Since Kim and i were not able to do as much snorkeling on Balicasag as we would have liked, we had time to brainstorm on where we could go next.
She had a week before she was returning to California, and it was time for me to move on from the Philippines. One last island remained to be explored before we both left this area.
Pamilican Island reports a nice Marine Sanctuary with good snorkeling. Maybe we can even snorkel there — legally :) It is a bit more difficult to get to, so not so many tourists.
Kim is great at travel research, so she took the 'bull by the horns' and found us a place to stay for 3 nights. We were cautioned that it was very rustic and primitive. But since i had just been to Apo Island, ….i knew how to do primitive bathing ! :)
We agreed to go with it and see how tough we are. i love that she is ‘game’ for adventure !
I spent 2 nights with Kevin and Nadia and Kim joined us for dinner at a nice restaurant with the best food i’ve had.
In the morning we took a taxi to Baclayon where we got on a boat out to Pamilican Island. We got on the boat, but sat there for 45min while they continued to load it with supplies.
I don't think i've introduced you to Kim yet ... Here we are on our way to Pamilican Island
Finally on the island, we were escorted to our ‘huts’. They were RIGHT on the beach, but a bit on the ‘shabby’ side …. not ‘Shabby Chic’ either ! Mine is on the right, and you an see a restaurant right next door
A room big enough for a bed, and a small aisle to the bathroom
We had a private bath …. no running water here either, and the same set up for toilets and bathing … except this time, they didn’t trust me with a ‘tub’ … i just had a large bucket, the black one in the corner, with ‘fresh’ water in it. and yes, those are vinyl table cloths for the walls.
And, it was right in the middle of Mary’s. One of the most popular ‘restaurants’ on the island, (because they had a bar); and where all the local fishermen came to spend their time, starting at about 6am. Oh, and there was a HUGE wedding party staying in Mary’s rooms too.
ok, let’s see how this goes. We got settled in, and i was already grumbling about all the noise. Tiny little hut, with a tiny little porch, on a tiny little island, right on the beach … wouldn’t you expect it to be peaceful and quiet!
i needed to get in the water and calm myself. I found out that you are not allowed in this Marine Sanctuary either…. without a guide. They strictly enforce this, if you are caught, it’s a 1000 peso fine ($20). So i stayed clear of the Sanctuary :)
This looks like a project of growing corals.
Lots of Sea Stars
A whole family of bright orange Nemos ~
and an amazing ‘find’ … this tiny little wiggly frilly brown white-spotted ‘girl’ … has to be a girl, she’s so frilly. She moved so fast, no way could i get a clear photo. She had this huge white tail with big spots on it, that she flicked back and forth as she wiggled from place to place. Just brown and white frills !
Almost frantic, she couldn’t make up her mind where she wanted to go. I tried and tried, but she never stopped moving…. like a marine hummingbird ! Duh, maybe i should take a video !
I thought it was some kind of Anemone-Clown Fish; but after i returned, i went to my favorite Dive Shop, and Ricky said it was a Juvenile Many Spotted SweetLips ! Sure enough we found the photo; but i never would have found it without his help, i would have been looking in the wrong place.
After i got back, Kim decided it was time for a rum and coke, so she walked 10 steps to Mary’s. Notice the 5th of rum and 2 litre of coke on the table. This is what you get when you order a ‘rhum’ and coke. She ordered 2 rum and cokes, and they came out with 2 bottles of each. There you go, ….island living !
We watched the beautiful sunset and the wedding right from our porch.
The next morning fate took charge and whipped up the seas again and the current was really strong.
Kim and i went for a walk around the island. Our first excitement was seeing these 2 day-old baby pink piglets …. 14 of them !
Poor Mamma, she doesn’t look very happy. These little piggies are worth a lot of money. They will probably get 2000 pesos ($40) each after a few months. That is a lot of money!
There were also lots of goats and baby goats everywhere. We saw one that had just been born and one that didn’t make it :( We played with these 2 for a while.
It was hot when we returned, and i decided to get in the water and cool off and snorkel towards the Marine Sanctuary, but not go in ! It was a long way down shore and i had to struggle against the current to get back home. i actually came upon my little frilly girl again and she was still busy moving from here to there and back again.
I saw 2 more Spanish Dancer Egg Roses, and my first ever bright ORANGE ‘Blue’ Sea Star …. huh?
and a YELLOW Nemo ! This is the first yellow Nemo i've seen. They are so damn cute, i can’t resist them !
It was Sunday and that is a big day on the island. Unfortunately, Cock Fights are widely ‘celebrated’ on most islands here :( Around 5pm we walked to the 'arena' where there were tons of people, BBQs, beer, and rum and coke … again, we couldn’t just buy one drink, they only sell an entire 5th and liters of coke :( I couldn’t watch the fights, but i can testify that the looser has chicken for dinner …. barbaric :(
We ate at Mary’s in the evening and met 2 groups of really fun girls: one from Germany and one from France. Rum and cokes made the conversations lively and bonded our friendships quickly. We were really happy to have met them !
The next day it was windy and rained all day; but it was our last day on the island and if we wanted to snorkel the Sanctuary, we needed to go … in the rain. We waited, hoping it would clear; but finally at 3:30 we got our guide and headed out. It was a lot of fun.
i had yet another Sea Snake swim to the surface right in front of me. A bit later, i went down for a shot of this Male Spotted BoxFish and came almost eye-to-eye with the snake just on the other side of him ,,, yikes ! It's out of focus because the second i noticed the fish i jerked :)
i saw my first Yellow BoxFish
and my first Solar BoxFish too ! ....this is a female
it was a big day, 2 new fishes :)
The Big Guy: Titan TriggerFish
We enjoyed the rest of the night with the girls and then had to say goodbye in the morning as we headed back to Alona Beach.
When i got back, Kevin and Nadia were not feeling well, and i didn’t want them to feel like they had to make dinner and entertain me. So Kim and i had dinner on the beach. That was my first dinner on the beach, and on my last night there :)
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