 Apo Island - Negros
From Malatapay near Dumaguette you can
catch a boat to Apo Island. (Not Apo reef) This is a great little stop
over for most people traveling in the Philippines.
You can catch a
jeepney from Dumaguete to Malatapay where there is a market on Wednesdays. It's a good day trip
from Dumaguette even if you are not on your way to Apo.
 The trip across to the island takes a little
negotiating but don't be in too big a hurry or you might pay more than you have to.
Basically the people of Apo head back home in the evening
bringing back with them fresh water, building supplies, rice etc and you are paying for the fuel.
There is
no real source of fresh water on Apo except for rain water and a
brackish water lagoon where the towns people raise fish for the market.
 All building supplies are brought in from the mainland because they don't want to
destroy the beaches getting sand and rock for construction projects.
Paul and Liberty's is a popular place for travelers
and peace corp groups to stay They have a dorm room and a number of
private rooms.
The Apo Beach Resort is next door through a passageway
in the rock wall. Both are nice. At Libertys the dorm is around 300
peso and rooms are around 900 peso.
The Apo Beach Resort is slightly
more expensive but very very nice. cell 09102193359. tel 035 321 1038
There are a few families in town that rent out
rooms too
The village's generator is shut down around 9pm so it is a good idea to
have a flashlight if you plan to walk around at night. Even a candle is
nice in case you have to get up at night to use the facilities.
Most of
the diving is done through Pauls. It's run by local dive guides and gives
them a chance to earn a living from the sea without taking all the
fish.
It makes sense that these people have a vested interest in
keeping the reefs nice and healthy instead of blasted away as is done
in so many other parts of the Philippines.
Liberty has a very deep
commitment to making her people succeed and benefit from the islands
natural beauty and resources.
She has on a number of occasions been
able to get some operators banned from the area for spearfishing in the
sanctuary etc.
Liberty is a native of the island and cares for her people.
+63(0)921 331 6325 She stays in Dumaguete because the kid goes to school
there. email-
This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it
Apo Island PO box 1 Dauin, Negros
Oriental Philippines 6217 ,Apo Direct +63(0) 920 238 5704
 There
are many dive boats that come in form surrounding islands that drop the
hook in the harbor and eat packaged lunches on the beach, use the
facilities and then go back home without contributing anything to the
local economy.
I prefer to stay on the island and try to contribute in
a small way. Plus it is a mini adventure and you can meet some
interesting people.
From Coconut to Rock Point there was a lot to see and I also
enjoyed a night dive. All the dive masters are from town and were good.
The sanctuary is loaded clownfish and there is a lot of great soft
coral.
There are some really nice drift dives especially the coconut
dive site. It's packed with jacks, trevalleys, and barracudas.
Apo Island - Philippines
www.dutchpickle.com
|
; "img_1001.jpg")
; "gen-san-045.jpg")
; "img_0879.jpg")
; "gen-san-054.jpg")
; "img_0975.jpg")
; "img_0880.jpg")
; "img_1011.jpg")