Just noticed a section of the JCU website that has info on all the cool animals you can find on campus!
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Just come back from doing some surveys in Zamboanga del Norte (in Mindanao, but don’t tell the FCO!). My regular dive buddy has gone back to the UK, so I was diving with some guys who work for the fisheries office in Dapitan. They fixed a very Filipino lunch for us - fresh barbecued parrotfish and pork wrapped in banana leaves with saw-sawan (a make-it-yourself sauce with vinegar, soy sauce, calamansis and chillis) and of course, lots of rice. Yum.
The diving was great, but the weather was miserable - cold and rainy all week, and it’s supposed to be summer here!
Just back from a survey trip to Southern Bohol. Unlike nearby Alona Beach, there is very little tourist or dive infrastructure here. Fortunately my colleague Brian has influential contacts in the area, who managed to arrange a very unique trip for us - sleeping in haunted ancestral houses and dining with Spanish-Filipino ‘Old Money’ at ridiculously extravagant resorts!
We stayed at the ‘Malon House’ - an ancestral home in Baclayon, which dates back to the late 19th century. It is now run as homestay accommodation. Very different to the beach resorts we’ve become accustomed to - antique furniture, a light-up baby jesus above the door (some confusion with the bathroom light) and proper Filipino breakfasts with dried fish and rice (and, thankfully, all sorts of exotic fruits from the garden). Apparently the house is haunted, but I reckon the rumours come from the numerous children who play hide and seek with you, popping out of all sorts of hidden doors and windows to say hello.
It’s actually a great project - several ancestral homes in the area have been set up as homestay accommodation to provide income for their upkeep and repair. Looking at the guestbook, most of the visitors are Filipino, there were very few other foreigners. I took a lot of photos.
I always find it interesting to see how people have stumbled across my blog. Here are just a few of the Google search phrases that have led people to this site:
“what is the weather right now in siaton” (hot, I suspect)
“actual lighthouses” (as opposed to..?)
“trapping wallabies” (eeek!)
“pangi gasoline station” (must be growing in popularity)
“photo image student wave hello” (huh?)
“underwater photos of pretty seagrass”
“dumaguete bar girls” (not me I’m afraid)
“essaouira waitrose” (both nice places)
“norwegian weather” (cold, I suspect)
“dive in kangaroo island with jim” (highly recommended)
“blog vodka lochaline”
This morning’s survey site was somewhat sand-and-no-fish, so we skipped school this afternoon and went for a fun dive in the reserve at Masaplod Norte in Dauin.
My survey sites for work were selected at random, so most are outside reserves, and its pretty much pot luck what we see. Sometimes I’m pleasantly surprised - last week the most unlikely looking site right next to the entrance of a port turned out to have a fantastic bit of reef - but we also get a lot of mediocre dives too. So I grabbed a rare opportunity to dive inside a well-enforced reserve today.
It always amazes me how effective these tiny little reserves are - as soon as we got into the sanctuary there were fish everywhere - not just little pretty ones, but big schools of juicy dinner fish too. It’s surprising how much the behaviour of the fish changes - inside reserves they’re much less afraid of divers, making it a lot easier to get up close and take photos.
I now feel ready to espouse the benefits of no-take marine reserves once more! 150 pesos well spent.
On the local news this week:
Make sure you stay safe during the Holy Week festivities, the weather’s going to be hot so take sunscreen and plenty of bottled water with you. And if you’re planning on having yourself crucified, make sure that the nails are sterilised first….
Only in the Philippines!
Sadly, not a chocolate egg in sight.
Amihan: the northeast monsoon
Habagat: the southwest monsoon
Apparently the Amihan winds have stopped, overnight, and we’re now in ’summer’, where the winds are light and the sun is strong. This should last until June, when, just as suddenly, the Habagat begins.
[I hope Mr Weatherman is right, as I’m due to be diving again next week]
Becks is a marine ecology PhD student, living in Queensland (Australia), Dumaguete (Philippines) and London (UK). Marinegirl is her online alter-ego. She dreamt her up as as super-gorgeous superhero saving the underwater world (if you've seen Captain Planet, you get the idea). She is not, and never will be, in the marines.