Kevin’s friends from Sweden were visiting and we went to dinner with them one night, and cocktails the next. nice people. we walked across the street to Alona Tropical Resort to walk down to the beach … they have their garden/pool area all lit up… i was magical ... that is Nadia and Viana (with me--in case you've forgotten what i look like).
this is Alona Beach, just a 10 minute walk from Kevin and Nadia's … lots and lots of boats…and people…and horns :) i am sure a pretty fun place if you are in your 20s :) my 'secret' snorkel place is way down the at the other end of this crazy busy beach.
i don’t think i’ve ever seen a sunset here in Tawala/Alona … mostly because it faces more south. but i made an effort one evening to go down and catch some of the after-set sky.
we are still having our share of clouds, and rain almost everyday…but not an all-day rain, everyday. it’s a joke here now, everytime i look out and see the sun shining and decide to go snorkeling or for a walk … it starts raining.
today was no different. i got out rather early. if we are going to see any sun, it will be in the morning.
i had a brief encounter with a new AngelFish in Cabilao, but was unable to get a photo. but i found a semi-willing subject today. it is a Verticulated AngelFish
i was seeing the same ‘old faces’, but looking for something new, when i came across this small reef, with this gold Anemone on it. it was kind of unusual, so i was just examining it when i noticed something moving.
this is a Peacock Tail Anemone Shrimp … pretty tail … and you can see through it ! look closely and you can see the tiny white Anemone parts right through it ! i saw one of these last year in Thailand too.
here you can see the orange part of the Anemone through it … almost magnified
you might not have noticed, but here you can see it’s see-through claws with purple bands
WoW … that was pretty cool
i went out to the ‘wall’ and looked over the edge. i saw this little Yellow Box Fish - Juvenile … the was so cute !
i had to dive quite deep, and hold my breath a long time, so to make my efforts worthwhile; you’ll have to endure another photo of it’s sweet face. i love their lips :)
the older and adult phase of this fish is not near as yellow and pretty.
New Fish: i spent the next hour and over 100 shots trying to take a photo of this RockMover Wrasse - Juvenile. he was so busy moving and hiding from seaweed to grass and algae. i refused to leave :) beautiful markings around his eyes. i actually have seen the adults MOVE rocks in their search for food !
i saw 2 of these Orange Tail FileFish a week or so ago here. i think the were doing some mating ritual because their colors were iridescent, they were really trying to impress each other…certainly they impressed me. still pretty now though.
i think this is the 3rd Spanish Dancer Egg Ribbon i have seen since i’ve been here…i think that’s good news. no sign of the Dancer though.
i was on my way back in when i could hardly miss this bright BLUE fish …. it is a Juvenile - Semi-Circle AngelFish. i’ve seen the adult several times (see Cabilao post); but have never seen the Juvenile
Pat had ordered a Mask and Snorkel, and it finally arrived. she had snorkeled once before; but ...she never snorkeled with ‘the master’ :) first challenge: the clip that holds the snorkel to the mask broke. thankfully, i had a hair-band in my pocket so i was able to secure it. if not, that would have been the end of that snorkel. she was a bit uncomfortable at the beginning, so we took it slow; but she stayed with it, and remained calm. eventually i coaxed her out into deeper water and finally to some pretty corals. she was amazed at how much she liked it. she said this time was much more fun than before and she just wanted to do it again and again. she said she understood why i liked it so much. yeah…another snorkel convert !
this is a Black Durgeon, or a Black TriggerFish. they are really hard to get close to; i have made many unsuccessful attempts. they look black from a distance, but in reality they have a beautiful pattern on their face. in Hawaii it is called a Humuhumu'ele'ele. i took some video of it, ….twice. the second time i got amazingly close to it, but…. i didn’t have the video turned on… this is a clip from the other video
i’ve never seen this color of Anemone …. i’ve seen green anemones, but i’ve never seen the green bottom…what a great color of green But the Nemos still like it
earlier i posted a photo of a ReefTop PipeFish. like the SeaHorse, the males carry the babies. i started doing more research on this and learned that there may be a ‘darker’ side to this story. research has been done that discovers that sometimes the male PipeFish actually cannabilizes his babies, using their nutrients to fuel his own body ... if he gets pregnant soon after his last pregnancy, and/or if the female was small and not so ‘desirable’. this would ensure his survival and thus giving better chances for the next pregnancy. i thought this was pretty interesting. the article said it was also possible to tell when the male was pregnant.
so the next time i saw a PipeFish, i looked more closely … sure enough, the first one i saw looked very pregnant.
before birth you can actually see the little perfect miniatures in there. …but, i am sorry that doesn’t show in my photos :(
pretty cool, huh ?
the last day i was there i decided to do a dive with my favorite dive shop, Go Scuba. these are the guys i dove with last year and ‘bugged’ them almost everyday using their books to ID fishes, so they remembered me :) we did a dive not too far off shore from Alona Beach and it was a great. nice and calm, good visibility, and my guide Bibong, was great at finding things to look at. things i would have never seen on my own. since i was diving i was using the GoPro … i need to get a lot more experience using it. i am till not happy with the results; but i have learned how to 'capture' a 'still photo' from a frame on the video. so i can show you a few new things i saw.
it works like this: the Dive Master points things out to you, and usually as a hand-signal of what it is. then he moves a little and makes sure everyone can get a photo. when it cam to my turn, i couldn’t see what i was supposed to be looking at. so, i was filming about a foot below these Ringed PipeFish, somehow i managed to get part of them :( check out that distinctive defining tail, red with white in the middle.
these Purple Anthias are real pretty with their purple and yellow and trailing fins. i noticed them all on my own :)
another new one, a Black Striped AngelFish
these bright blue fishes peppered the white sand going up to the shallows.
a little Black and White Wrasse—Juvenile was scurrying across the open to safety
but THIS mystery is still unsolved. i have made no adjustments to this photo. it really looked like it was on fire, on the floor of the sea.
the other amazing thing i saw was an Electric File Clam. again, Bibong had to show us… it was tucked back in a small (maybe 1x1 foot) ‘cave’. it actually had electric wire-like things shooting out from it… we did not have a flashlight and it was just too dark in there to see anything ..but man it was shocking ! you just have to believe me :)
and in the shallows as we were finishing up, he pointed to these ‘blades of wide grass’ … but no, they are Robust Ghost PipeFishes. totally look like floating grass !
i took the ‘family’ out to dinner before i left, as a thank you for all their kindness and generosity in welcoming me into their family. the girls: Pat, Me, Nadia
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