Places - Philippines

22/23/24 April 2009 N9 43.424 E118 45.818 Now back on land with all our gear full of salt, we shifted gears and spent slow quality time cleaning and maintaining our stuff. We also had to re-energize and plan our next Palawan trips to Roxas, Taytay and El Nido.  Still with swollen fingers, Alya flew back […]

20 April 2009  N8 55.799 E119 59.790 Order of the day was an early morning group picture of the rangers with manager Angelique and WWF expedition visitors Alya, Yogi & I. After breakfast, we photographed WWF ranger Choy and TMO ranger Manny diving a coral reef near the station. They monitored through transects the health […]

19 April 2009 N8 55.799 E119 59.790 Woke up at 5:45am – gee it’s overcast. By 6:30, while I was using nature’s toilet, the heavens opened. We all thought it was a good thing the rains didn’t happen at night! Equipped with raincoats, we continued shooting after breakfast. Secille and Choy found a dead brown […]

18 April 2009 N8 55.799 E119 59.790 Woke up at 3 am. Outside the station, the sky was bright with stars and a quarter moon. It was peaceful to spend a few minutes outside with Yogi and the rangers creating a cacophony of snores inside. After half an hour, the winds picked up.  It was […]

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 […]