Panglao Snorkeling and on to Camiguin Island

I reluctantly left Aivy Maes, the people, the water, and the diving behind me.    As always i returned to my Philippino Home, to smiling faces and greetings.   I am fortunate to have 2 homes and 2 families.   Pat, Nadia's niece, also returned, so the 'family' was complete once again.

Kevin took me into Tagbilaran to renew my visa for another 30 days.   I will not spend 30 more days here, but i needed another week or so.    We did a little shopping in their huge mall and big supermarket, BQ.    It is fun looking at all the foods and items that are different, and some are the same.   The vegetables and fruit sections are amazing to look at, and compare prices ... some higher and some lower than ours.

Pat took me on the motorbike (slowly) to a snorkel spot that she found for me.   It was a nice place with tables and fresh water showers.  Up on a rock cliff, steps down to the water.

I went to a very popular place several years ago, Moalboal (don't even try to pronounce it, someone will always correct you).   Anyway, they are famous for their millions of Sardines that live on their coast.   This place now also has Sardines, and it is helping their tourist trade also.  I expected just a few, but here were thousands of Sardines here !

They are also taking steps to start coral reproduction.    The Dive Shop guy said they area seeing healthier water, more fish, and even reports of sharks.   This is a good thing since they are the top predator, which means there must be enough for them to eat to be there.

We spent quite a bit of time snorkeling, and saw these unusual looking Reef PipeFish, Corythoichthys flavofasciatus.   I've never seen them with red markings !    The one on the bottom looks pregnant

And this Pink Tail TriggerFish!   I LOVE these fish and haven't been able to get a photo of one in a long time.   This one is living up to it's name, some are not so colorful, and she matches the coral in the background.

This is a Black Spot PufferFish, they also can be yellow or white.   Some people call them Dog Face PufferFish.   But  ... i'd call them PuppyFace PufferFish, it sounds nicer !

A school of these fishes with a yellow stripe passed by me.   Yes, there are a lot of fishes here!

 

I saw this Nudibranch Egg 'rose', isn't it beautiful?   Proof that there are nudibranchs in these waters.... and maybe more some day.

It was a fun afternoon !

It was time to head to Camiguin Island.  It is off the coast of Bohol.   The Ferry leaves from the town of Jagna, pronounced Hagna  :)   

Kevin dropped me off around 7:30am to catch a 2hr bus to Jagna.   I was early, the way i like it, the Ferry didn’t leave until 1pm.    It was hot, and there was an new (modern) grocery store in town with A/C, so i spent an hour cooling down, walking the aisles   :)

The Ferry is a RORO, ‘roll on roll off’, which means you can take your car, bike, on board too.   That means it’s a big stable ship.     It was a 3hr trip, and uneventful; except for the ‘fried bananas’ they served… battered, fried, and rolled in sugar  :)

As you near the island you can see that the volcano is usually covered in clouds.

I visited here last year and was escorted around the island for days by Glen, who i met diving 2 yrs ago in Moalboal.   He is now married to Apple and they built a home on Camiguin.    Last year was not a ‘diving’ visit, but after returning home; i saw on Facebook that it was a GREAT Muck Diving location.   So, i vowed that i would return this year to check out the Muck Diving.

If you are interested in what there is to do while on Camiguin other than diving, (waterfalls, soda baths, volcanos, hiking),  check out last year's Blog at:
http://dp-newadventures.blogspot.com/2019/03/camiguin-island.html

When i arrived i was surprised at the entrance procedure, which was not in place last year.   The boat held 200 passengers, and there were 4 people taking the info, which required about 10min each !!!!!!!    It was a long wait.   They wanted  to see Passport and ask questions about where you had been…. Coronavirus precautions.   Then they took your temperature.   I am happy they are being responsible.

I passed all the tests, :)   ... got a tricycle, and i had a map of where i needed to go.   When i contacted Glen, he offered me a room in their newly built home ‘up the mountain’.  

Unfortunately, when we got to the road to go ‘up the mountain’, the tricycle driver said he could not go up there (too steep, not enough power on his ride), and i needed to get a Habal-Habal … that’s a motorbike.    Apple was waiting for me, and sent Roy, their ‘Habal-Habal’ driver to pick me up  :)

I had seen their home last year in the beginning stages of being built.   WoW, it’s beautiful !   Mahogany wood floors, cabinets and tables, i guess i didn't get any photos of the wood  :(

It’s a grand home and location; cooler than down on the street, lots of nature, green, quiet, and very peaceful, with a great view of the sea.   Apple showed me around their vegetable gardens; and they have many pineapple, banana, papaya, mango, hundreds of coconut, and other fruit trees that i don’t recall the names of.

And i love this idea of Coconut Shells as a mulch !

Their dog, Lucky, was grateful to have me rub his ears; and gave me some 'fur time'.  He was a sweet dog with wiry hair.   It was nice to see a healthy dog !

 
Several ponds and an impressively engineered, complicated water collection, retention, and distribution system for watering the garden.      Glen has really put a lot of thought, expertise, and experience into this property.

They also have a few ducks, a beautiful Rooster and a few hens.

The hens do lay eggs, but are too lazy to sit on them.    Huh?    So this one duck, is their surrogate mother … and sits on the eggs!   Here she is sitting on eggs, with one of ‘her’ little ‘chicks’ beside her!    Crazy !   Glen said he just hopes she doesn't try to take them for a swim !!!!!!!!    Their feathers are not waterproof, they do not secrete the oil that ducks do – once they get sodden wet the chicken will sink like a stone.  :(

My Philippino family tells me that i am the 'Rain Whisperer'.   Ever since i started coming here, they say i bring the rain.   It followed me to Camiguin, and we had torrential downpours.   So i'm sure i contributed to the supply of water for their gardens, ... the tanks were overflowing !

Glen and Apple took me out to several great local restaurants.   CasaRoca on the sea where they were married.   We actually had steak there, and it was tasty and tender.

At another place we had these Martini's which were like a health drink, thick and very green !   I can't remember what they were called, but they were good.

I was happy to see this visitor in my room one night.   It was the largest Gecko i've ever seen !

Speaking of nights in my room.... one night i woke up and saw 2 lights in the corner, i didn't remember lights there, and looked outside to see if it came from there; which was crazy since i knew nothing was out there.   When i looked back, the lights were gone.   Hummmm...    then i saw them again, and a third one ... white lights about the size of a tennis ball moving around my room.   I started to wonder if i was having hallucinations, or dreaming.   I grabbed my camera and even tried to take a video.   They were off and on, moving around everywhere!     There are no screens in their house, and they were FireFlies, as Glen explained in the morning.   He said they are in their rooms most nights.   I asked him how big they were, and he said just tiny.   But they were white and not yellow like ours, and they were a much bigger light!    It was so cool !    I saw them another night too !

We had a couple nice sunsets, this one at Kurma's

I had planned on doing 2 dives a day, and leaving after 4-5 days.   But, the odds were against me.   We had lots and lots of rain, and poor sea conditions for diving.  i was not interested in diving in rains and clouds.   Although, my first dive was in the clouds with threatening rains.   But it was a good dive and we saw lots of critters.   We were supposed to do two dives, but i was so cold and couldn’t get warm without any sun.    I hate to be a ‘woosie’, but i cancelled; took a hot shower and got in bed!  Then it rained for 2 days, with the seas so rough we couldn't get the boat out.

I did a dive the next sunny day and was planning on doing another one, when my Dive Guide said he was not feeling well and couldn’t dive  :(    He was also sick the next day; but made arrangements for me to do a dive with another Guide and group.

Camiguin IS a GREAT diving location for Muck Diving and i’d go back without hesitation.   Don-Don was my Dive Guide and was recommended to me by the person that posted all the great photos on FaceBook last year.    He is amazing at seeing things i would never have seen.   All in all i only did 6 dives, and was there 9 days.   I would have liked to do more; but my time here is a month shorter than usual, and it was time to move on.

I might also mention that i had trouble with my camera!    On two days the underwater housing fogged up, which has never happened before; making photos blurry and unrecognizable.    And on another day, my camera refused to acknowledge my battery.  I took absolutely no photos; that entire dive was for my eyes only and in my memories.

But, i saw lots of fun creatures, some i'd never seen before, and got lots of photos.

To be presented in the next blog.



dp

Diving Dauin - Part 2

I mentioned that when we went diving we just walked into the water.   Which is true for many dives because there are many Dive Sites right out front.   But there is a big sea out there, and down the shore there are more Dive Sites.   There is no boat, so we get in a van and ride 10+min down the road and enter the sea there.

This place is called Thalatta, and there are many Dive Sites along here too ... all with their 'special' little creatures.   This is an area where we can get ready, and have a snack between dives.   Notice the dog, unashamed, sunning himself !

And this is where we will enter the water.....  looks a bit like Lake Michigan on a fun 'body surfing day'   and .... it looks a bit rough !

On the first dive, we enter down the beach away.   Gien has already carried my tank and BCD (vest) down there so i don't have to carry it  :)    He helps me get ready and then we slowly walk into the water, with him holding on tight to me.   There are lots of rather large rocks in the water, which you trip over, because you can't see them with the surf breaking.   And .. the waves are over my head !   It's a bit tricky trying to get your fins on; then try swimming backwards, with a tank on your back, through the breaking waves.    It's a struggle, and it's not pretty!   As soon as we can, we descend.   Much calmer down here.   I give Gien the 'ok' sign.  I can catch my breath, and start swimming while i remove my camera from the clip on my vest.   Yes, happily it's still there!   Whew!  I'm not 'afraid' of the water nor waves; i grew up playing in them.   But trying to maneuver with all that equipment on, and you have air in your BCD, so you are moving around like a beach ball in the surf.   It is a challenge!

But worth it!

I'll be showing photos of Nudibranchs, which are also called Sea Slugs.   But that name doesn't give them the justice they deserve with all their beautiful colors.   Again, lots of details and info about Nudi's on last year's Blog:
http://dp-newadventures.blogspot.com/2019/02/new-obsession.html

They range in size up to a little over an inch.

This Nudi is a type of Hypselodoris; but Gien called her Cinderella, i like the ‘cute’ names people have for them.    He also asked if he could post it to his FaceBook page … proud i am !

 

This is a Blue Dragon.  Not a very nice name for such a pretty Nudi

and these 2 are mating

These are 2 more Hypselodoris, without a cute name.  I’ve recently done some more reading about Nudibranchs.   I learned that they have both male and female organs; but need each other to mate.   Their reproductive organs are on the right side of their body. You can tell if they are mating if they are right side to right side, which means they are lined up head to toe.   You can see this very clearly in this photo.

After they mate, they can both go on to lay eggs.   Here are 2 Jorunna Nudis.   They are not mating now, but obviously have; and that ‘white rose’ you see are the eggs they are laying.

The Jorunna is also called a Bunny Nudi, he looks a bit like a Bunny.    Nudi’s have different ways of defending themselves.   This one has brown patches, that are abrasive and unpalatable to their predators.

This is a Painted Thecacera, fondly referred to as a Pikachu, because of it's resemblance to the Pokémon character; which i have never heard of  :(     But i think they are really cute, and notice how you can see through the body.

A Gymnodoris subflava, which also has a transparent body.   The skin is transparent, so the chloroplasts still receive sunlight and produce sugars that the sea slugs use for energy.  Chloroplasts are the parts of plant and algae cells that perform photosynthesis-using the sunlight to create sugars for energy.

Notice how tiny this Elysia is ….. that’s a finger and finger nail in the photo !   Again, how do they spot these critters.

I am quite proud of this one.    I tried and tried to get a photo last year, but was unsuccessful.   Partly because of it’s size, a tiny 1/16”; and they look like a green blob unless you have a magnifying glass.   But also because i didn’t know what i was looking at.   After i saw photos of it afterwards, i was sad i didn’t get it. 
It is lovingly called Shawn the Sheep Nudi; named after the cartoon character.   I think you will notice the similarities of his cute little ‘sheep face’.    Isn’t it darling ?

 

This is another similar one, Costasiella kuroshimae, Gien said this one is his favorite because it is rare to see it.   Very different coloring, but the same cute face

The Shawn nudibranchs are more than just a cute little creature, and not your usual nudibranch; it can be classed as a “solar powered nudi”.   These sap sucking slugs consume the foliage and harness the chloroplasts in their bodies so they can photosynthesis!


These two Kunie’s aren’t mating yet, but it looks like they are getting ‘in the position’    :)    So many different shapes of Nudi's.   These are rather 'chunky'.

The Indian Caloria, on the other hand, is very skinny.

I guess these are also considered Nudibranch; they are similar and are called SideGill Slugs.    I saw them on a Night Dive; and they were ‘gooey’ looking, rather gelatinous.   But i couldn’t stop looking at them…weird !

This little ‘snail’ was tiny and cute.   You can see his one little eye, and that’s his mouth part he stuck out there grabbing a bite.

Next up are the FrogFishes.   Definitely a favorite of all divers/snorkelers.   There are large ones, up to 12”, which you would think would be easy to see.   But they are masters of disguise.   They blend in perfectly with their surroundings, and sit very still and wait.   They have a little ‘fishing pole’ attached to the top of their head, and hang and wiggle an enticing lure from it.   When a suitable prey goes for the lure, the FrogFish sucks it in whole.   They can expand their mouth 12x their own size.   Again, more info on FrogFish in last year’s Blog:
http://dp-newadventures.blogspot.com/2019/02/new-obsession-part-4.html

We also saw this guy on my first dive …and, he ‘performed’ for us.   What a 'welcome'.  As i said, they usually just sit and wait; but for some reason this one decided to go for a ‘walk’.    They are very clumsy, and actually remind me of myself, with all my dive gear on !   They can't 'swim', so they propel themselves by forcing water through their gills.

Here is a video; and also on You Tube: 
https://youtu.be/cJeDBxMNfNU

There are also smaller FrogFish .. which are so cute, you just want to pick them up and hug them!   But of course, you cannot ... why?  ...because they are very very small.   Some so small as a grain of sand.   So this one was orange, but really.... how do you see it and know that it's a FrogFish.   I couldn't tell.

Here is the little cutie, accomplished with the 'magic' of my camera.

Two minutes later, the other Dive Guide found another one ... just as small

We saw another one that was a little bit larger, but not much!

Then, there were the PipeFish and SeaHorses !    Similar in that the male carries the babies  :)    More on them in the above link along with the FrogFish.

I am calling this a Long Nose PipeFish, because it is certainly doesn't have a Short Nose.

And, you can see it was pregnant !

This beauty is a Ringed PipeFish … it was about 8” long.

Love the tail !

There is another type of PipeFish, called a Robust Ghost PipeFish.   They are smaller, and are masters of disguising themselves as blades of sea grass and flowing just like it.    About 4-5" long.

And then there is the Ornate Ghost PipeFish ... a real beauty !

This is another Ghost PipeFish.

Everyone LOVES the SeaHorses, and we found an entire community of them.   They were everywhere in this one area.   Lots of different colors, all unique !    This one was noticeably pregnant.

..and this one

They are amazing to watch also, blinking their eyes, which move independently, so they can follow the activity of passing sea life without giving its presence away.

The seahorse can suck up food from over an inch away.    They have no teeth and no stomach; and food passes through their digestive systems so quickly, they must eat almost constantly to stay alive.

I always come out of the water wishing i was a Mermaid, so i could just stay there as long as i want !

I saw several turtles while diving.    Always so peaceful and graceful !

and one sleeping on a night dive.  I only took a couple photos, i didn't want to disturb it  :)

Speaking of Night Dives ...... Gien and I planned a dive to see if we could see the Mandarin Fish Mating.    The first 2 nights were cancelled because of the weather... not bad weather; but he said they need to have a nice sunset, to que them to come out and mate.   Both nights were rather cloudy.   The 3rd night we decided to go.    You need to be in the water before dark, and get in position to start watching for them.   You can't use a light because that scares them back into the coral.   So we waited, and soon saw them moving about in the Staghorn Coral.   Not an ideal place to try to take photos, because you don't want to break any of the coral!   
They are beautiful brightly colored, red, yellow, blue, green, orange, and about 1-2".   But just look at how dense it is, and how impossible it is to see them!      There is one in the photo below at 3 o'clock

They are roaming around looking for a mate.

Luckily, I managed to get a couple photos ... 

We were hoping to witness the mating: .... the male and female rise out of the coral, do a little dance, and in an instant, they release egg and sperm, and then vanish.   We took 40+ photos.   I eventually got discouraged, and knew we were running out of time, and handed the camera to Gien.   He managed to get 2 of them together.   But we did not get to see the 'show'.   Always something to look forward to for next time !

 
One amazing thing i saw that i've never seen/noticed before; Gien pointed it out to me this time.   Here is Nemo guarding the eggs ... those brown specks under her.

Look closer .... what do you see ?

Little eye balls peering out of the egg, ready to hatch.   Can you imagine witnessing thousands of baby Nemo's taking to the sea !!!!!!!!!!    THAT would be something to document !

Something else i've never seen .... a baby Barracuda  ... on our night dive.   He was only about 1" long, he has a long way to grow.

I saw lots of fishes too, but i'm sure you've seen them before  :)

I mentioned my new Wrist Dive Computer... it's a long story, but Ray stayed in the water with me for 14min ... in the shallows ... because my Computer did 'something'.   (I felt like he was babysitting me).   It was so boring, that he started to 'entertain' me making these 'bubble rings'.    That was very sweet of him !

On the dive at Thalatta I met Maya from Berlin.   We spent a few evenings together for dinner.    Here we are on the beach, with our feet in the sand.

And another night with another fun couple.

And, to finish this post .... i saw this hanging in the village ...    I knew that Philippino women want to be 'white', so there are many lotions with 'whitening' in them.   In fact, it is difficult for me to find a lotion that does NOT have whitening.   The first time i saw them i thought i was in the toothpaste aisle!   Anyway ... whiter skin ... ok, ....but really?    ...underarms too ?   145php is about $2.50, which is quite a lot of money for most.

I had to force myself to leave Aivy Maes  :(     I really like it there.    I returned back to my Philippino family for a few days, then off again to Camiguin Island.    I'll let you know when that happens


dp