Alona Beach Snorkel

What should i do my first day in the Philippines in 2018 ?
Snorkel ?   ...., yes snorkel !
I asked Pat if she wanted to join me.   She has ordered a mask and snorkel, but it has not arrived yet, so we searched for 'rentals' ... unbelieveable, we couldn't find any place on the beach to rent snorkel gear.   Now that is just weird !    She bought a pair of swim goggles and in the water we went.    Fact:  you really need a 'snorkel' to snorkel.    She stayed around the shore and, with her blessing, i took off for my 'old haunts' on the reef.    It was rather sunny when we started, but it turned cloudy by the time we got in the water, the waves kicked up to rollers, and visibility was poor.   But that didn't stop me from 'getting my feet wet' and meeting some of my old friends from last year.

Red and Black Anemone Fish, aka Nemo, came out to greet me and welcome me back

A medium-sized clam was nice to see

this White Cheeked SurgeonFish paused just long enough for a photo

and i found this unusual colored and textured Sea Star in the shallows .. i think it is a 'male'   haha

other than that, there wasn't much to share. the waves really started rolling in strong and we were all being tossed around, so it was a short, less-than-1-hour first snorkel.

The next morning it was drizzling and raining off and on.    I eventually started to walk down to the beach just to check it out, but the rain started before i could get there.   I ran down a little road where i had eaten lunch last year, and had a great chicken schnitzel with some veggies ($3.25), and watched the rain with this view.

When i finally got down to the beach, the water was really calm, and i wished i would have gotten in the water.   I vowed i would go the next day.

The next morning was looking rather bleak, but it wasn't raining.   I checked the Tide Chart and it was low tide.   I grabbed my gear and was in the water by 7am.    It was really calm and the visibility was good.

These are Vagabond ButterFly Fish ... you will almost always see ButterFly Fish in pairs, they mate for life  💔

I don't know about the love-life of an Eel ... but this White Eyed Eel, looks rather startled to see me

the PipeFish is a member of the SeaHorse family.   And like SeaHorses, the Male PipeFish also carries the babies.

i love the colorful Regal AngelFish

always inquisitive ...

the morning was going along great ... until it started raining on me  :(       A little rain isn't too bad, but it didn't stop, and i was getting cold  :(

but i continued on, hoping it would stop

i do love the Anemone Fish ... there are so many different ones ... this is an Orange Anemone Fish

and the Pink Anemone Fish

my first Sea Snake of the year, he was so busy looking for breakfast that he didn't even notice me

i really enjoy seeing all the different colors of Sea Stars

this is another Eel ... a Barred Snake Moray Eel ... quite a bit larger than the White Eyed Eel i saw earlier

This bulbous white anemone with the yellow tips ... and the contrasting Red and Black Anemone Fish really fascinated me.

just watching him is mezmerizing ...

and the highlight of my snorkel was this beautiful large 'rose'.   It was big and bright and fresh ... it was perfect !   It is the egg ribbon of the Nudibranch Spanish Dancer.   You may recall my experience(s) with the Spanish Dancer last year.   If not, you can learn about it by scrolling down in 2017 to 'Apo Island Visit'.   or watch the video on YouTube at https://youtu.be/aBADZ3hF2CU 

here is a video of it swaying with the growing tide:

it continued to rain, and the rain was making the surface water cold.   the only relief was to dive down under the water.   but even though i would like to be a Mermaid, i am not, and i couldn't stay underwater forever.   i had to call it quits.    i still got in 2 hours, so that's not bad, and i had some wonderful encounters

I would always recommend Alona Beach for snorkeling... you just have to know where to go  :)

Travel and Arrival

In spite of thick fog and the Detroit Airport being closed, my flight out of Kzoo to Chicago departed on time. Same as last year, American Airlines could not check my bags all the way through to Cebu Philippines. So I was prepared for this inconvenient 'FAA ruling'. When i arrived at Ohare, I quickly made my way to Cathay Pacific in Terminal 5 and they were able to ‘intercept’ my bags and route them through to Cebu Philippines so i didn’t have to drag my luggage everywhere with me in the Hong Kong Airport. :)

I celebrated with a wonderful Bloody Mary, as i breathed a sigh of relief to finally be on my way !

At 2pm I boarded for my 14+ hour flight from Chicago to Hong Kong. I watched movies, movies, a bit of sleeping, and then more movies, arriving in Hong Kong at 8pm.

I had intended to do a bit of sight-seeing in Hong Kong since my flight to Cebu Philippines didn't leave until 5pm the next day. However, i didn't do my homework properly on this one, and it was not possible, due to Immigration regulations. So i resolved myself to the fact that i was spending almost 24hrs inside the Hong Kong Airport.

This was the same flight i took last year, so i knew exactly where i was spending the night. This is an awesome place right in the airport, warm, quiet, and cozy, with padded lounging beds :)     ...and FREE !

The Hong Kong airport is huge so the next morning i discovered many many high-end expensive shops, no need to even enter to browse. You can imagine how appalled i was to find a shop with all kinds of dead dried animals for sale :(

I finally boarded my flight and arrived in Cebu Philippines, through Immigration, quick stop at the ATM, another quick stop to get a Globe Sim Card for my phone and my Philippine cell number.    It was now dark and i found my way to the 40min long taxi line.... little did i know that i could have walked straight to the front of the line and stand in the 'Senior Citizen' area and be next-in-line... lesson learned ! And from then on, i am always asking if there is a discount or special area for the Senior Citizens !

I 'blindly' booked a room at West Gorordo Hotel in Cebu City. I was pleasantly surprised, good location, very nice helpful staff and a great room.

The next morning i took the 11am Ocean Jet Ferry, about 2 hrs to Tagbilaran, Bohol and took a 30min taxi to Kevin, Nadia and Viana's in Panglao.

I was welcomed with open arms, and this sign that Viana made for me. It's so sweet, notice the fish and the black and white water snake at the bottom. She spent a lot of time with me last year looking at my photos... and she remembered .... i was 'touched' by her welcome gift.

Nadia's niece, Pat, is also staying here while she is getting her MBA; so we are one big happy family.

Let the adventure begin !

Intro to 2018 Adventure

Even with the ‘get out of town' frigid weather we had, i had not decided :(

i really enjoyed my trip last year, and wanted to return. but was very cognizant of the fact that the ‘bar' had been set pretty high. it’s always hard to top that ‘first time’, huh?

i did some research on some of the other 7,000+ Philippine islands that i had not visited last year. i was interested in the western islands, accessed through Manila, because they are so popular. but after much consideration, i didn’t think i would be happy there. many recommendations NOT to go during ‘high season’ ...Jan-Feb-Mar. plus i couldn’t find many islands where i could ‘snorkel from shore’. most of the 'snorkel islands' are only accessible by boat tours; which are ok, but costly and actual time in the water is limited and restricted.

Further research pointed me to different sets of islands, which i could reach by flying into Cebu like i did last year. i contacted Kevin and Nadia, my hosts-friends from last year and they were agreeable to another visit ,,,, decision made.

it’s like ‘people’ say, just book the flight, get there, and then figure it out :)

So that’s what i did. I am on the island of Bohol in the Philippines.