Post by Gi on Sept 25, 2009 23:26:58 GMT 8
After our last dive in Apo Island in the afternoon of August 21, 2009, we went straight to Siquijor with Siquijor Dive Safari (SDS), to continue the last leg of the trip. The boat ride was about an hour. Thanks to our expert boat and captain, we hardly felt the big waves and the ride was rather enjoyable.
We docked at Tambisan Pier in San Juan, Siquijor and proceeded to Siquijor, Siquijor at 4:30 pm. We checked into the most charming resort, Villa Marmarine (see contact details below). Our room was the prettiest! ;D It's not just the quaint, japanese architecture and the great diver-friendly rates... The staff and the owners were remarkably sweet to everyone. And the random act of of kindness they gave us just touches the heart (their homemade avocado ice cream is to die for!).
But the energizer bunnies were not yet ready to call it a day. Charrie and I got ready for the night dive with Tata (our 4th for the day, btw). At 6:30 pm we were trudging the white sands of the Siquijor Pier.
August 21, 2009 4th dive: Siquijor Pier
Ave. Depth 20 ft Visibility
Max Depth 40 ft Water temp: 80F
Dive time in 6:30 pm Bottom time: 58 mins
The ocean floor was just teeming with life! A beautiful light blue and pink frog fish greeted us on our way to the pillons (that was my 1st frog fish so you can imagine my amazement). The timid urchins in the day were crawling, climbing and tumbling everywhere. We were hunting for the harlequin pipefish on the pillons but they were a no show. And yet, we saw more than what we came for.
Two kinds of flounder - one, all white with little flecks of black. The other Sole is a familiar sight, Soleichthys heterorhinus, with it's bulging eyes and tubular nostrils www.fishbase.org/photos/PicturesSummary.php?StartRow=0&ID=22544&what=species&TotRec=5. They bury themselves in the sand and are hard to spot when they resettle. They seem to be more active at night.
We also saw another master of caumouflage, the crocodile fish. www.fishbase.org/Photos/PicturesSummary.php?need2save=&tosave=&TRPP=1&id=12826&what=species&personnel=&user_session=&lme=&StartRow=-1&TotRec=7&SortBy=iucn
We saw boxer shrimps, big crabs - one, undisturbed by our presence, continued to eat sea grass using its pinchers, a sun star was crawling in the sand trying to escape our light www.poppe-images.com/images/image_info.php?picid=937351, pygmy lion fish, short fin turkey fish www.fishbase.com/Photos/PicturesSummary.php?ID=4912&what=species.
Different kinds of sea urchins (red sea urchin, heart urchins), a passing cloud of tiny jelly fish (ganun sila kadami. Para na silang ulap), porcupine fish, two types of snake eels seen with just the heads exposed. One is a long-fin snake eel (Pisodonophis cancrivorus) and the other one is a crocodile snake eel which has a peach head.
www.fishbase.org/Photos/PicturesSummary.php?ID=8054&what=species
www.fishbase.org/photos/PicturesSummary.php?ID=59559&what=species
But as if we haven't had enough "weird" for the day, we came across the biggest slug I have ever seen (and I'm not exaggerating)! They're the size of a foot ball. One's brown and the other one was red with circles on the body. I think they're sweethearts with "naughty" on their minds. www.poppe-images.com/images/image_info.php?picid=910672
After much research, I found out that these giant slugs are also called "Sea Hares". "These are marine gastropod molluscs, which are medium-sized to very large sea slugs with a soft internal shell made of protein. They are herbivores typically found on seaweed in shallow water". (ref. Wikipedia Search - Sea Hares)
Everybody nearly starved to death waiting for us. We made it through the night eating hamburgers and instant noodles. Next time don't take too late to eat out 'coz most restaurants close early in Siquijor.
The next morning, we travelled to Tambisan Pier for, what would be the deeper dives of the lot, the Paliton and Tambisan Wall dives. Bismark, our DM, is as perky as ever. Bobot was the designated sweeper for the day.
Aug 22, 2009 5th dive: Paliton Wall
Ave. Depth: 47 ft Visibility: 120 ft
Max Depth : 109 ft Water temp: 82F
Dive time in: 10:04 am Bottom time: 50 mins
It's not just any other wall. This is THE WALL! It's the longest 90 degree wall I've seen (I did not see the end of it actually) that drops into the blue. The whole 50 minutes was spent swimming along this very long stretch of wall. I saw huge sea fans, alabaster sea cucumber, manthis shrimp in it's cave, the biggest scorpion fish (2 feet long) and spider crabs (at 109 feet) www.poppe-images.com/images/image_info.php?picid=964576. You have to be mindful of your depth and also restrain yourself from exploring every nook and cranny. Dahil kilometers and kilometers of "nooks and crannies" pala yun. It's never-ending! The wall outlasted us eventually.
6th dive: Tambisan Wall
Ave. Depth: 35 ft Visibility: 120 ft
Max Depth : 60 ft Water temp: 82F
Dive time in: 11:41 am Bottom time: 57 mins
Another good 90 degree wall but is not as long as Paliton. It was a relaxing drift dive. Matt was determined to get up close and personal with the mother puffer. I saw a spiked blue and yellow nudi 4 - 5 inches long, egg cowrie www.poppe-images.com/images/image_info.php?picid=927790, a juvinile yellow box fish www.fishbase.org/Photos/PicturesSummary.php?ID=6555&what=species, mag-asawang dart fish better known as fire goby www.fishbase.org/Photos/PicturesSummary.php?StartRow=1&ID=6629&what=species&TotRec=10, a sea urchin that looks like my grandma's pin cushion. www.poppe-images.com/images/image_info.php?picid=901548
And then, turtle, turtle, turtle!!! A big hawksbill graced our dive. Omar, who was leading the pack (nag so-solo), was able to capture it on film. At the 3 minute safety stop, the picture mongers strikes again! We went gaga on our solo shots. :-D
August 23, 2009
Bobot, Matt and Omar took an earlier flight back to Manila leaving girls to continue the adventure.
Charrie and I dived Can-alwang and Siquijor Pier (7th - 8th dive). We saw some very interesting fishes like a pregnant puffer fish, anemone shrimps, a large scorpion fish, pink nudibranch, the angler razor fish and the goby and the shrimp.
www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=105454&id=721658505&saved#/photo.php?pid=2519659&id=721658505
The angler razor fish (not sure on the name), besides the elongated spiny dorsal fin, it has a heart-shaped marking on the soft ray of it's dorsal fin. When it swims, it sways from side to side like a drunk person.
We also observed the symbiotic relationship of the shrimp goby and the shrimp. The shrimp, digging and carrying the sand out of the hole and the goby guarding the entrance. Yup! It was a national geographic moment!. www.fishbase.org/Photos/PicturesSummary.php?StartRow=0&ID=7230&what=species&TotRec=5
Going back to the boat was the "extra challenge" because we used a smaller one without the stairs. We had to hoist ourselves up from the water to the boat. This was not an easy feat to do especially for somebody like me whose concept of "upper body strength is limited to just carrying the groccery". I do not know which was more exhausting, my pathetic attempts or our non-stop laughing in between big gulps of sea water.
Then the makisig na boatman jumped in the water, akala ko tutulungan ako. Then he said, "ganito lang ang gawin mo, oh". Syempre, with his ripped biceps he lifted his whole weight from the water to the boat like paper. Sus, to add insult to injury, nag demo pa! "Ah, kuya wala akong ganyang biceps, eh". At nasaan si Bismark? Nawawala. He was probably near-drowning sa katatawa. ;D
Apart from the dives, we also took a tour of the rustic sceneries in Siquijor (Bandilaan Peak, Cambugahay Falls, Lazi Convent, Century-old Balete Tree, Capilay Spring Park) and long walks sa Boulevard in Dumaguete. Many thanks to my dive buddies and to Siquijor Dive Safari for making this trip truely memorable.
It's been fun! Until the next safari, this is Gi, signing off for now. ;D
We docked at Tambisan Pier in San Juan, Siquijor and proceeded to Siquijor, Siquijor at 4:30 pm. We checked into the most charming resort, Villa Marmarine (see contact details below). Our room was the prettiest! ;D It's not just the quaint, japanese architecture and the great diver-friendly rates... The staff and the owners were remarkably sweet to everyone. And the random act of of kindness they gave us just touches the heart (their homemade avocado ice cream is to die for!).
But the energizer bunnies were not yet ready to call it a day. Charrie and I got ready for the night dive with Tata (our 4th for the day, btw). At 6:30 pm we were trudging the white sands of the Siquijor Pier.
August 21, 2009 4th dive: Siquijor Pier
Ave. Depth 20 ft Visibility
Max Depth 40 ft Water temp: 80F
Dive time in 6:30 pm Bottom time: 58 mins
The ocean floor was just teeming with life! A beautiful light blue and pink frog fish greeted us on our way to the pillons (that was my 1st frog fish so you can imagine my amazement). The timid urchins in the day were crawling, climbing and tumbling everywhere. We were hunting for the harlequin pipefish on the pillons but they were a no show. And yet, we saw more than what we came for.
Two kinds of flounder - one, all white with little flecks of black. The other Sole is a familiar sight, Soleichthys heterorhinus, with it's bulging eyes and tubular nostrils www.fishbase.org/photos/PicturesSummary.php?StartRow=0&ID=22544&what=species&TotRec=5. They bury themselves in the sand and are hard to spot when they resettle. They seem to be more active at night.
We also saw another master of caumouflage, the crocodile fish. www.fishbase.org/Photos/PicturesSummary.php?need2save=&tosave=&TRPP=1&id=12826&what=species&personnel=&user_session=&lme=&StartRow=-1&TotRec=7&SortBy=iucn
We saw boxer shrimps, big crabs - one, undisturbed by our presence, continued to eat sea grass using its pinchers, a sun star was crawling in the sand trying to escape our light www.poppe-images.com/images/image_info.php?picid=937351, pygmy lion fish, short fin turkey fish www.fishbase.com/Photos/PicturesSummary.php?ID=4912&what=species.
Different kinds of sea urchins (red sea urchin, heart urchins), a passing cloud of tiny jelly fish (ganun sila kadami. Para na silang ulap), porcupine fish, two types of snake eels seen with just the heads exposed. One is a long-fin snake eel (Pisodonophis cancrivorus) and the other one is a crocodile snake eel which has a peach head.
www.fishbase.org/Photos/PicturesSummary.php?ID=8054&what=species
www.fishbase.org/photos/PicturesSummary.php?ID=59559&what=species
But as if we haven't had enough "weird" for the day, we came across the biggest slug I have ever seen (and I'm not exaggerating)! They're the size of a foot ball. One's brown and the other one was red with circles on the body. I think they're sweethearts with "naughty" on their minds. www.poppe-images.com/images/image_info.php?picid=910672
After much research, I found out that these giant slugs are also called "Sea Hares". "These are marine gastropod molluscs, which are medium-sized to very large sea slugs with a soft internal shell made of protein. They are herbivores typically found on seaweed in shallow water". (ref. Wikipedia Search - Sea Hares)
Everybody nearly starved to death waiting for us. We made it through the night eating hamburgers and instant noodles. Next time don't take too late to eat out 'coz most restaurants close early in Siquijor.
The next morning, we travelled to Tambisan Pier for, what would be the deeper dives of the lot, the Paliton and Tambisan Wall dives. Bismark, our DM, is as perky as ever. Bobot was the designated sweeper for the day.
Aug 22, 2009 5th dive: Paliton Wall
Ave. Depth: 47 ft Visibility: 120 ft
Max Depth : 109 ft Water temp: 82F
Dive time in: 10:04 am Bottom time: 50 mins
It's not just any other wall. This is THE WALL! It's the longest 90 degree wall I've seen (I did not see the end of it actually) that drops into the blue. The whole 50 minutes was spent swimming along this very long stretch of wall. I saw huge sea fans, alabaster sea cucumber, manthis shrimp in it's cave, the biggest scorpion fish (2 feet long) and spider crabs (at 109 feet) www.poppe-images.com/images/image_info.php?picid=964576. You have to be mindful of your depth and also restrain yourself from exploring every nook and cranny. Dahil kilometers and kilometers of "nooks and crannies" pala yun. It's never-ending! The wall outlasted us eventually.
6th dive: Tambisan Wall
Ave. Depth: 35 ft Visibility: 120 ft
Max Depth : 60 ft Water temp: 82F
Dive time in: 11:41 am Bottom time: 57 mins
Another good 90 degree wall but is not as long as Paliton. It was a relaxing drift dive. Matt was determined to get up close and personal with the mother puffer. I saw a spiked blue and yellow nudi 4 - 5 inches long, egg cowrie www.poppe-images.com/images/image_info.php?picid=927790, a juvinile yellow box fish www.fishbase.org/Photos/PicturesSummary.php?ID=6555&what=species, mag-asawang dart fish better known as fire goby www.fishbase.org/Photos/PicturesSummary.php?StartRow=1&ID=6629&what=species&TotRec=10, a sea urchin that looks like my grandma's pin cushion. www.poppe-images.com/images/image_info.php?picid=901548
And then, turtle, turtle, turtle!!! A big hawksbill graced our dive. Omar, who was leading the pack (nag so-solo), was able to capture it on film. At the 3 minute safety stop, the picture mongers strikes again! We went gaga on our solo shots. :-D
August 23, 2009
Bobot, Matt and Omar took an earlier flight back to Manila leaving girls to continue the adventure.
Charrie and I dived Can-alwang and Siquijor Pier (7th - 8th dive). We saw some very interesting fishes like a pregnant puffer fish, anemone shrimps, a large scorpion fish, pink nudibranch, the angler razor fish and the goby and the shrimp.
www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=105454&id=721658505&saved#/photo.php?pid=2519659&id=721658505
The angler razor fish (not sure on the name), besides the elongated spiny dorsal fin, it has a heart-shaped marking on the soft ray of it's dorsal fin. When it swims, it sways from side to side like a drunk person.
We also observed the symbiotic relationship of the shrimp goby and the shrimp. The shrimp, digging and carrying the sand out of the hole and the goby guarding the entrance. Yup! It was a national geographic moment!. www.fishbase.org/Photos/PicturesSummary.php?StartRow=0&ID=7230&what=species&TotRec=5
Going back to the boat was the "extra challenge" because we used a smaller one without the stairs. We had to hoist ourselves up from the water to the boat. This was not an easy feat to do especially for somebody like me whose concept of "upper body strength is limited to just carrying the groccery". I do not know which was more exhausting, my pathetic attempts or our non-stop laughing in between big gulps of sea water.
Then the makisig na boatman jumped in the water, akala ko tutulungan ako. Then he said, "ganito lang ang gawin mo, oh". Syempre, with his ripped biceps he lifted his whole weight from the water to the boat like paper. Sus, to add insult to injury, nag demo pa! "Ah, kuya wala akong ganyang biceps, eh". At nasaan si Bismark? Nawawala. He was probably near-drowning sa katatawa. ;D
Apart from the dives, we also took a tour of the rustic sceneries in Siquijor (Bandilaan Peak, Cambugahay Falls, Lazi Convent, Century-old Balete Tree, Capilay Spring Park) and long walks sa Boulevard in Dumaguete. Many thanks to my dive buddies and to Siquijor Dive Safari for making this trip truely memorable.
It's been fun! Until the next safari, this is Gi, signing off for now. ;D
