Cold Water Kitty: Anilao 2024

Sunday, August 4, 2024

Anilao 2024

We were kind of slackers about coming up with vacation plans for this year. This was a combination of complex work/travel calendars to plan around and just being lazy. So in early July, I realized if we were going to go anywhere, we'd better make plans. We decided on Anilao because it is relatively easy to get to, and we only had a week, and we liked it the last time we went. Since United now has a direct flight from SFO to Manila, it was *very* easy to get there. Getting back was not quite as easy, since the direct flight back is at an annoying time (that would require an overnight in Manila), but still in the scheme of things, having one stop in Hong Kong is a pretty easy journey. It was also easy because we already knew where to stay, having stayed at (and liked) Buceo Anilao before

Some thoughts on Anilao... last time we went, I said that if I came back, I'd want to come at a different time of year. We ended up coming the exact same week as last time, and I still think if I went again, I'd want to go at a different time of years. There are a lot of critters that are not around in the summer, when the water is *crazy* hot. I had 84 to 86 degrees the entire week. I was pulling on the neck of my wetsuit to let water in, because it was so hot underwater!

Some thoughts on Buceo Anilao... much like last time, I thought that the room was fine, the food was fine, the pool was nice, the bar was good, the diving was great, and the guides were super great. Our guide for most of the week, Joemar, was amazing at finding teeny tiny slugs and things, and also herding slugs into a position where you could actually get a look at them. We stayed in the Mantis Shrimp room, which was annoying far up the stairs (further than where we stayed last time, in Ghost Pipefish). Also like last time, there were some regular kitties that made appearances in the restaurant and around the resort, which were fun to watch.