Reached Anilao after a 3 hour journey by car from Manila through beautiful countryside and farms Spotted many different types of fruits/plants on the way. Arrived in Anilao around sunset and soon after a whale shark was spotted on the beach only a few meters outside the resort. We spotted the tail and dorsal fin and it looked like a juvenile fish.
Some divers swam with the Whale Shark and manta rays on the 18th Dec - lucky people. No such luck for us.
Started the diving which has been incredible and the variety and condition of the coral is the best I have seen anywhere. Spotted new critters that I haven't seen before like flambouyant cuttlefish, frogfishes, pygmy seahorse (well camouflaged against a gorgonian fan), ribbon eels. On one dive site alone (Secret Bay) we spotted sea snake, leaf fish, mimic octopus, dragon fish, sea horse, shrimps and unusual nudibranches.
Been for 21 dives and getting used to the bouyancy etc. Reduced weight from 7 Kg to 4 Kg which I wish was true in real life too!!!
Prabha is here too and enjoying the diving.
Diving and coral is excellent. Met a Taiwanese couple, one of whom used to take photos for Asia Divers. Their underwater video was incredible with the most fantastic photography and underwater animal life that I have ever seen. They had even managed to capture nudibranches mating, shrimps shrugging off their old shells, unusual pipefish and nudibranches, fish with a ball of eggs in their mouth and also clownfish eggs with huge eye. All this was shot in Anilao.
From Anilao, we went to Tagaytay, a highland town on a volcanic crater which has a lake in the middle and a smaller volcano (Taal) rising out of it. It is supposed to be the worlds smallest volcano and looks amazing.
Next destination Guam then Yap.
Merry Christmas to all.
