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 :)
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