and let me start off with this ... i met NEMO ....my first day, my first dive ... a MAJOR goal of mine :)
fyi: Nemo does not live anywhere in the waters of Belize nor Honduras; so i am pretty excited :)
His home is in this Magnificent Anemone; more facts on that later.
Where in the World is the Philippines ?
and where am i ?
A little bit about where i am; here is a map of the Philippines. The Island of Bohol is just below the center of the map. It is not named, but is where it says ‘Chocolate Hills’ on the map. I guess that gives you an idea about the importance they place on Chocolate Hills. (more on Chocolate Hills later). Just above that, Cebu, is where i flew into from Hong Kong.
This map shows the Island of Bohol. It is about 60 miles long, and 30 miles wide; so it’s no small island. ….. very much unlike Caye Caulker ! You can see Cebu City at the top. I took a Ferry from there to Tagbilaran City, the ‘metropolis’. We are in the Visayas Region and they speak Visaya, aka Cebuano.
We are on the smaller Island of Panglao, off the southwest corner of Bohol. It is smaller, 16 miles, by 4 miles … still very much unlike Caye Caulker. It is about 30 minutes from Tagbilaran to Panglao.
Alona Beach is right at the bottom of the ‘g’ of ‘Panglao’, on the map above; and is more within my comfort range … Dive Shops and restaurants with a sand street and the beach out front :)
a bit about the Philippines:
28,241 beaches, mountain ranges that reach to almost 10,000 feet and a biodiversity that includes more than 13,500 plant species, almost 600 species of birds and 500 animal species. The Philippine population of 90+ million people is an eclectic mix of Philippine, Malay, Chinese, Spanish and Western cultures and includes 89 indigenous peoples groups, making the Philippines one of the most diverse and colorful tropical islands cultures in the World today.
i have been wanting to visit and explore this part of the earth’s oceans for a long time; and i am finally here ! made possible, mostly, through gracious friends, Kevin and Nadia, who i am now staying with; and helped me tremendously through the ‘getting here’ process. i will be eternally grateful!
reaching this year's adventure took a bit longer than going to Belize. i flew from Kalamazoo at 6am, or tried to, but because of engine trouble, we didn't leave until 11:30. Fortunately this wasn't a problem for me, since my flight out of Chicago to Hong Kong wasn't until 2pm; so that's 8 hours. the flight into Hong Kong was 16 hours, arriving the next day at 9pm. hanging out for 11 hours in the Hong Kong Airport. at 8am, i flew to Cebu, Philippines, another 3 hours. taxi to the Ferry and the ferry ride to Tagbilaran, 3 more hours; arriving at Kevin and Nadia's home, another hour .... leaving at 8 Jan at 6am, arriving on 10 Jan at 5pm ..... that's about a 40 hour journey to warm sunshine ....... unfortunately, it has been raining off and on since i got here; but not all day; and no snow either :)
I am 13 hours ahead of you all in Kalamazoo, so if you want to know what the future holds for you, just let me know :)
While in the Hong Kong Airport for 11 hours, i entertained myself by watching these girls plant this planter with these beautiful orchids of pink and yellow ... it was quite a production. Unfortunately, i had to leave before they finished.
i've had 2 'reunions' already with friends i had met in Belize and Honduras.
First, i met Christopher, from Hong Kong, at Madi’s a couple of years ago. he lives in Hong Kong and was departing at the same time as i was; so we met for an hour or so inside the Hong Kong airport. it’s so much fun to catch up with people i’ve met through the years…. thanks to FaceBook for keeping us connected.
in the airplane from Hong Kong to Cebu City, i sat next to a girl who did not stop coughing the whole trip, and the one behind me was coughing, and 2 seats in front of me .... i finally resorted to putting on my mask. After which, the girl sitting next to me decided it would be 'courteous' to put hers on too :(
My new home ..... we are in the Penthouse on the 3rd floor
this is the view of the morning sunrise out my bedroom window. The sun is rising over the water.
this is the family ... Kevin, Nadia, and Viana, who is 6 years old; notice Viana is wearing the scarf i made for her :)
my second reunion was with Greg, from Alaska. we met 5 years ago in Utila, and through FaceBook learned that he was going to be in the Philippines. He arranged his schedule to come visit me and arrived just a few hours after i did. He found his way to Kevin and Nadia home, and they graciously invited him to stay here with us. It was because of him that we dove that first day and met Nemo. Normally, i wouldn’t have ‘dove’ into my diving that quickly. He spent just a day and a half here, but it was great to see him too. Kevin’s daughter, Viana and her friend Jody ‘fell in love’ with Greg ….ahhh, they had such a crush on him. Jody even faked being sick from school, so she could see him :)
My first dive was awesome ! On our way out to the Dive Site, our Captain shouted 'Whale Shark". For those of you who have followed me, know that i spent 3 winters in Utila, volunteering at the Whale Shark Office, and never once saw a Whale Shark. And here we are, first day out, and we encountered one. Greg was in the water first and came eye to eye with it. i was a little slower, and i saw him swimming under me. but still ... pretty amazing! There are Whale Sharks in these waters, but not generally here and that close to shore! WoW !
the Dive Site was right out from of Alona Beach to the ‘Wall’ …. which is where the sand stops and drops off down a cliff. You can see the Wall here.
There was a nice current, so we just let it take us long the wall, kind of like being on an escalator through an art gallery, while we looked in amazement.
All kinds of corals that i’ve never seen before. They have been having a lot of rain and winds lately, so visibility was not that good, but since we were nose to nose with the wall, it didn’t make any difference for viewing.
Feather Stars .... something new for me. Your first lesson of the season :)
I am seeing these pretty feathery creatures now for the first time. They are called Crinoids or Feather Stars. They are cousins of Sea Stars and Sea Urchins, members of the Echinoderm family, which means they all have the same basic 5-sided symmetry.
Feather Stars differ from Sea Stars and Urchins, in that they:
--have multiple arms, but always divisible by 5
--they are much more ancient, fossil records back 450million years
—their mouth faces upwards, unlike Sea Stars and Urchins
—they can fasten themselves to the sea floor by a stalk, but
--they can also lose their stalk and swim and float
They use their feathery accouterments (i like that word) to capture plankton from the water to feed.
and i love the colors on the one in the photo below.
Fish and crabs eat them, and often their arms get used by smaller creatures as a hiding place, sometimes suffering damage themselves. Like Sea Stars they are able to grow new arms to replace those lost as a distraction, or eaten by predators.
All this means that they are Animals … although they look like a Plant.
and check out that pink coral in the photo below !
I am going to start paying more attention and looking for these now :)
These are Magnificent Feather Dusters, a type of tube worm. They build tubes out of parchment, sand, and bits of shell, and then hide inside the papery tube when disturbed ... as seen in this photo:
more to come ...
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