Still diving and seeing new critters each time we're out there.
A couple dives ago i saw this patch of red dots at the base of the anemone where Nemo was living. I was pretty sure i knew what it was ... any ideas ?
Later that week, i found this .... do you see those little eyes .... Nemo eggs almost ready to hatch ! How awesome is that !
Romel carefully over-turned a large coconut shell that was lying on the sand. More eggs ! This time from the Flamboyant CuttleFish .... at varying stages of development ... so many of them !
This is a PipeHorse .. i know … difficult to see ... his eye is on the right side of the photo. There were 2 of them.... yes he had 2 eyes .. i meant 2 PipeHorses :)
and this is what it looked like …. impossible …. I like the brightly colored critters, the brown ones are too hard to see ! i have them circles in red … the size of a piece of string !
Many fish change color as the mature, some of them not looking much like themselves when they are older. This is a pretty Yellow BoxFish, Intermediate Stage. Easy to see, about 8"
I spotted this Fimbriated Moray Eel myself ! He must have a great dentist.
The Harlequin Shrimp is a prized find. But again, they are tiny, about 1". The eyes are sticking up just above center in the photo.
in this photo you can see it is eating a redish-brown Sea Star .. bottom left :(
Another colorful Nudi
Not the same Nudi, but they were right by each other ....they must have called each other and decided what color to wear :)
This Black Fin Snake Eel just had his head poking up from the sand.
...and then he took off ... shocked the hell out of me ... he was fat and fast
check out this video
This is another very tiny hard-to-see Shrimp, maybe a White Banded Cleaner Shrimp ..just guessing.
At the end of a dive we were cruising in the shallows to the shore and came across a very large and long fish net …. in the net were numerous dead creatures… this is a Banded Sea Snake. I know some of you don’t like snakes, but this is just SAD !
On another dive, Romel showed me this bright yellow-gold Nudi, called Ridged Gymnodoris. It was weird, you could see its organs. I took a lot of photos, then advanced just a bit and saw another one … then another one. During that dive, i bet we saw 30 of them. I have never seen so many of the same Nudis in the same area before.
I am getting pretty good at finding little Anemone Shrimps, they are living in/around anemones, where Nemo lives :) Here are 2 of them.
Romel showed me this pretty purple Nudibranch, and i took several photos of it. Then, i realized i was photographing its ‘butt’ … i had to literally ‘stand on my head’ upside down in the water to find its front. I am learning ! Either way, it's pretty
Whoop Whoop, ... a tiny tiny FrogFish
A fish photo ... Coral Grouper ... love the color red :)
I am always looking and looking … i saw a flash of bright turquoise. It was a Peacock Mantis Shrimp ! They are MUCH more colorful, and larger than the Pink Ear one that attacked me. It’s unusual to see them out in the open. I followed him for a bit.
Here is a video of it scurrying around.
On one dive around a coral reef, we saw several Scorpion Fish. They are masters of disguise, blending in perfectly with the coral. They are full of all kinds of ‘skin-flaps’ and different colors. And, they can be quite large, a foot or more. With and without the flash on my camera, ... which do you prefer ?
While we were around this particular coral reef, the visibility was pretty good, so i took photos of some of the reef fishes. These photos are just so 'free-ing'
Romel also found this Sea Snake. It’s not the usual Banded Black and White one that i’ve seen before.
Another Nemo posing for a photo
This was another beauty Nudi :)
Earlier we saw a Black Fin Stargazer, which looked like a ‘snake’. This is a White Margin Stargazer, it also buries itself in the sand with only its eyes showing; but it looks more like a fish.
A SeaHorse that was a bit more cooperative than some of have been. This is a Thorny SeaHorse
I've heard that videos are appreciated, so here is another one. The color difference is the result of light or no light. You can see why i wanted a light :( Much more colorful.
I've shown several photos of the Ornate Ghost PipeFish that were 'out in the open'. Like this one, and easy to see... once they are pointed out to me :)
Another fish picture ... a Lattice ButterFly Fish ... reminds me of my snorkeling days when my goal was to photograph every single ButterFly Fish :)
I know i keep saying ‘tiny tiny’ …. I finally remembered to ask Romel to place his finger down by the FrogFish, so you can appreciate just how ‘tiny’ they are. And he sees them !
Amazing huh, ... and SO DAMN CUTE !
Here's a short video of it swimming. They are not built for swimming. The lay-in-wait for their prey to swim by, then with a huge mouth, ok huge for it's size .... inhale, gulp and down it goes.
I’ve told this ‘story’ in other Blogs, but i’m going to repeat it here because it’s one of my favorites. Once there was a Goby, Gobies have great eye sight, and they need a hole to live in, but they cannot dig a hole. Along comes a Shrimp, who can dig, but cannot see. They form a team. The Goby keeps watch, while the Shrimp continues to dig a hole for them to live in. If the Goby detects danger, just a flick of the fin alerts the Shrimp, and down they go. Thankfully, they did not consider me a threat. I call this a Family Photo.
A video tells a better story. After the first ‘armload’ of sand, watch how he cleans something off his claws and throws it to the side. Then goes back in for another load. That is one of the largest, and prettiest Goby that i have seen. And, the prettiest shrimp also. He’s got his work cut out for him. LOVE LOVE LOVE
We had another windy rough day for our second dive one day, so we retreated to the nice calm House Reef. And, I finally saw the Giant FrogFish that I had heard about. Nothing ‘cute’ about these guys. In profile, i always think of Jimmy Durante when i see these guys.
My last day of diving in Dauin was a SPECTACULAR one. Someone found a Rhinopias frondosa, or Ambon ScorpionFish. Not something you see very often. Since i don’t have a light for my camera, Romel provided it with his flashlight. There were a lot of photographers around, so there was a lot of ‘dust’ floating around. But i got this shot.
This is Romel and Me ... our Team :)
We don't have a boat, so we take an 'tricycle' to the dive sites
up and down the coast. It is actually a Motorcycle, with a chasis
built around it, with a passenger seat to the side of the driver, and a pick-up-type
back, for tanks and equipment, but also with 2 bench seats for passengers. This is one of our trips. As you can imagine, there isn't a lot of conversation going on during these rides. You can get a better idea of what they look like as we pass one on the road. They are all licensed and numbered. JanMark's number is '049' ... i told him that this is special since it is the year i was born. oh boy ... i could see the wheels turning in his head as he did the math :)
The driver, JanMark, was always so helpful and carried my tank down to the water. I wanted to show my appreciation, so I invited him and Romel to a real wood-fired pizza place called Frontemare ... (in front of the sea). This is us before leaving on 'our date night' ... I didn't realize how special this was for them. Neither of them have EVER had a 'real' pizza. It was also the first meal they had ever had that did NOT include RICE. America ... we have no idea how the rest of the world lives ...
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| Romel, Me, and JanMark |
Pizza night
That wraps up my Dauin Blogs for 2023. I am truly sad to be leaving. I was there 19 nights, and did 18 dives. I kept extending because i was so comfortable there. But, i eventually have to leave, so i forced myself to book a flight, so i was committed to leaving . :)
My next destination is Anilao, Philippines. It is in the northern part, and south of Manila a couple hours by bus. I’ve been there 3 times, and it was my last stop before i got kicked out by Covid in March 2020. I am looking forward to it and seeing Gina and Olivet again at Anilao Scuba Dive Center.
That Blog will be coming up next.
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