Cycle 17 – Item 3
Post 5,847
8 (Thu) January 2026
Caldereta de Cabrito
3.5
(Costabella Tropical Beach Hotel)
-Lapu Lapu, Cebu, Philippines-
with DJ, MtG & family, et al.
Dive Trip to Cebu, Day 3 of 5
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- Day 1 (17.001 Steamed Grouper in Scallion Soy Sauce)
- Day 2 (17.002 Rock Lobster in Garlic Sauce)
- Day 3 (17.003 Caldereta de Cabrito)
- Day 4 (17.004 Samgye Tang)
- Day 5 (17.005 Chicken Adobo with Fried Eggs + Kimchi)
In Cebu. With DJ (IZ has already started school, so he and W stayed behind). Third time for both us, first when DJ was not yet 4 (see generally 2.124 Pancit Canton), second when DJ was not yet 7 and IZ was 2 (see generally 5.121 Best Pig … Ever!). Tagging along with MtG and his family, who are training for their PADI Open Water and Advanced Open Water certifications (DJ also going for AOW). Arrived Tuesday, a day early to spend some quality time with DJ. Diving together Wednesday + Thursday + Friday. Going back Saturday.
DIVING
On liveaboard trips, I’m usually somewhere in the upper middle tier of skill level among the other divers, some of whom have 10,000+ dives, compared to my paltry 200+. But here, with divers who are rank amateurs (and some who claim to have 300+, diving in the mildest of conditions, I feel like the best of the bunch. MtG’s wife described me as a ghost or alternatively a submarine, so smooth and effortless is my form.
Because the air in the tank has been filtered to remove moisture (to avoid rusting the interior of the tank), breathing underwater leaves the throat quite dry, and thus susceptible to coughing. Drinking lots of water right before the dive only helps for so long. The regulator can be attached to a humidifier that injects mist into the air, but that’s costly and requires additional maintenance. Some divers take small sips of seawater. My solution has been to constantly swallow spit to keep the throat lubricated.
A new idea: juice pack. On the liveaboard in Indonesia, I had attempted this with a juice box, but the paper had disintegrated by the end of the dive, seeping seawater into juice. Yesterday, taking a foil juice pack from the boat, DJ and I tried drinking it during the safety stop, but the straw was difficult to manipulate underwater, and then, due to the water pressure (even at 5 m), seawater pushed into the pack through the puncture site of the straw. This time, we took a juice pack with a twist top – worked like a charm. With more practice, we should be able to pull it off mid-dive, whenever the throat gets scratchy – total flex.
I’m also looking into options for a hydration bladder with a sucking tube, like the kind worn by long distance cyclists.
LUNCH
DINNER
Luna Tapas + Bar is a Spanish restaurant. Tapas and other Spanish classics.
Even better, the restaurant also offers various activities, including a pool table, darts, board games, which everyone was enthused to play, before/during/after dinner.
Spanish cuisine is often a good bet in the Philippines, which was a colony under Spain for over 330 years (1565-1898) and adopted much of its culture over the centuries, including food. Many classic Filipino dishes – such as caldereta (see for example 5.127 Pork Caldereta), lechon (see for example 9.315 Lechon na Baboy), adobo (see for example 16.149 Chicken Adobo with Rice) – are actually reinterpreted Spanish dishes, as the names would suggest. So, local palettes are more accustomed to and better at producing authentic Spanish flavors than other European cuisines.
The food was good. Nobody else seemed familiar with the menu, so I curated the spread. High quality ingredients, expertly prepared. The caldereta was by far the best dish: succulent goat meat, including chunks of tail, in a very well-balanced sauce, excellent for dipping in bread – tasted exactly like Filipino caldereta. Everyone was happy across the board.
(See RESTAURANTS IN THE PHILIPPINES)
(See GLOBAL FOOD GLOSSARY)
(See BOOZE)