clash with the titans

meeting the titan face to face is a no-fun experience. scary look, sharp teeth, bulky but very agile, the titan triggerfish is definitely not the likes of Ariel’s friends. it’s a nasty beast, like a deadly assassin lurking in coral reefs.

one time, our butts have almost got bitten by a titan. luckily we saw it before it managed to give us a very big bite and chunk our flesh hehehe. for almost 10minutes, we swam as quickly as we can while trying to kick it away with our fins. we escaped but those nasty teeth definitely have been frequent in my dreams.

but upon learning the habits of the titans, i realized and started to admire them. the titans are very serious in guarding their eggs and nest and they will attack any threats, even bigger fishes and humans, within its immediate territory. size doesn’t matter on these creatures.

but still, everytime i see a titan during a dive or snorkel, my instinct will always tell me to “get out of her way!!!”. :)

sea slugs

one of my favorite sea creatures is the nudibranch. these lovely, colorful, soft-bodied marine gastropods inspired me to learn diving... my spark, borrowing the term from birders.

luckily, the Mabini-Tingloy sea, the natural laboratory where i learn and experience the underwater world, is teeming with different kinds of nudibranch. in fact, new species of nudibranch were discovered recently by the California Academy of Sciences during their study in this sea.

since they are slow, nudibranch adopted certain types of defense mechanisms. some species can blend or mimic the texture and color of their surroundings, some can release poisons while some store toxins to drive away predators.

so just observe and be mesmerized. no touch :)

photos courtesy of award-winning dive photographer, and a dear friend, Danny O.

Poseidon's lair

after more than four months, i'm really looking forward to go under the sea. adding to my excitement is the news of the discovery of more than 300 new flora and fauna species in the country by the California Academy of Sciences, most of which were deep sea creatures.

so eventhough typhoon Falcon is still unleashing his wrath in Luzon, i grab my backpack and went to Pods Cove (aka Bahay ni Lola), a rest house in Batangas which i co-managed with few dear friends. luckily, the typhoon stopped on the next day and we were able to organize a dive - Danny O, an award winning underwater photographer, Roy, a dive guide from Apo Island, and me. visibility is terrible at the start of the dive, maybe due to the storm. but after 20 mins, the water became clearer (or maybe my eyes were already able to adjust) and we started to encounter beautiful sea creatures.

like this rare striated frogfish,

beautiful nudibranch,

a flying gurnard, white stonefish, weird-looking crabs, lobster, giant clam, anemone shrimps and beautiful coral fishes. a very fruitful dive. we stayed underwater for more than 70mins.

the coastal zone fronting Pods Cove is good for muck diving. in fact last year, we were able to see green sea turtles and manta ray in the area. also high chances of spotting octopus and cuttle fish during night dive/snorkel. Mabini waters is also a migration path for whale sharks and dolphins. underwater photos by Danny O.

.... i'm daydreaming and planning to accomplish one of my life wishes - to dive in Tubbataha Reef. hopefully next year :)