Dumaluna Beach Snorkel

My first day back from Balicasag Island i spent walking around from restaurant to restaurant trying to find internet.   The power was out, so they said, and it was not working anywhere.   i stopped at the Dive Shop, researched and found names of the new fishes i met at Balicasag.

I spent most of the NEXT morning at the Tip Top restaurant using their internet, trying to organize my next adventure to the Island of Siquijor, i was unsuccessful.    Back home i got ready, and then took one of those little tricycle-taxi inventions to a beach down the road a ways call Dumaluna.

After paying my 50cent entry fee, i looked around.   Nice little constructed spaces you can rent for your group, and open seating also.  Quite nice actually

It was sunny  :)    The beach was beautiful, white sand, and expansive; and not too many people.   Although this photo reminds me of an ice skating rink — i must be thinking of Michigan.

I got into the water.   There was a resort next door, so i snorkeled the other way.   That was a mistake.    The white sand beach goes out a long way, so it takes 5-8min to get into any deep water that may have some life in it.   i was amazed at how much seaweed there was, not a healthy looking reef !     Even in deeper water, looking and looking, and not seeing much of anything.  Is this going to be my first snorkel 'failure' here   :(      I kept thinking, i am really missing Balicasag Island… did i already see the ‘best’, am i going to be disappointed, or even ‘skunked’ the rest of my trip  :(


Then i see it … a black and white striped Sea Snake !    Yes, i knew there were Sea Snakes in some of the waters here, and they are venemous; but like other creatures that we may be afraid of, 'they are more afraid of us than we are of them'.   i keep telling myself.   i was in deep water and it was 10 feet below me, i felt quite safe …. then he started swimming up, towards the surface …. yikes !

i gave him plenty of space as i watched him surface for air, (they do have to breath air) spend a few seconds there, and then return back to his feeding …. paying me no attention at all.    Always difficult to estimate size, but it was at least 7 feet long  :)

Well, that was exciting and a great reminder that i need to look where i am going before i dive down and poke my head around some coral.   Kind of like looking for poison ivy before walking into a field looking for Monarch eggs   :)


i did spot this purple-blue Chocolate Chip Sea Star... among the seaweed.     It wasn’t until i saw the photo, that i noticed there is a ReefTop PipeFish to the left, almost on top of it.   Amazing what you DON’T see when you are focused on something else … good lesson for life too, i guess

I continued to snorkel, looking for something, and being discouraged and amazed at all the seaweed and lack of fishes.   I’d already been in the water almost an hour!   There was a dive boat anchored near buy, so i swam up to it and asked the guys, ‘hi, where is the good snorkeling?’  …. he kind of laughed and pointed a long way in the direction i had just come from, ....in front of the resort  :(      He kindly suggested i swim back into shore and walk the beach back.   Yes, good idea, it would have taken me an hour+ to get back there in the water, against the current!

ok, wading back into deeper waters again, still seeing a lot of seaweed … but finally, out by more boats, i began to see some coral and some fishes … happy i am !


This is a little Mimic FileFish that caught my eye as i was chasing around another fish… very small, and darting in and out of the coral …

And, i saw 3 more Sea Snakes … one of them Blue and Black, instead of Black and White

it seems strange to me that their tails are not ‘pointy’ … but i guess a flat tail makes a better rudder for swimming in the water !

i thought this photo was interesting ... look at the shadow that the snake is making ....   :)
and that's all the Sea Snake photos i will post today .... i know some of you have already probably stopped looking  :(

Back to the pretty fishes  :)
i did a lot of chasing around and diving down, without much success of getting really nice photos.   Good enough for identification, but not that clear.   You’ll have to bare with me until i can get better ones   :)

SweetLips …  love that name !      I've seen this one before; but they are always on the move.   I am hoping that at some point i can get a photo of their 'lips' to see just what earned them their name.   This is an Oriental SweetLips

and the cousin which i just met today for the first time ... the Striped Sweet Lips, not quite as striking

Another unwilling subject ...Black and white dots … with a yellow tail and a pinkish nose … haha … looks like something i would paint on my pottery !   Great looking, striking fish …. it's a White Spotted Wrasse

This is a Map Puffer …. a very FAT one !   He must like to eat SeaWeed, because there sure is a lot of it here.

he has a ‘pig’ nose too  :)
and yes, i looked carefully before i dove down and stuck my head in this hole !

This is another Sea Cucumber … most certainly should be called the ‘Cat’s Paw’

Even more to the point, i took this very short video of it because, as it feeds, it moves it's mouth parts much like a contented cat 'needing'   ... those of you with cats will know what i mean.
You can click on  'YouTube' at the bottom of the video and watch it on YouTube also 

And the ‘Strangest Fish Award’ today, goes to these guys.    i was chasing SweetLips when i was distracted by these fishes that were floating along … VERTICALLY !    …  they are called RazorFish

And, they look like someone ate the end of their tails off  !  …   what a strange fish !

My tricycle driver agreed to come back and pick me up at 3pm, so it was time to head back into shore.    In the very shallow, sandy, rubble, with some SeaWeed here and there, i barely noticed this fish, and only because i was in 2 feet of water and eye ball to eye ball with it.
This is a Bristle Tailed FileFish.   He not only has 'bristles' on his tail, he has them on his entire body !     FileFish typically have a little 'party hat' that they can 'put on', or lay it flat so you can't see it .... he was obviously in a party mood    !

What a master at disguise, not only the way it looked, but the way it moved.   Exactly in sync with the wave action of the SeaWeed … sometime swimming upside down …  i didn't just happen to catch him in this position, he was just floating like this

It was awesome to watch ...  and obviously very easy to photograph since it was barely moving.    It looked like he has the ability to pick up sand and wear it as well !

i chose photos so that you could see what it looks like ... i'd also like you to see how well he is camouflaged ... i had a hard time finding it in the photos i took … i mean, can you find it in here ?   ...difficult !

Not a lot to show for today, but definitely not 'skunked'.   Sea Snakes, vertical-swimming RazorFish, a Puffer, and a couple new FileFish.   i have to understand that the more time i spend in the water, the harder it will be to meet ‘new’ fishes, but that won’t stop me from trying  :)

When i got out of the water, i went to retrieve my bag that i left at a counter with some girls that worked there.    i put some money on the counter as a ‘thank you’ and they gave it back to me… now that’s a first !      This a public beach in the Philippines, not a ‘resort’, and i wouldn’t expect a lot of amenities.   but i asked, rather sheepishly and foolishly, if there were any fresh water showers.   Yes, of course, ‘over there to the left’  …. sure enough, fully enclosed toilets and showers, free.... or included with the 50cent entrance fee  !

My tricycle driver was not there at 3pm as promised.   Luckily there were other drivers there looking for customers, so by 3:15 i left with one of them.   You snooze, you loose, right ?    And we didn’t pass him on the way back either.

It was a beautiful sunny day with calm waters … a good day !