Through the eyes of an amphibious photo freak

            Tuesday-January 17th.  At 8am, we were already off to La Island of the Municipality of Simunul.  It’s a 2 hour ride from the pier and away from civilization.  Finally, a dive in a very pristine environment, and man was I not disappointed.

            La Island was a beach heaven.  White sands allover the place and no signs of urbanization anywhere.  And the waters were even better, a clear blue-green tint showing the white sands and abundant marine life underneath it.  At the surface, before plunging in, there was a big school of baitfishes, probably of the genus Rastrelliger or any of those small silvery fishes.  The swim to the dive site was about 300m and all that area was full of the baitfishes, the biggest school that I have ever encountered.

            Upon reaching the reef crest, my buddy and I descended to 40ft.  It was a semi-wall dive and the visibility was astonishing as the bottom probably was about 120-140 ft and yet it was still so clear.  Fishes abound everywhere and the corals were so full of life, a clear manifestation that where man is few, nature abounds.  Even though I was busy with collecting, I still can’t fathom the feeling that I have . . .  it’s as the great legend Jacques Cousteau had said “. . . the spirituality of man cannot be completely separated from the physical.”

            I thought for this expedition, nothing can best that dive already. I was again wrong as upon reaching the second site, the top view was even more promising than the first site.  Unfortunately, the current was so strong that seen from above it looked like a rushing river.  We had to abort the dive and proceed to a protected side of the island.  But even this calmer part of the island was amazing.  Again, nothing can match the visibility and the abundance of marine life.  The only problem that I saw in the second site is that because it was a protected side of the island, boats dock there and hence the influence of man, evidenced by floating mineral bottles, floating cellophanes and cigarette butts, are also in abundance.  Because of the visibility, it is disheartening to see that even at depths of 100ft+, a coral colony was covered in cellophane.

            The dive for this day was splendid but at the same time dismal.  Two nearby sites separated only by about 5-10km, with almost the same beauty but influenced (or uninfluenced) by man in 2 different ways; one showcasing the beauty of nature and the other showing the effects of man’s irresponsible ways.  I hope in my lifetime, I’d still live to see the day that man would realize his irresponsible ways so that what I have seen can still be seen by generations and generations to come.

       Wednesday - January 18th.  Exuberant from the dives yesterday, I was up early.  Dive site today was the aborted one yesterday.  And being an avid diver my experience tells me that what I have seen from the surface yesterday before we aborted was something to be excited about.  From the boat you could see that the landward side was about 10ft and then drops off to a blue.  Definitely a great wall dive.  And that thought was feeding my excitement.

            We were on schedule and everything went as planned.  The sun was up, the sky was blue and all positive things were going our way.  Upon reaching the site all of us were geared up already, apparently it wasn’t only me that was excited for this dive.

            We arrived at slack water, or the period of the sea at high or low tide when there is no visible or minimal flow of water.  Without wasting time, I was off almost leaving my dive buddy behind.  Descending at 10ft, I had to put my hovering skills to good use as there were no sandy or barren areas to touch down to, as everything was covered with living corals and organisms.  A big school of black triggerfish and triangular bannerfish were welcoming us.  The visibility was noteworthy as you could easily go to a hundred feet without noticing it as it was very clear.  There were also little caves and crannies that were so abundant with life, from giant tritons to little nudibranchs.  Colors were everywhere that I had to keep reminding myself that I was there to work and not to shoot pictures or have fun.

            Slack waters are only a short period of the sea so while we were still busy underwater the current started to run its normal course.  And yes it was really strong.  Good thing a simple device called a reef hook was created.  I still was enjoying the dive despite the strong current that I simply hooked myself on a rock and watched in delight the fishes of different sizes and species pass me by.

            The dive was so great and the area so diverse that we had to have our second dive here as there were still a lot of specimens that weren’t able to collect.  Truly, one of the best dive spots I’ve ever been.