Anilao, Philippines 1-11 March 2023

One more video from Dauin. The day before i left a stray momma dog had 9 puppies under one of the bungalows. Momma has an STD and will need Chemo. They called the local Rescue and she will take momma and the pups after the are old enough. Such a sad life for most dogs and cats on an island.

OK,.... now .... Hello from Anilao, Philippines, a 1.5hr flight from Dumaguete, arriving on 1 March.

There was a 35min taxi ride from the airport to PITX, a transportation terminal, then a 2 hr a/c comfortable bus ride down to Batangas Grand Terminal. Usually that would be followed by a not-so-comfortable ride packed into a Jeepney for 1hr; and then a 20min, also not-so-comfortable, tricycle ride to ASDC. Happily Gina and Sharla were shopping in Batangas and picked me up. WoW, that was a nice surprise!

This is the 3rd time I’ve stayed at Anilao Scuba Dive Center, ASDC, with Gina and Oliver. The last time I was here, was when the Philippines closed down for Covid. In March 2020 there were a lot of divers here. This time, I was the only guest, and it seemed strange. But it was great that it was just Gina and I diving for 2 days and 4 dives together. She is very good at finding Nudibranchs and other tiny critters. And, she was helping me with some photography tips.

A big difference between Aivy Maes and here is ... we have a BOAT ! whoop whoop This is the scene from the Dive Shop where I am staying. Different from Aivy Maes, no 'beach', ....but just as relaxing, right on the water.

It's a big boat ... you just have to 'walk the plank' to get on and off. But the 'guys' are always there with a hand to help.

It was noticeably cooler here than in Dauin, and the first day there was no sun. We came out of the water on our first dive and were freezing cold; and no sun to warm us up. Gina had hot coffee, (she didn’t know i don’t like coffee); so we poured it on our toes and fingers to warm them up. And i poured some in my boots before getting back in the water again. When we muck dive, we spend over 1hr under water, and in temps of only 79F, it doesn't take long for your body to get cold. But we survived.

We saw a LOT, just the 2 of us. Many ‘things’ have been placed in the water, for the corals to grow on. Checkout this girl with a basket of anemone corals, and a fish giving her a kiss :)

and check out this car..... is that VW Bug ???? Notice the 2 little blue objects under the door.

They are 2 Blue Ribbon Eels which are Prodantrous Hermaphrodites, which means they begin as Males and switch to Females later in life. Males are bright blue w/yellow face and fins, and range from 26-37”. Sometimes Males share the same space, as they did here. Females are yellow-green and larger, up to 51”. They are small in size, however, about the width of your finger.

That was awesome ... check out the video

The Juvenile Ribbon Eels are black with yellow.... and i spotted this one myself !

Several beautiful Nudi's

I am spending a lot of time looking up the names of these critters ... and each time i think i have it right, i find another photo that looks similar ... so mostly i'm just showing you the photos. If you are really interested, let me know

These characters live on a Whip Coral, a long narrow cord-like coral. And very difficult to see.

Gina kept pointing to a pretty purple Fire Urchin. They are quite large and i've seen them many times before. I didn't really think it was necessary to take a photo. But, she kept pointing, so i took a few photos ... and moved away. She pointed again and i looked more closely. It was a Coleman Shrimp; and I should have remembered... they live on the Fire Urchin ! And, look to the left of the big one and you will see a tiny baby. They are not easy to see

and another Shrimp, that is VERY good at blending in with it's host. It is on the right side, in the middle. Can you find it? Pretty amazing, huh?

Two more shrimp.... an Emperor Shrimp

and a Bubble Coral Shrimp

Sometimes I feel like that one tiny Catfish is like me :)

Three Gobies ... but not the kind that need a Shrimp to live with.

Ornate Goby

This one is a Pink Eye Goby ... that I worked really hard to get a photo of... they move FAST

This is an elusive Elysia. I LOVE these Nudi's that kind of look like a Sea Hare. But wow, they are a lot of work... move fast, and always have their head down :(

This is probably the largest Nudi that I've seen ... Jorunna ... That is my thumb

and Gina taking a photo of it

Another Nudi ... both photos are the same guy. No wonder they are so hard to identify, they don't even look the same.... but taken just a minute apart.

These 2 photos are both Nembrotha-something ... they have different coloring, but have the same name. Another example of the difficulty to ID them..

Gina and I were examining a 'wall' and there were lots of critters living there. Another 'Story' ...This is another Nembrotha...a Lineolata. Notice the blue ring on it's side. That is the 'sex organ' ... for the lack of a better term, for a Nudibranch

They mate side-by-side, head-to-tail .... so check this out ...

Nudi Porn ... and they separate ...

A few days later ... I found this Nudi .... it's brown and blended in ....but i found it. I got Gina's attention and she came back and was quite proud of me. I think this is a WMU Nudi :)

I wandered off, and she alerted me to come back, telling me that there were 2 of them. I watched for awhile and saw the first one 'bookin-it' towards the other one. More Nudi Porn. I looked at my photos and it was 7min between the time i saw the first one, to their 'hookin-up' .... Do Nudi's have Pheromones too ?

This must be the season of love for the Nudi's ...

This is a little Coral Crab .... "You got your hair combed back and your sunglasses on, baby" ... name that song ....

Another brightly colored Nudi ... this is a description i found ... Red Favorinus Favorinus sp. Philippines, 15 mm. Oral tentacles with orange lines, purple-tipped cerata. .... 'if the shoe fits' ...