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Just got back from diving in Siaton. The surveys didn’t go 100% to plan… we had to scrap one site as there was nothing but sand, and another was near a river outflow so was kind of silty… BUT I saw a shark! Note: this is almost unheard of in the Philippines, there are no sharks left. Right at the start of the dive on our last morning, I was dropping down over the reef crest and right in front of me was a big blacktip reef shark. I think he was as surprised to se me as I was him, and shot off pronto. A thrilling start to the dive!
We stayed at a place called Kookoo’s nest - apparently kookoo’s, unlike cuckoo’s, have nests. We had a fab little hut with a balcony overlooking the beach, and the food was to die for. Every night Nikki puts on a buffet with barbequed fish, curry, stir fried noodles, salad, fresh fruit and all sorts of goodies. There was a really great atmosphere, unlike most of the resorts around here which tend to be full of sleazy old men propping up the bar, or being propped up by their underage Filipina girlfriends. It’s only a couple of hours ride from Dumaguete, so I think I’ll be tempted to come back for a weekend’s R&R and fattening up!
Oh, and one night there was an earthquake! I think this might be my first proper earthquake, simulated ones in some science centre in Iceland on a geography field trip don’t count I don’t think.
I always love going to Siquijor - it’s a gorgeous island away from the city grime, the people are incredibly friendly and the diving is fab. The only downside to working on the island is that there’s a really wide, shallow seagrass flat that stretches out to the reef. So we’re standing on the beach, looking at our dive boat which is stuck several hundred meters out by the reef. Every morning and afternoon we had a fun game of paddling a kayak borrowed from the resort out to the boat, then paddling both the kayak and the little bangka from the dive boat back to the beach, and then the bangka back to the boat (we couldn’t convince the resort to let us keep the kayak all day).
After a couple of days of this, we asked our boat boys if we couldn’t fit three of us in the little bangka to go back to the beach, since we were leaving all our gear on the boat. It was pretty low in the water, and required a certain degree of balancing, but it seemed to be working fine. About half way, minds firmly fixed on a hot shower and sundowners at the bar, there was an almighty creaking noise and the bamboo outrigger snapped in half, sending us all flying! It was pretty funny after I had managed to swim back to the beach and pull the urchin spines out of my foot (calamansi/lime works a treat!), but I did feel bad about the boat!
The next day we managed to persuade Coral Cay to launch their bangka to ferry us to and from the reef. Luckily it was made of sterner stuff.
After three days diving/working, we took a day off and hired a motorbike to explore the island a bit. At first the plan was for me to learn to ride the bike, but we ended up with such a monster that I don’t think I would have been able to reach the peddles, so I just clung on for dear life.
Siquijor has one main road that runs around the island. It’s a beautiful ride, and we stopped off at old convents and stunning beaches along the way. After lunch we decided that we needed a bit more adventure, and turned off onto a smaller road to head up through the hills to San Antonio - a village that apparently practices the witchcraft Siquijor is infamous for.
I’m not sure that we ever made it to San Antonio… a rash decision at a cross roads led us to ever deteriorating roads (sometimes I think we were riding along a river bed) and ever smaller and more rural communities. People starting running from their houses to wave hello to us. Clearly foreigners had not been in these parts in a long time. Worryingly, people became unsure of which direction to point us in when we asked for directions, to the third largest town on the island. By this stage I was pretty glad we had the big bike, and not the little scooter thing I was after! Eventually, aching from the bumpy non-roads and just as the sun was setting, we made it back to the main road and our resort. It was a great adventure though - we’re going back for more exploring over holy week!
Back in the Philippines again. Internet access is sporadic, as I’m dashing from one remote beach to another but I’ll try and do an update on my adventures soon!
Two weeks home for Christmas and New Year was a complete blur - rushing up and down the country seeing friends and family, frantically buying warm clothes and trying to fit in all the food that I can’t find in Phils and Oz. It was a lot of fun, and great to catch up with (nearly) everyone, but not an entirely relaxing break… I feel like I need a holiday now to recover. Here’s a few photos, since I haven’t had time to write anything.
Diving was cold! After being spoilt in the tropics for so long, the cold dark and murky depths of UK diving didn’t look quite so inviting! I did a couple of dives, but mostly treated myself to mince pies and a book in bed, or discussed the state of the world’s fisheries with the skipper, who was jolly nice and let me drive his boat around.
New Years Eve was spent dodging firecrackers which I managed to sneak back illegally (I presume) from the Philippines, drinking lots of Bison vodka and swigging Moet from a bottle at midnight. All good fun!
Tomorrow I begin my epic journey home… Dumaguete to Manila, Manila to Hong Kong, Hong Kong to Heathrow and Heathrow to home. Not counting the weird going back in time thing, it will take me around 30 hours of travelling door to door! (I had to leave plenty of layover time in Manila and HK to allow for the Cebu Pacific effect - think Asian EasyJet)
I’m excited about seeing everyone, drinking pints of beer, cheese (as opposed to Cheeez), food from Waitrose and shopping in London. I’m less excited about the temperature difference… according to my weather widget, on Sunday Sheffield will reach a sunny high of 7˙C compared to 29˙C in Dumaguete. I can’t imagine what 7˙C feels like! I’m not sure my fridge here even gets that cold. I had to go on an emergency mission yesterday to buy trainers and jeans.
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.