Dumaguete to Apo Island Snorkel

I had planned on visiting Apo Island while i was on Siquijor Island.   Unfortunately, i learned that only Coco Grove Resort ran boats the 2.5hr distance and it was rather pricey; plus the weather was not cooperating so the boats were not running.
And, I had another HUGE issue.   My 30 day Visa for the Philippines was about to expire.   The plan was to go back to Panglao/Kevin's and get the extension there.   But i was so close to Apo, i didn’t want to miss it, and didn’t want to have to back track to get there.
So i found out i could get my Visa extension in the town of Dumaguete on the Island of Negros, and then head south and out to the Island of Apo.
More time spent figuring out where the Immigration Office was in Dumaguete, hours, requirements, getting a room in Dumaguete, and getting a way south by land, then on another boat out to Apo; and … a place to stay on Apo for a couple of days.   Again frustration with the no contact details and no/slow responses.   But i did it all in a few days once i made the decision to change my plans.

Here is a map.   I went from the Island of Siquijor (at the bottom) to Dumaguete (letters in red, also at bottom).   Apo Island is the tiny dot between 5 & 6 at the bottom left side of the map.

10am Ferry from Siguijor to Dumaguete…… actually it was a Cargo Ferry, truck and cars in the bottom, and us passengers up top.

Obviously it was a HUGE vessel and a NICE smooth ride, sitting outside watching the seas; rather than stuck in an over-air conditioned room with TV blaring and kids crying   :)

Checked into Harold’s Mansion, a hostel-type place with nice clean private rooms with AirCon, showers, and a restaurant with decent food on the rooftop.  I signed up for their Snorkel Trip in the morning, which would take me out to Apo Island, and then i could stay there for 2 nights.   It was the easiest and cheapest way to get there. 
Harold’s confirmed the Immigration office address i had, and off i went with a tricycle.   No one was in line in front of me, and i filled out the paperwork in a few minutes … it’s going GREAT.    The next lady took my paperwork, my visa, and $60 and said to come back at 4pm…oops, i spoke too soon.    I was not comfortable leaving without my PassPort, nor a receipt for my $60; but she repeated herself and i got the strong impression, there was no more to talk about.  There was also a sign in the office saying that if i 'disrespected’ the officals i would be deported…. so i left with no Passport and no receipt.
I went to the ATM since i had not anticipated it would be that costly, and i was now low on cash, walked around the hot noisy streets for 20 min

Dumaguete is a big city, with tall-er buildings.   i am just not a big city girl, nor one that likes noise:  cars, tricycles, bikes, people going everywhere—no traffic lights and no stop signs here ….

This was going to be a long 3+ hours until 4pm.    i finally found Pasta King:  air conditioned, a bar, quiet, and a working WiFi.   I order a drink and a pasta lunch and sat there for 2+hours, then headed back to the Immigration Office.    There were a lot of people in there now, but i gave my name, they gave me my Passport, some papers, and another 29 days in the Philippines.    I was quite proud of myself   :)

Dumaguete has a nice long walk along the sea, with some huge trees

and this commemoration of the arrival of the Sisters of St Paul of Chartres in 1904 to start a mission in the Philippines with the establishment of St. Paul Academy, which is now St. Paul College of Dumaguete.… sorry but i can’t tell you anything else about it  :(   

Eventually i made my way back to Harold’s.    oh, i saw this sign

Along the way i tried to buy a small bottle of rum …. i felt like an alcoholic the way people repeated what i wanted and just looked at me like they’ve never heard of ‘rum’ before.   I was hot and tired, and headed up to the Rooftop without my rum, to cool off, use their WiFi and eat some dinner.   View from the RoofTop overlooking hills in the West.

Then bed, I needed to get up at 5:30am to get on the Snorkel Tour.


Apo Island Snorkel Trip
Harold’s Snorkel Tour to Apo Island was very well organized and i was impressed.   They loaded us into the back of a van/truck quickly and we were on our way to Dauin where we were loaded onto a nice big boat that should keep us all dry, (a concern for me since i had my laptop, phone, camera, powercords, etc).    I had talked with the ‘man in charge’ and he took my phone number and confirmed they would pick me up in 2 days.

By the way …. i have a Philippino telephone number if anyone wants to call or text me:    +63 917 696 2139    :)

We were lucky, it was a beautiful morning to be on the water and we arrived without incident; and i met a couple of nice people.  


When we got to the island i could see the Liberty Lodge where i would be staying for the next 2 nights…. looks nice up there on the hill in the trees.

This island, Apo Island, is written up as guaranteed to see turtles; but also great diving and snorkeling; and not so touristy.    So i was pretty excited to be here.

Our first snorkel was a disaster and a huge disappointment.  Everyone loves Turtles and they all come looking for them, even if they can’t swim and are deathly afraid of the water… especially the Chinese.
Before we got into the water, they stressed, ‘stay with your guide’ … ‘stay with your guide’  … ‘stay with your guide'
My guide has also been assigned 4 Chinese who cannot swim, wearing bright orange life vests, and he is pulling them all on a life ring.    It took them 15min just to get into the water and organized … i am not going to ‘stay with my guide’.    i was reprimanded several times, but he evidentually gave up, but that didn't help my Catholic guilt that i should ‘stay with my guide’.     i don’t mean to put people down who don’t know how to snorkel, i applaud those Chinese people for trying it.   But ... ‘it’s all about me’ … and i wanted to snorkel   :)
Here’s the thing about turtles.     i love seeing turtles; but they all look the same.   It doesn’t matter if you are on the West Coast of the USA, the Caribbean, the Galapagos, or Asia …  they all look the SAME.     i traveled half way around the world to meet new FISHES, not turtles. 


But of course, i saw a turtle.   i have never seen such a sad looking turtle, in such a posture.    i was the first one to see this poor down-trodden turtle.   I am sure he was floating there thinking … ‘ok, a few more minutes of peace before i am swarmed by tourists’.   It kind of broke my heart  :(

i left him and went looking for some new fishes, and several minutes later i looked back and there was a sea of orange in one small area …. poor turtle !


This area of the ‘reef’ for Turtle Viewing has been trampled by so many tourists, it’s not even pretty to look at underwater.   Basically i think they decided to 'sacrifice' this area, in hopes of continuing to attract tourists, but yet keep the rest of the reef healthy.

Also disappointing was the fact that all of our snorkel locations were just off shore.   It’s always difficult to get accurate information before you book a tour.   Actually, it’s difficult to get accurate information on any question you have when you are traveling!   Since we were snorkeling from a boat, i thought i would have an opportunity to get to some areas that would not be accessible without a boat.   Unfortunately, we were snorkeling from a boat to the snorkel area which was right on shore  :)    Since i was staying on this island for 2 nights, i could snorkel these same areas for free anytime i wanted.   If you are going to stay on the island, my recommendation would be to just pay for the trip to the island and back, and skip the 3 snorkels and lunch.  i would hqve saved some $$$; been much less frustrated, and free to go whereever i wanted for as long as i wanted   :(


Our second snorkel was just a short way down the beach, also accessible from the shore, but deeper here so not so much damage;  with some very pretty coral; but still not many fishes. 

But, yes, more turtles    :)

Lunch, then a short distance in the other direction for our third snorkel.     The waves had picked up considerably and most of the tourists weren’t interested in getting into the water again.    i had met a couple from Austria; the man was a diver and also frustrated by what we had seen, or not seen.  His wife chose not to do this snorkel, so he and i teamed up and made a plan to brave the waves and swim around this iconic large rock and see if we could find something interesting.

It was a great decision and interesting snorkel.   Then Werner motioned for me to come look at something.    It was another Spanish Dancer, like the one i saw at Siquijor, only much larger!

Hardly anyone ever sees a Spanish Dancer, and now i had seen TWO !    We were both pretty excited and watched and photographed it for a long time. 

Your ‘lesson’ for the day on the Spanish Dancer:

The Spanish Dancer is a Nudibranch, which is like a snail without a shell, or a ‘sea slug’ …. we have such a negative connotation of ‘slug’ i hate to use that word  :(

They eat marine sponges and toxic jellyfish and assimilates the poisions for her own defense.

Most Nudibranchs are about as big as your finger, but the Spanish Dancer can grow to 16 inches.

Her bright coloration, like the poison dart frogs and many other species, serves as a warning to potential predators … ‘i don’t taste good and can make you sick’ !

All Nudibranch’s crawl slowly, but the Spanish Dancer is the only one that can also swim.   
As she swims, her ‘dance’ is like the Spanish Flamenco Dancer with her red skirt undulating and swirling to the music.

She did eventually 'dance' for us   !!!
Here is the video i put together on YouTube:  https://youtu.be/aBADZ3hF2CU

Nudibranchs are simultaneous hermaphrodites; all individuals are both male and female.  Individuals cannot self fertilize, however, and they always require a mate. 

She offers a “rose” to the reef by laying her eggs in the shape of a rose.   Once deposited on the reef, neither parent provides care.  The egg ribbon-rose sits in plain sight; but contains a dose of the defense chemicals that the adults use to ward of predation, and they are brightly colored, an attempt to warn potential egg predators of this defense.   

Kim and i saw a ‘rose’ several times, but did not know what it was.   i’ve been told that this IS the ‘egg rose’ of the Spanish Dancer that we saw !

We also saw this Scorpion Fish laying motionless on the sandy bottom.   They just lay there camouflaged, thinking no one can see them …. and usually they don’t … but i have good eyes   :)

and a SeaSnake.   i’ve just noticed that the head and the tail of these snakes look the same.

One more turtle for the Turtle Lovers   :)

We spent so much time with our Dancer, that it was time to get back into the boat.   The discovery of the Spanish Dancer made the whole trip !

We finished our last tour after 2pm and it was time for me to get ready to go to my new home for 2 nights at Liberty Lodge.

Check back for the report on this ‘comfort’ camping lodge  :)