March NUDI Night- Marine Life Portraits

A few months ago, some diving friends of mine set up a group called NUDI, which stands for Network of Underwater Digital Imagers. Nudi is also short for nudibranch, a kind of sea slug which is a favorite subject of underwater photographers. The main regular activity of the group is NUDI night, a photo competition held every month. There's a theme per month, and for March, it was Marine Life Portraits. Basically this meant a photo of an animal which shows its face and highlights its expression. This was my entry, a blenny peeking out of a coral. I chose it because the fish looks like it's smiling. It won fourth place in the compact category.

My first dive with a WHALE SHARK!!!

I went diving in Leyte over the All Saints’ Day weekend with my friends, expecting nothing much more than the novelty of diving in a place we’d never been to before. We were surprised by one of the biggest treats a diver could ever experience- seeing the biggest fish on earth, the whale shark or butanding, in the deep. Dindo banged his tank repeatedly to call everyone’s attention, then signaled everyone to stay back. All the divers tried to get closer to get a better look, and take pictures and videos. Fred couldn’t resist, and touched the butanding’s left fin. We all followed the slow-moving creature as it swam. I looked for someone to put in the frame with the shark, and as usual, lucky Berg was in the best position to be in the video. Then one of our DMs, it seemed, couldn’t help himself and pulled on the creature from below, causing the shark to swim away in surprise. (We all gave him a hard time about it afterward.)

Dive addiction

Our boat picks us up after a dive off Cabilao island

Over the holy week holiday, I flew to Bohol with my dive buddies Isabel, Bodie, and Zara to explore the waters in that area. I’d gone diving in Bohol before, but I never really got to see its other topside attractions. We had four days of diving, then had one day to get our nitrogen levels down prior to flying and do the typical touristy things you just have to do while you’re there. We took pictures of the tiny tarsiers, the chocolate hills, the clean and green Lobok river, and other tourist traps there.

I did enjoy the land tour, but on that last day, I was wishing that we were diving instead (though of course we could not because of said nitrogen levels). The seas of Bohol are beautiful, and I could not get enough of it. I’ve been looking at the underwater pictures stored in my camera repeatedly, so as to extend my vacation somewhat. I could look at photos of the schools of jacks in Balicasag and the napoleon wrasse in Cabilao all day.

I’ve been diving for more than ten years, but I haven’t felt the itch to dive this intensely in quite some time. Right now I feel like there wouldn’t be anything better than being able to dive whenever I wanted in my favorite divesites. Reality does not allow this for now, but I’m hoping that one day I’ll get that lifestyle that has recently been occupying my thoughts more and more.

Celebrating my birthday in Sipadan, Malaysia

School of yellow snappers we saw at the Kapalai house reef

Another long spell of non-blogging for me. First of all, I STILL don’t have Internet at home. That’s factor number one. Secondly, I’ve been doing a lot more writing for work recently. This sometimes has the effect of making me feel like writing IS work; thus, I associate blogging with something not so pleasant. (As you can see, I am not crazy about my job.)

At any rate, I realized I hadn’t been blogging in a while after my new-found friend Caren messaged me with the observation “You don’t blog anymore, do you?” It made me realize that I hadn’t written here for more than a month, and again, a lot has happened since my last post.

First of all, a big THANKS to everyone who greeted me on my birthday (August 19, for those who forgot!). I had a really fabulous time. One of my best celebrations, I have to say. That’s because I spent it scuba diving in Sipadan, Malaysia, with one of my best friends, Anjou.

We stayed in an oil rig, and it had an elevator that brought you right into the water. It was a pretty interesting place to live for a few days. Even if the accommodations and facilities were less than stellar, it scored bonus points for its coolness factor. I mean, how many chances do you get to live in a fixed structure in the middle of the sea?

Also, the food was just amazing. Apparently, the cook in the rig had already been featured in four different food magazines in Malaysia. Every meal was delightful. Lunch and dinner were something to look forward to. (Breakfast was too early for me to appreciate.)

We had fantastic dives, and saw practically everything one could hope to see. Lots of giant turtles, big cuttlefish, sharks, and other interesting-looking creatures that one only sees in books or magazines.

I have a few more underwater pictures on my multiply site- you can look at it here.

It was a bit depressing, though, in the sense that I knew that the Philippines once had all that bounty in the sea, probably even more. However, over-fishing and lack of concern for marine life have resulted in a damaged underwater environment in our country. If only more people could appreciate the beauty of our own seas and realize that we are killing it slowly but surely. (Insert big, deep sigh.)

Aside from this trip, though, not much has happened. It was pretty much the highlight of the past month. I haven’t spent my birthday in the Philippines for the past four years. On the minus side, I don’t get to spend it with a lot of my friends and family. On the plus side, I manage to escape the mandatory birthday treat that everyone (including every Tom, Dick, and Harry in the office) seems to expect.