Ok, so Fiji was just a quick, long-weekend get-away with a fellow shark lover. We were actually just trying to use our airline miles before the direct flight from Guam to Fiji was canceled…made it:) We knew we had to do the bull shark dive! So we found Bequ Adventure Divers. We booked our own hotel. We stayed at the South Pearl Resort. It was fine from what i can remember, but we didn't really spend much time there. We also went zip-lining (scarier than bull sharks for sure…I'm a woman of depth, not heights!!!!).

So, we were only able to get in 4 dives. This was winter time for Fiji, I think. it was cold for a girl who lives on a tropical island. It was pretty windy. In fact, the first day of diving we dove a wreck and then a reef. The waters were a bit rough. It was even a bit surfy under the water as well as above. However, the 2 dives were full of colorful life! The variety of the 1st dive was so nice. There was a wreck, a reef, and tons of fish everywhere. Really nice! Then on the 2nd dive, we dove a reef that had 3 different colored leaf fish sitting in the same spot!!! How cool is that!!!

Next day was the BIG day….DIVING WITH BULL SHARKS and possibly a TIGER SHARK!!!!! So we were not fortunate enough to see the tiger shark, but diving with about a dozen bull sharks is pretty EPIC! The way they have this dive set up is idiot proof…very nice:) They have made "coral walls" at each level of the dive for us to lay down behind and just watch the feeding take place. The first level is at about 95-100 ft. There was a handful of bull sharks. This was when I got to see a bull shark open his mouth completely and show all of his teeth…my eyes were the size of softballs!!! But it was too cool! Once our computers started getting fussy, we moved up to about 60ft. A few bull sharks followed, but mostly we watched the reef sharks eat. Still pretty cool.
Diving with BULL SHARKS round 2: On the second dive we didn't do the deep level. But I think they had set up the food in advance because I dove with a DOZEN bull sharks on this dive! I had perfect seating right behind the feeder! These sharks have been trained to go in a certain direction (kind of like lining up in the cafeteria) to get their tuna. My favorite part of this dive was when one bull shark decided to turn towards the coral wall after getting his fish head…he came within 4 feet of my face!!!! I WAS EYEBALLED BY A BULL SHARK!!!! I feel blessed that I have lived to tell these tales:) i hope I get to go back to Fiji some day. I would love to do more than just a weekend trip. I have dove with 8 different shark species. Have viewed a few different shark feedings. Fiji was BY FAR the best shark dive I have ever done!!!

Evolution took care of our accommodations, diving, food, everything! i really liked how everything was very close. Our rooms had 2 big beds, one small bathroom, and plenty of drawers to put our clothes and other items in. I like how they had a bucket of water right outside the door to clean your feet off before you entered. There was also a small table outside our door on our "porch". You could hang clothes to dry. Again, my biggest appreciation was that once I stepped out of my door, it was just a few yards to my dive gear, the restaurant, an the boat.

The dive guides did an excellent job. They cleaned our gear, brought our gear to the boat every morning, took care of our gear at night, The boats were a little different from others I've been on in the PI. They were still spacious. The crew took your gear from you before you climbed the ladder to get back on the boat. There was water and tea/coffee served on the boat.

The restaurant had a nice variety of food. The menu had seafood choices, burgers, tacos, and it seems like more elegant choices for dinner. They offered a "special" each night. However, this establishment was at a different end of Malapascua than TSD. So, there were a few other restaurant choices. But, we mostly ate at our resort. There was also a place for really good massages like 2 doors down.

This dive operator/resort made everything convenient and enjoyable:)

I absolutely love diving in the Philippines! This last March I had the opportunity to dive Dumagette. It was amazing! I stayed at Mike's Dauin Beach Resort. This resort included security, a pool, a restaurant, and impeccable service. I had a room that I shared with a buddy. There were 2 twin size beds, 1 big closet for us to share, and one descent sized bathroom. It was a little small, but we managed just fine. When you dive in places such as this, the beds are not extremely comfortable, but you can live for a week. However, they cleaned the rooms everyday. They restocked our shampoo, toilet paper, and soap. If you have anything you don't want to keep in the room, the office has a safe.

Basically, we did everything through Mike: our resort, our diving, and our food. The first night we were there, they had a spread that was so delicious I went up for 4ths! We are talking deliciously grilled fish, fresh local fruit, other fresh salads, rice with a special soy sauce and more! I'm telling you, I could've eaten it every night! However, the other food they had to choose from was so good, that I didn't have to. I do remember a person being on our trip who was vegan. They accomodated her pretty easily and happily. I was really impressed with the wide variety they had for food. This was not my first time diving in the PI, but it was one of my favorites especially food-wise.

Now to the diving, Unbelievably awesome!!!! There is a large amount of muck diving. Which, at first makes you think, "why are you dropping us off here?" Then when everywhere you turn you see a critter, you realize why they dropped you off at that site. I saw flamboyant cuttlefish, cuttlefish, every variety of ghost pipefish you can imagine, frog fish, flounders, and so much more! Some of the critters were smaller than an inch. One day, we took an 1.5 hour boat ride to dive with WHALE SHARKS! They have men feeding the whale sharks krill from their boats. So you get to just chill with the whale sharks while they are feeding. The sharks could care less that you are there! I think I dove with about 8 of them.

Overall, this was one of my favorite trips. I do love sharks, plus I was able to see a few firsts with macro too. I really liked the whole experience. The food, the friendly service, the diving, and also cheap massages made this trip unforgettable! i would go back in a heartbeat!

How would you like to wake up to THRESHER SHARKS, swim UNDER an island, and do night dives with blue ringed octopus? Uh, YES PLEASE! SIGN ME UP! Oh wait, I've done this trip twice. For me that's pretty crazy because I'm cheap and have too many destinations I want to go in the world. It has to be a very special place to get me to pay to go back again…Malapascua IS that kind of a place:)

First thing to know about Malapascua is that it does take a bit of travel to get there: At least 2 flights (Manila and Cebu for me), then a very long taxi ride (at least 2.5 hours, I can't remember exactly), then a short ferry boat ride to take you to the island.

Second thing you should know is that Malapascua (or any tiny island in the PI for that matter) is not extremely modern in the sense of banking. Make sure you do all of your money exchanging in Manila at the airport. There will be no banking/atm on Malapascua. You can use a credit card at the resorts, dive shops, and most restaurants, but they charge at least 6%. It's better to have cash.

Now to the BEST part…..THE DIVING :D EVERY morning we got up around 5:00am to dive with THRESHER SHARKS! Out of the 2 weeks I've spent in Malapascua, there was only one shark dive that I did not see the sharks. There was still stuff to look at even though the sharks did not come. So, it wasn't a wasted dive. In fact, that is where I found my first ever sea moth! After the shark dive, we went back to the resort for breakfast. then 2 more dives in the morning/afternoon. Either come back for lunch or pack lunch on the boat and dive kinda far from shore. And, if you're like me and LOVE night dives, that is also an option.

Monad Shoal is the name of the cleaning station that the sharks come to. However, this last trip I went on they took us to a new spot. It was even better than Monad Shoal! I had 3 threshers swim right in front of me!!!! Seriously, it. was. AWESOME!!! The island you can swim under is called Gato Tunnel. After you swim under, you can look around for frogfish, sea horses, pigmy sea horses, pipefish, sea snakes, cuttlefish, etc. All of the other dives include the small animals I just mentioned. And another amazing aspect of the PI is how much life and color you see in the ocean. There is one dive in Malapascua that has a reef covered in the most gorgeous soft coral ever. No dive in Malapascua was disappointing. Each one had something to offer.

I do have to give a special shout out to the night dives. If you want to see a blue ringed octopus, night diving is a must! BTW the first day (of my 2nd time to Malapascua) I got on the boat and said, " 500 PESOS (about $13 US) to the one who finds me a blue ringed octopus!!!" Guess who those guides came swimming after EVERY TIME a blue ring was found:) I spent about 20 minutes with my first blue ring…I just got goosebumps writing that!!!! I saw 3 altogether:) And yes, each dive guide got the 500 peso blue ring tip because they were both awesome:) So not only did I get to dive with one of the cutest, coolest, deadliest critters in the ocean, I also saw so many crab species in was crazy! Plus there were sea horses, cuttlefish (one as tiny as my thumb nail), and mandarin fish too!

I feel as if Malapascua has such a huge variety to offer. I try to base my trips on getting to dive with some type of shark species along with the awesome macro stuff:) I honestly cannot recommend a better place for you to dive:)