the morning after i returned from Cabilao, Nadia invited me for a ‘girls day out’ with her friends. a car-load of us went to a MJs home for the day. upon arrival all the girls were busily cooking authentic Philippina dishes. it was great to see them all laughing and moving around the kitchen…..they’ve obviously done this before. i tried to help out where i could, without getting in the way. i found i was most useful in doing the dishes as they used them :) we had a great feast … and then spent the next couple hours singing Karaoke … yes, you heard me right … and i even sang a song: ‘I Love Rock n Roll… put another dime in the juke box baby’. this really wasn't a 'drinking luncheon' ... but then ....
the next day was a snorkel day for me… it was really rough, but i managed to see something new. i saw this ‘ribbon-like-thing' gracefully lilting down through the water to the sand…. hummm, ...not a snake, ...not an eel, ...seaweed ? ….further investigation discovered another FlatWorm … a Persian Carpet FlatWorm. i think the name is perfect !
here is a short video, ....a bit unstable, but there was a lot of wave-action :(
more snorkeling the next day, back to my ‘home reef’.
i found this Scorpion Fish nestled in the coral … they are another fish that are masters at disguise ….you can hardly see him here ….
he is more obvious in this photo. they are pretty easy to photograph because they don’t move unless disturbed. ...and you do not want to disturb them .... poisonous toxins that could possibly be fatal. it has a very red eye just left of center ... and skin flaps hanging from it's lower jaw ...what's with that ?
on the same little coral outcropping, i saw something way down inside the coral branches. honestly, i couldn’t see what it was (no bi-focals in my goggles). but after looking at my pics and the books, it is a Yellow Spotted ScorpionFish. it was tiny … only about 2” long ,,,, really BIG eyes.
i found this in a sandy spot … it is a Tube Dwelling Anemone …. it wasn’t very big, … maybe as big as your thumb.
this One Spot Damsel Fish - Juvenile was nicely complimented with the Blue Sea Star
i was starting to get cold, so i thought i’d head for a near shore and try to warm up. before i got to shore i saw something that i thought was a leaf floating in the water. but …. as i watched, it started to move … it was a Circular SpadeFish - Juvenile. it was only about 3” tall. i’ve not seen an adult
this is the pretty little beach where i tried to warm up.
i didn’t really get that warm so decided return. in the shallows was this SnowFlake Eel, right out in the open. i’ll bet he felt pretty vulnerable out there with no ‘cover’ ... but he held his ground
as i was heading back to shore, surprisingly i came across the same coral where the Yellow Scorpion was … and i found this little Red Spotted Guard Crab, and you can see the Yellow Scorpion right next to him.
i am naming this photo … ‘my cup runneth over’ … it is a Magnificent Anemone with Pink ClownFish and a Damsel. You don’t usually see the bottom bulbous part of the Anemone…..
these little Dwarf HawkFish always have their party-hats on :)
this is a Convict Tang … ha! i think the name fits !
i like to eat at this place for lunch. It is a very typical ‘buffet’ in the Philippines, called a Carenderia … kind of like our ‘cafeteria’. they prepare food and put it out, …. you chose what you want, .. they serve, … you pay. it’s fast and really good !
and, as an added bonus, this little one jumped right up on my lap. i think he’s pretty well fed since he lives at the Carenderia
weird thing about the cats here. they all have some kind of ‘deformed’ tail; .... some are short (and i don’t think they have been cut), ...some are quite crooked at the end, ...and this one was wrapped as tight as a ball; i couldn’t straighten it out. i’m sure it must be some genetic defect from in-breeding :(
up next .. new beaches and snorkel spots ... or not
No comments:
Post a Comment