Stella Chiu-Freund's latest posts

17 April 2009 N8 51.086 E119 55.042 Today was a day of helplessness and frustration. It was flat, calm, and full sunshine yesterday. We left the boat Stella Maris with all the guests and crew wishing us a not-so-scorching hot visit to Bird Islet, and warned us to wear lots of sunscreen. At about 3 […]

16 April 2009 N8 51.086 E119 55.042 Rangers – NAVY  Team Leader: Elmer “Jhing” F. de los Santos Secille G. Balot     Romeo “Romy” O. Bellezo    Richard C. Iglesias Rangers – TMO (Tubbataha Management Office)   Segundo “Seconds” F. Conales Jr. Noel “Manny” A. Bundal Ranger – WWF Philippines   Eulalio “Choy” D. Calagui Jr. Rangers […]

15 April 2009 Dive 1, 7:30, Black Rock N8 47.868 E119 50.440 Hmmm — 6:30 morning rain. We’re going to be rained on in Bird Islet in a few days! Not a nice thought. Before the dive, our German dive group mates ordered pygmy seahorses, and guess what — our guide Welmer found one. Hippocampus […]

14 April 2009 Dive 1, 7:30, Delsan Wreck N8 44.320 E119 48.697 We went a way back from the wreck, to the point where our boatman said it was a different dive site altogether! But the drift was so strong, we ended up in the wreck at the end. Saw long lines, and coral was […]

13 April 2009 Dive 1, 7:30am, Malayan Wreck N8 53.141 E119 53.367 Blue water hang at 20 meters, waiting for schooling hammerhead sharks to pass by. This was a test of patience. We have never been lucky with hammerheads and often have to explain to the dive masters that we bring bad hammerhead luck. But […]

12 April 2009 Dive 1, 7:30 am, Bird Islet’s Washing Machine N8 55.611 E120 00.786 Hardly any current, but this dive was fantastic. Our dive master Omer Alanis already pre-checked where the huge school of jacks was, and made us go down exactly where they were. The water was finally crystal clear, and the jacks […]

11 April 2009 Dive 1, 7:30am, Malayan wreck N8 53.141 E119 53.367 It was the first dive of the trip, and it started with very slight current and some fan corals. The highlight of the dive came towards the end, when we reached the wreck in very shallow waters. There were sweetlips and a nearby […]

10 April 2009 N9 44.662 E118 43.701 Puerto Princesa Pier Again had lovely breakfast with Angelique, Norman and their son Nathan Songco. Their house is just so lovely and a squirrel decided to pass us by hopping from tree to tree. Not everything with four legs gets eaten in the Philippines, as is the common knowledge. […]

9 April 2009 N9 44.477 E118 44.165 Puerto Princesa Wet Market We arrived Puerto early evening of the 8th and immediately after checking in, were whisked away by our friend Angelique Songco, boss woman of Tubbataha Marine Park, to dinner at Ka Lui’s. Our host for the evening was Rolando “Boy” Bonoan, the Palawan Provincial […]

6 April 2009 N22 17.472 E114 14.312 Live Reef Fish Trade It was simply glorious to finally go to sleep without worrying about storage. We can now start working. Working in Hong Kong meant starting our day looking for the nearest busiest “Yam Cha” or dimsum breakfast. It is after all, all about FOOD. With […]