our Old Friend said to me today (as a joke as I took a slightly different path back from the beach) – “the last thing Liquid needs is a maverick Ads”. Well basically, I am coming off the back of an indescribably wonderful series of days. Admittedly, I said indescribable BUT, as you can guess, I am going to describe them now.

Let me set the scene. If you have been lucky enough to read some of my words before, then you will know how beautiful Liquid Dumaguete is. Let me go a little less mainstream in my description now. My name is Adam WonderBear Detre. You know this. I am called many things by many people BUT, those out there who know me best/closest they call me Ads or Bear. I don’t know whether it is something from childhood or whether it is the comfort of feeling close to someone purely by what/how they call you, regardless, I like being called by a familiar name. It was hard leaving the UK this time around so when I came back and my friends and family here called me Ads, it made the transition a little bit easier to the point of filling my heart with a little bit of joy. The people here managers, staff and guests alike are AWESOME.

I digress. Diving. That is what I do and that is why I have my alarm set earlier here than back home in the UK for my former office job. It has been a tremendous few weeks of day trips to Apo Island, Siquijor and Sumilon Island; on top of all this there have been a multitude of coastal dives and of course, a massive number of PADI certifications. My personal highlights include diving at Apo with Sandra. Much as she was a lovely lady, it was more what happened than with who. Gui and I were working together which is something I always enjoy and we had decided on trying the Coconut Point drift dive. A drift is when you drop in on a site that has a known current and you ‘ride’ it, much like skydiving sideways… underwater… This particular dive definitely got the adrenaline pumping as we hit medium-strong horizontal AND down currents gently sending us over a variety of Apo’s famously exquisite corals. Not only this, but in one of the few current shadows, we stumbled across a HUGE (bold, caps, underline and italics intended) fish called a Jack. I estimated it to be around 2-2.5metres long and maybe a 1metres tall. Let me put it this way, it put Morris the resident BIG Grouper (found at Publacion) to shame.

Earnie the Eel

Having worn the guests/students out a tiny bit, Gui and I decided to have a nice relaxing shallow dive to finish the day. Sandra and I wandered off around the shallows at Katu Panan – one of my favourite dive sites in the area – and we immediately blessed with the gift of a turtle feeding on some soft coral. He seemed pretty chilled out and very comfortable with us being there so we stayed for five minutes always respecting his space and not busying up his area too much. This is something I strongly believe in. We, as divers, are VISITORS to the underwater worlds so we should ALL leave stuff ALONE. Mini-rant done. We continued to wander around at around 7metres deep (it’s not all about depth y’know) and once again, lucky us, we stumbled across a fluorescent green hermit crab the name of which we have not been able to determine yet. Awesome. Quite content with having found these two I felt like my work there was done. Oh no. As if by magic, I was staring blankly at a rock trying to centre and focus my thoughts, during which and to my amazement, I found myself eyeballing an octopus poking his head out of a crack in said rock. Double-awesome. Ok, so at the risk of showing off, it does not stop there. Sandra had been asking to see a sea snake all day, so I was pretty keen to pander to her desires. It was as if I had set everything up so that while hovering at 5metres for our safety stop, I looked down to see an iridescent snake eel gliding through the corals. I nonchalantly tapped her on the shoulder to point it out and right on cue, she squealed with delight.

a tiny TINY crab

All this sounds fairly unimportant BUT as a DM (oh yeah, I passed all my exams) part of your role is to not only guide dives but also point out local wildlife. Anyone can spot a fish because there are loads but spotting a rare fish or a tiny organism or downright weird something-or-other is a bit of an art form. That afternoon was one of the first where I felt I was able to accomplish this to a creditable level. I have a LOT to learn from Alfred who has telescope eyes while being a bastion of aquatic knowledge.

Our Old Friend has recently started on the road to his dream diving job. He has started his Tec Diver training courses which will take him towards becoming a Tec Diving Instructor. What is Tec Diving? Isn’t diving diving? ‘Fraid not. There is recreational diving which is generally run by the associations you have heard of – most notably PADI and sends people down to 40metres (having passed a Speciality Deep Dive Certification). Tec Diving is more like what you imagine hardcore diving to be like - lots of tanks that look like jetpacks. Plus, from what I can glean, lots of clips and extra gear that sounds cool and does amazing things with minimal margins for error. There is an extraordinary amount of theory that accompanies the practical side of things and THIS in itself is worth looking it to. It covers everything from manufacturing principles and servicing through to human physiology and psychology. It is the closest manifestation of diving that I know of that takes it from being an activity to way of life. There is no limit or end to the learning and development involved. Plus it gives Our Old Friend and excuse to indulge his favourite activity – talking about, playing with and buying new dive gear.

This week has gently been soundtracked by The Stornoways – We are the Battery Humans. AND Bright Eyes – First day of my life. I could write for HOURS about this song. It is easily one of the greatest songs of my lifetime. Listen to it and create your own memories. You will not regret it I promise.

I have talked a lot today and I have not even mentioned the important bits that I was going to write about. I would have put exclamation marks at the end of the last sentence but I have the voice of my old English teacher shouting at me not to so please imagine that the last sentence was accented by three exclamation marks. I will try and give a brief photographic run down of what else has happened:

We celebrated the 30th year of Gui being born

The Liquid Dumatini was created

Eva had her snorkel test

I had MY snorkel test - Branston Pickle included

From all of us here - G'BYE FOR NOW!!  

Back into the (DiveMaster) thick of it

WOW, has it been that long already. You have to understand that I have no idea what day of the week it is. Sometimes, I wake up and I am scared that it is the day after tomorrow, then I realise/hope that someone would have come to check I was alive. (The photo? Yeah, that’s me… in the tropics… Yeah, I know. My hair looks great. THANKS!)

I have indulged myself over the last few missives mainly by spouting my internal flim-flam and mental wonderings but it appears that it was at the detriment of actual CONTENT. People like to read about actual things. So this time, I am making a conscious effort to have a focus. Let’s try talking about diving. Are you sitting comfortably? Then I shall begin.

My days are orientated by whether I am diving or not and if it I am assisting on a course. This week has been all about assisting for me and all the other DiverMaster Trainees (DMTs)… yeah, I know, there are more of us now. There is Eva who was here when I arrived back. From what I have seen and been told, she can hold her own in the bar and definitely in the ocean. Suzi/Suzanne loved being in the water and no matter what time of day, I turn around and she is in the pool. Me OBVIOUSLY – ‘the first’ and original zero to hero Liquid DiveMaster. Laura is here doing her rescue and this time next week she will be working towards her DM. AND FINALLY, Juilette arrived with wide eyes and calm, understated excitement. Alfred the resort’s official DiveMaster continues to be an inspiration and then there are our instructors - Gui ‘le beurre’ and then is our old friend who is wandering about in the depths of the blue surrounding Malapascua. Basically, there are LOADS of new people. Oh how could I forget, Phil and Elin are here now under the guise of Management and all round badasses. So far, they had a wonderful impact on the place LONG may it continue.

The staff have taken been given the chance to do their Open Water and so the pool has been filled with excited Filippinos and (slightly) frantic DMTs trying to stop them floating away, drinking the water out of their snorkels and generally keeping everything in control. The role of a DMT while assisting is basically to make sure everything that the instructor needs in on hand, while also looking after students and perhaps helping them through the trickier skills. Personally, I LOVE assisting on courses because you get to see people happy shock and growing awe at how easy it is to breath underwater and THEN there are the fish. EVERYWHERE. I get a properly euphoric feeling when diving with newbies because it reminds me of why I am here and invigorates me even on the slowest of days. Gui and I are becoming a better and better team which is gently solidifying a friendship for many years to come. It’s not all rainbows and butterflies. While assisting in the open water we basically end up riding the student’s tank ‘like a little pony’ (my words) to make sure they do not ascend too quickly.

Daily life is hotting up both literally (the sun is back… and this time it want revenge) and metaphorically. The life of a DiveMaster and the training that precedes it is fairly all encompassing. Of an average day, I can expect to be welcoming new guests *INSERT HOLLYWOOD WINK AND GUN*, cleaning and servicing equipment, mapping new dive sites or errrrr, DIVING. More accurately, I could be guiding, briefing procedures for, buddy-ing up with guests or assisting Gui on certifications. This week Suzi, Eva and I have been refining our skills to “demonstration quality”. What are these skills you talk of? Witchcraft? Shamanism? Baking? Nope. I am talking about displaying diving techniques. These vary greatly from clearing your mask of water, removing and replacing your weight-belt while underwater or air depletion scenarios. What is this demonstration quality malarkey and why is it necessary for a DiveMaster? Ultimately if I am assisting on a course it may be the case that need to help a student if they are having problems with a skills so demonstration quality basically means slow, grand gestures with plenty of “remember, don’t put your mask on upside down” using only hand signals. It’s like training to be an aquatic Marcel Marceau.

Fear not good people, most of the times in between these strenuous and hectic days, I am found reclining in my favourite corner of the chill out area or propping up the bar. Both important parts of my personal life training. It was with sheer delight that a good friend from my previous life in London – Gav - was out here whence I returned. He is the reason I ended up in this corner of paradise because he put me in touch with Zoe last April. April 10th to be precise. I think that day will be forever etched into my life as a turning point. Thanks Gav, it was properly wonderful to see you here even overlapped for only a few days. Gav and I worked together and shared MANY a night in the pub, so bringing him, Zoe (a childhood friend since the age of 3), me and everyone else at liquid together… on a night out… could only end in carnage. It is here that I will use a direct quotation from Gav himself:

“Well last night went like this - 4 dinners between 3, jugs of cocktails, Philippine Reggae band, 9 people on a tricycle, random club, dice based drinking game, accidental punch on the nose, French love triangle, drunken man from Lincoln, disgruntled prostitutes, fun with static electricity and a bear, 4 people sleeping in a tricycle, a torchlit walk home and a persistent ladyboy called Stephen then some excellent star gazing from a volcanic beach. Pretty average Wednesday night really”

I don’t think I need to elaborate.

I thought I would leave you with MY favourite underwater creature that I have found and fortunately for me, they are along the coast. It is a flambouyant cuttle fish. They are about 1-2 inches long. If you wave your hand near them, first they go into hover mode THEN, they go crazy displaying white and purple stripes. I am not sure if you have ever seen a cuttle fish BUT they are able to change colour to blend with their surroundings. They display these colours to confuse and put-off any predators. Have a look HERE for a video taken my John one of our former guests.

I have a listen to Michael Kiwanuka - Home Again. Don’t get me wrong, I am not homesick BUT I love my home, my friends and my family both here and in the UK. This song fills me with a warmth that could only be emulated by having all these people in one place. One beautiful place.

Take it easy people.

Until the next time, Ads

Philippines - Papa's a-coming

2012. It’s been a funny year already but mainly in a good positive, good-foundation-on-which-to start-a-year kinda way. I left London and my family and friends at 7:30pm on the 31^st December only to wake up in Riyadh at 4:30am (I think) to the constant sound of mobile phone ringing. The sound of a phone ringing is no longer noteworthy but it seemed like the world I had woken up in was suddenly sponsored by the Nokia ringtone you know the one – diddle-dee-dee-dee-dee-DEEEE diddle-dee-dee-dee-dee-DEEEE - including  the airport tannoy.

I went home, back to London town, for Christmas and I have to admit that is was not relaxing but nor was I expecting or intending it to be. It was a maelstrom of social jitterbug of flitting and shimmying making sure I spent time with the people I wanted to while also crowbarring in those who make my life the wonderous joy that it is. I feel/felt the need to state my love for London and the UK because I do often as a retort to a remark like “I don’t blame you for leaving this hellhole”. I am proud to be English and swell with pride while wondering the street of my London town.

I have been ‘working hard’ (I add the inverted commas because I can imagine Dad laughing at the fact that I am calling it 1) working and 2) hard) while I was home and I am now a product/user tester for a few outdoorsy products. At the risk of sounding like I am kissing arse (ass for our American cousins) a bit, I have to say I am extremely impressed with what I have been given.

·         DD hammocks have given me a new sleeping system to test and so far I am very pleased to say that their new Travel Hammock/Biviis excellent. I cannot wait to go out Mount Talinis now.

·         Pelican cases have also given me an iPod case which is crush proof, watertight (but not submersible) and extremely light considering what it is able to do

·         Paramo have provide me with a pair of their Men's Maui Cotton+ Cargo Trousers. Anyone that has been following me for a little while will know that my jungle trousers from last year got obliterated so I set a few companies the challenge of providing me a decent pair and Paramo were the only ones to step up. Not only that but their use a very ethical supply chain (kind of like fair trade but for trousers) that starts in Bogota, Colombia. All else aside, these are a wonderfully well made and very light weight pair of cotton/polyester blend trousers. I already highly recommend them.

I am really quite unfashionably excited for my near and far futures. I know that any time spend at Liquid will be treasured for the rest of my life. There is a 99% chance that I am going to spend the second half of this year in Madagascar with an organisation called Frontier which would be a boyhood dream come true so you’ll have to keep an eye out for that.

It took me over 57hours to get from Heathrow to Dumaguete. I can hear everyone questions as to WHY OH WHY it takes me that long BUT I took a long way round and it was fairly cheap too. Manila NAIA Airport Terminate 3, an airport terminal I know intimately down to where the only power socket situated next to a chair is and the wireless password to three of the closed networks, was kind to me as usual. This time, I invested my time wisely by watching two parts of the Lords of the Rings trilogy (extended versions OBVIOUSLY) as well as a fair few episodes of The Wire. “Omar’s comin’ y’all”. I am tired but so happily excited to be getting back to the country/island/town/resort I call my home away from home. What should I do first when I return. Eat? Sleep? Dive? LIVE?!? Probably all of the above plus maybe a drink or two. I also need a hair cut but I think that that can wait. I am keen to meet Eva who is a new DiveMaster Trainee as well as all the many others imminently arriving over the coming weeks. (Gui has been busy).

I have bought a sack (disguised as an ASDA back for life) of treats for my co-habitants which got me thinking. What would I miss from the UK that I can’t easily get in Negros? I can access Ribena here which is something that makes me feel at home when I am away from the UK, I do not miss chocolate so much. Cooking-wise, Ricki and Peddi are able to turn their hand to anything so, my favourite at home which is chicken in breadcrumbs is available then necessary and then it dawned on me. I definitely miss my cat Li’l (short for little... because she is little). I also think I miss Hungarian Salami - something I was bought up on. I am not the most Magyar-ish of the Magyars although there are definitely Detre/Frankl traits that are beginning to shine through – mainly blagging and charming. This was bought to my attention when explaining my favourite Jedi mind trick to my extended family which goes along something like this. If I am faced with a situation which is likely to put a spanner in my works then I explain, regardless of my experience of the situation, that “It’s fine, it’ll be ok”. This is most useful when dealing with airports, aeroplanes or the staff that man these entities. I have not paid excess baggage since I first arrived in Asia and apparently I am able to use the staff facilities in both Saudi Arabian and Filippino airports mainly because “it’ll be ok.”

I have to admit that this entry of my life feels a lot like the gentle mental meanderings of a sleep deprived diving junglist without any mention of diving or jungling. I admit also that were it not for the sleep deprivation, the mental meanderings would probably be slightly more erratic. If you have a problem with that then you should probably have stopped reading a while ago. I ALSO think the jungle can be made into a verb. One CAN jungle.

Wild Child – Pillow Talk; Daughter – Candles and SBTRKT –Right Thing to Do were the main songs that highlighted and sountracked my sojourn back to the UK. I heartily encourage you to give them all a listen.

I could have summed this 1,092 words up in a couple of sentences:

Friends, family and London - I love you and I’ll see you again soonish. Liquid, my family there and Dauin – I love you too and Papa’s home!