Post by Gi on May 9, 2009 19:09:05 GMT 8
This trip report is a bit late but my fondness for Siquijor is not yet over! 
I met the happiest and the wackiest dive operator in the planet! ;D Siquijor Dive Safari is 100% Pinoy-owned dive shop. They went the extra mile to make sure my family feel at home in Siquijor. My family all took Discover Scuba for 2 days and they had a blast! Now, they understand why I'm hooked.
Generally, the dive sites I went to were not teeming with fish like Anilao. But I saw some of the weirdest critters there. Plus the viz was perfect making it good for macro. Another plus is abundant sea grass. This may be the reason for the presence of some marine life I saw.
1st Dive: Maite Point max depth 50.8 ft (parang 20 ft lang sa sobrang linaw ng tubig).
I saw a snake eel out of its borrow. It was 3 feet long. Has orange head, white body with black stripes mimicking a sea snake to scare predators. They usually stay in their borrow to ambush prey such as crustaceans and small fishes but this one was on the prowl (Cool!). I saw not one, but several Ornate Ghost Pipe Fishes (the black ones) in different sizes floating with the black feather star they were mimicking. The caudal fins serve as the modified brood pouch of the females and some has eggs (Cooler!)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Solenostomus_paradoxus_black.jpg en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Solenostomus_paradoxus.jpg.
I saw spotted garden eels, black pipe fish, lots of anemone shrimps, porcelain crabs, boxer shrimps, squat shrimp (Cutie!), moray eel, yellow-stripped pipefish and nudis galore. I also saw congregating short-fin turkey fishes (dwarf version of the usual lion fish). Ang cu-cute pero makamandag pa rin www.fishbase.com/Photos/PicturesSummary.php?ID=4912&what=species!
I saw 3 soft-ball sized cowrie in one area with their weird black caumouflage that covers they're very pretty shells en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Cypraea_caputserpentis.jpg. On our safety stop, nagpakita sa akin, two shy mandarin fish. They live under the corals and only goes out ng sunset to do their courtship dance (Coolest!) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Synchiropus_splendidus_2_Luc_Viatour.jpg.
In the next few days, we dove the Coco Grove house reef, Sanctuary and Shower Point. I had an underwater cave adventure; saw big school of parrot fish (I didn't know they school) in the sanctuary; we saw a snake eel in a borrow that freaked my sisters out www.fishbase.org/Photos/PicturesSummary.php?ID=8054&what=species. We also saw the flambouyant Spanish Dancer (Hexabranchus sanguineus) which is one of the largest of all nudis. The one we saw was at least a foot long, swimming by whirling its skirt, hence the name.
www.poppe-images.com/images/image_info.php?picid=911211#fs
But the best was the night dive on my birthday! There was a moon, clear water (not murky like Anilao), shallow slope and white sand that made it easy to spot things.
Shore entry, we were just a few kicks away when I spotted a free-swimming Sole www.fishbase.org/Photos/PicturesSummary.php?StartRow=0&ID=22544&what=species&TotRec=5. It has two big eyes and a weird nose. They are not easy to find in the day time when they blend and bury themselves in the sand.
After that, it was just a barage of sea creatures left, right and center! There were several big, bright red, flat worms the size of a pancake. It has white markings on its back shaped like a fist. I saw boxer shrimps, spider crabs, hermit crabs other weird crawling things on the crevices. The nucturnal cardinal fishes replaced the damsels in the landscape. Even the once boring sea urchins were in action. They were grazing on the sea grass (buhay na buhay! dami!). Ang cute! We saw this weird crocodile fish that has awesome blotched caumouflage. Ang galing! Halos di mo makita www.fishbase.org/Photos/PicturesSummary.php?need2save=&tosave=&TRPP=1&id=12826&what=species&personnel=&user_session=&lme=&StartRow=-1&TotRec=7&SortBy=iucn. Nakasalubong kami ng fish net. buti na lang I was paying attention. Freaky! There were small, medium, large puffer fish and porcupine fish. I saw the ordinary sized shrimps we put on the sinigang. I didn't know they were bioluminescent. Some has red glow, the others blue.
By this time, we U-turned na. Then Bismarc signalled me to stop. He pointed his light on two long fish resting on a rock. When our light got closer, the fish were remoras resting on the back of a big Green Sea Turtle!! OMG!!
It was just 5 - 7 feet away. If it was air, we were sharing the same breathing space! Well, I was not breathing.... It was twice the size of an office table but you can tell it was young because the carapace is still clean. It has beautiful markings of brown and mustard. It was resting on top of staghorn corals that it flattened like a nest. It just sat there for awhile. Then it swam up effortlessly, one second it was there, the next second, meters away. Wow....
Solve! But, no! The weirdness is not yet over. On the way back, on a coral, I saw this glowing red ball the size of a coconut with fat red spikes. Its some kind of sea urchin from outer space. And on the same small coral, there was a sea cucumber, lion fish, trumphet fish and an angry crab (standing on its hind legs trying to look scary). Galing! Sa shore, may humabol pang banded sea snake (Ano ba??? ok na!).
So, when we got back for our birthday dinner, everybody was asking, "kumusta dive nyo?". Kami, "Hmmp, hindi maganda! Dalawang isda lang.. tsk, tsk, tsk... pero yung dalawang isda, NAKADIKIT SA PAWIKAN!!!!!! (Sabay tumbling, roger rabbit at running man! aha, aha, yeh... aha, aha, yeh..) ;D
I love Siquijor! I'm going back for Paliton Wall, Siquijor Pier and for my turtle!
SDS Divers
Tubod, San Juan, Siquijor
Tata Relacion (Dive Instructor, Owner)
+63 09088642570
Tata (super bait owner), Bismarc (Best DM ever!), Jojo (number 1 fan ni Bismarc!) and Julie (boatman by day, closet party animal by night)
I met the happiest and the wackiest dive operator in the planet! ;D Siquijor Dive Safari is 100% Pinoy-owned dive shop. They went the extra mile to make sure my family feel at home in Siquijor. My family all took Discover Scuba for 2 days and they had a blast! Now, they understand why I'm hooked.
Generally, the dive sites I went to were not teeming with fish like Anilao. But I saw some of the weirdest critters there. Plus the viz was perfect making it good for macro. Another plus is abundant sea grass. This may be the reason for the presence of some marine life I saw.
1st Dive: Maite Point max depth 50.8 ft (parang 20 ft lang sa sobrang linaw ng tubig).
I saw a snake eel out of its borrow. It was 3 feet long. Has orange head, white body with black stripes mimicking a sea snake to scare predators. They usually stay in their borrow to ambush prey such as crustaceans and small fishes but this one was on the prowl (Cool!). I saw not one, but several Ornate Ghost Pipe Fishes (the black ones) in different sizes floating with the black feather star they were mimicking. The caudal fins serve as the modified brood pouch of the females and some has eggs (Cooler!)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Solenostomus_paradoxus_black.jpg en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Solenostomus_paradoxus.jpg.
I saw spotted garden eels, black pipe fish, lots of anemone shrimps, porcelain crabs, boxer shrimps, squat shrimp (Cutie!), moray eel, yellow-stripped pipefish and nudis galore. I also saw congregating short-fin turkey fishes (dwarf version of the usual lion fish). Ang cu-cute pero makamandag pa rin www.fishbase.com/Photos/PicturesSummary.php?ID=4912&what=species!
I saw 3 soft-ball sized cowrie in one area with their weird black caumouflage that covers they're very pretty shells en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Cypraea_caputserpentis.jpg. On our safety stop, nagpakita sa akin, two shy mandarin fish. They live under the corals and only goes out ng sunset to do their courtship dance (Coolest!) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Synchiropus_splendidus_2_Luc_Viatour.jpg.
In the next few days, we dove the Coco Grove house reef, Sanctuary and Shower Point. I had an underwater cave adventure; saw big school of parrot fish (I didn't know they school) in the sanctuary; we saw a snake eel in a borrow that freaked my sisters out www.fishbase.org/Photos/PicturesSummary.php?ID=8054&what=species. We also saw the flambouyant Spanish Dancer (Hexabranchus sanguineus) which is one of the largest of all nudis. The one we saw was at least a foot long, swimming by whirling its skirt, hence the name.
www.poppe-images.com/images/image_info.php?picid=911211#fs
But the best was the night dive on my birthday! There was a moon, clear water (not murky like Anilao), shallow slope and white sand that made it easy to spot things.
Shore entry, we were just a few kicks away when I spotted a free-swimming Sole www.fishbase.org/Photos/PicturesSummary.php?StartRow=0&ID=22544&what=species&TotRec=5. It has two big eyes and a weird nose. They are not easy to find in the day time when they blend and bury themselves in the sand.
After that, it was just a barage of sea creatures left, right and center! There were several big, bright red, flat worms the size of a pancake. It has white markings on its back shaped like a fist. I saw boxer shrimps, spider crabs, hermit crabs other weird crawling things on the crevices. The nucturnal cardinal fishes replaced the damsels in the landscape. Even the once boring sea urchins were in action. They were grazing on the sea grass (buhay na buhay! dami!). Ang cute!
We saw this weird crocodile fish that has awesome blotched caumouflage. Ang galing! Halos di mo makita www.fishbase.org/Photos/PicturesSummary.php?need2save=&tosave=&TRPP=1&id=12826&what=species&personnel=&user_session=&lme=&StartRow=-1&TotRec=7&SortBy=iucn. Nakasalubong kami ng fish net. buti na lang I was paying attention. Freaky! There were small, medium, large puffer fish and porcupine fish. I saw the ordinary sized shrimps we put on the sinigang. I didn't know they were bioluminescent. Some has red glow, the others blue. By this time, we U-turned na. Then Bismarc signalled me to stop. He pointed his light on two long fish resting on a rock. When our light got closer, the fish were remoras resting on the back of a big Green Sea Turtle!! OMG!!
It was just 5 - 7 feet away. If it was air, we were sharing the same breathing space! Well, I was not breathing.... It was twice the size of an office table but you can tell it was young because the carapace is still clean. It has beautiful markings of brown and mustard. It was resting on top of staghorn corals that it flattened like a nest. It just sat there for awhile. Then it swam up effortlessly, one second it was there, the next second, meters away. Wow....Solve! But, no! The weirdness is not yet over. On the way back, on a coral, I saw this glowing red ball the size of a coconut with fat red spikes. Its some kind of sea urchin from outer space. And on the same small coral, there was a sea cucumber, lion fish, trumphet fish and an angry crab (standing on its hind legs trying to look scary). Galing! Sa shore, may humabol pang banded sea snake (Ano ba??? ok na!).
So, when we got back for our birthday dinner, everybody was asking, "kumusta dive nyo?". Kami, "Hmmp, hindi maganda! Dalawang isda lang.. tsk, tsk, tsk... pero yung dalawang isda, NAKADIKIT SA PAWIKAN!!!!!! (Sabay tumbling, roger rabbit at running man! aha, aha, yeh... aha, aha, yeh..) ;D
I love Siquijor! I'm going back for Paliton Wall, Siquijor Pier and for my turtle!
SDS Divers
Tubod, San Juan, Siquijor
Tata Relacion (Dive Instructor, Owner)
+63 09088642570
Tata (super bait owner), Bismarc (Best DM ever!), Jojo (number 1 fan ni Bismarc!) and Julie (boatman by day, closet party animal by night)
