got up early this morning and seen the perfect conditions so i hooked up my boat, grabbed my speargun and surfboard, and headed down to the harbor. the conditions couldn’t have been any better for diving and surfing today. just so beautiful!

for us surfers, when the water is super calm like this, we call it “glassy.” smooth like a glass, and reflects like a glass. the ultimate dream conditions that happen a lot from october to march.

it’s been so long since i got to go diving and it felt just like home. on my first dive, i dropped down to spear a kole. bang! got it, then a 8′ shark came and tried to take it away from me. gosh, that shark is there every single time i go diving so when people tell me that sharks aren’t territorial, i know for a fact they don’t know what they are talking about. it’s the same shark every dive for the past 10 years. the only different is he’s getting bigger and getting more aggressive. then i went to look for the best tasting fish in the world, called Kumu! 45′ @ 2 minutes and i have one on my spear. can’t wait to steam this delicious expensive fish!

i could have dove all day today and filled up my cooler with fish, but that’s not my passion anymore. i just dive to catch dinner, give a few to friends, and that’s it. i did end up spearing some kole i know some guys down at the beach love to eat. after i came in, i dropped off 10 koles and a nenue and i’m sure they’re having a big friday night bbq party right now.
haven’t taken my boat out in a while so it felt so good living off the ocean. working in it, and eating from it. now all i need is a garden and i could live for free!

spent my first day on my last trip to the philippines in manila. went out my hotel and took a walk around the neighborhood. not the main streets, but the back streets. we say “off the beaten path.”

smelt a bbq so i followed my nose to this local shop.

super basic and super cheap. you order rice, then choose the main dish from the pots. homemade cooking!

this guy was in charge of the bbq. i had a great conversation with him in broken english. i think he was saying he was cooking mud fish.

i never ate mud fish before but it sure smelt good.

went to the local fruit stand and sampled some sweet filipino fruits.

then i turn my head the other way and see another fruit stand. this one had more selection.

the watermelon was pretty sweet!

this is another local store. lines of these little shops on the back roads.

then i passed by a church. it was sunday so it was time to ask for forgiveness.

sweet desert time.

the U.S dollar is pretty strong in the philippines. i changed a few hundred dollars and felt like i was rich. everything was really cheap and it reminded me of bali 20 years ago. i kind of want to go back and explore a little deeper in the philippines because the people are so nice. and the waves are nice too! salamat!

Going surfing and diving!