"Now more than ever do I realize that I will never be content of a sedentary life on the surface, I will always be haunted by thoughts of being drenched elsewhere"….
This dwarf puffer fish (Carinotetraodon travancoricus) was lost in the comfort of this wide giant gorgonian, perhaps it swam directly in the midst of humongous fan and was trap in a maze like in a net! I caught up with it while swimming in a wall in the marine sanctuary of Sumilon Island, Cebu. Another example of symbiotic relationships in marine world!
Have you been in the depths of southern Cebu?
Our quest for off beaten sites is still going on, that spirit of curiosity is never put to rest and so we continue to explore and hunt from island to island. And most often such locations are remote, far-flung and most likely unheard of in terms of tourism radar. The town is off the national highway en route to other Surigao Sur municipalities. It is practically off-road, a separated land mass like an annex facing directly the Pacific Ocean.
I met up with Angel in Tandag after sleepless rides and again, it was another long trip for almost ten hours. Saturdays or weekends for that matter are always in a relaxing mode for the town folks but fortunately there were people in the Tourism Office just beside the Kujaw Diveshop, perhaps due to forthcoming national elections. We waited for our contact Archie (an LGU staff) who made arrangements for the day’s dives, he lives in a barangay outside the town.
Kujaw Depths
Our first descent was in Poblacion, it was yet high tide, but water movements shifting for the low tide was intense, carrying one back to the shallows, finning hard was necessary and it was just exhaustive! The visibility wasn’t good enough, there had been rains in the past few days and it was fortunate that it was sunny! We found pipefish, Moorish idol, angels, triggerfish, snappers and unicorn fish. There was these three snappers who were inseparable and keep by side near me, perhaps they were siblings and was wondering what kind of black fish I am. 🙂 And there was a herd of barracuda somewhat obscure from my point, which Angel tried to swim after, I thought it was trevally! We went around, found a patch of branching corals, and the white sand ripples underwater brought by the water movements. After 45 minutes we ascend, our deepest at 18.2 meters.
Our surface interval was spent on the boat, Jun and Ramil (our guides) have lot of stories about Cortes and its efforts in the preservation and protection of its marine environment. They were all praises for their Mayor (vehemently against mining), they recalled that dynamite fishing was a common practice even in neighboring towns. Now, the surrounding waters is teeming with fish life. The fisher folks need to observe the spawning season, strictly no fishing is allowed during the period and they perfectly understood the reason. The local government labored for the information and education campaign, respectively livelihood projects were initiated for the people.
Our second descent was in Uba Marine Sanctuary, the current was still moving as the water recede for the low tide. There were rock formations, some cavern and crevices. There were variety of anthias, clown fish and herds of yellow breams. There was patch of sea grasses, which I keep holding on as I went around, the waves current is pushing me back. We went round and round in the shallows. After 63 minutes, I signaled for ascent as the tide movements was getting rough.
Kujaw Side-trips
After checking in our refuge, we make most of the remaining time in the afternoon. We were aiming for the Laswitan Lagoon, the town has been known for this natural wonder. The gigantic waves from the Pacific whip up the rock formation along the coast, creating like Falls. It was not in season anymore so what we got were clear pools trapped by rock formations. The good thing was it was calm and so serene, it was not filled with people. It was already late, but our guide still made us to Lubcon Falls. Just a bit off the highway near the boundary to next town, a small dirt road led to this small falls. Its cold waters was refreshing enough after a long day. It was almost dark and it was all to ourselves, our dip was quick but the sound of the gushing waters was a calming assurance of nature’s peace and tranquility, like a soothing balm for weary souls.
Everything in Cortes is about simple living obviously not yet spoiled by technology advancement and so called development.
Unconsciously I mentioned Cortes as my latest destination in one of work chitchats and they were asking where? Sometimes even locals are surprised such unheard town can have wonderful marine environment. I almost joked it is in Mexico!
NO, this obscure town is not struggling for visibility, but the sincerity of the local officials and the cooperation of its people have made this community compliant to sanitation, environmental preservation & protection issues that are required for coastal communities. Cortes has been afforded numerous awards including the Para El Mar MPA Award as one of the most outstanding MPA in Mindanao (for Uba Marine Sanctuaty). This humble town is undoubtedly worthy for a visit, you wont go home empty -hearted! 🙂
Travel Notes:
Just recently I came across an article about scuba addiction citing all the symptoms of being one, bit hilarious but in a sense there some truth in it. For many and that includes me, has been bitten by the bug, and again I would say this could last a lifetime. In my own terms, it’s not addiction but more of passion, not an obsession but fervent devotion, not merely fancy but true admiration of the life beyond.
The lure of the underwater world sets a diver on a great voyage that goes to the bottom of the sea. A journey beyond the terrestrial dimension that set him apart from the rest after such glorious experience in a universe populated by weird or wonderful cast of thousands.
So in many ways, our passion would manifest in our behavior, habits that could become a lifestyle. Generally, there is nothing verbal but in many subtle ways the assertion is essentially clear of being a true blood diver.
If these are not weird and all sound too familiar for you, then you are a diver by heart, the depth of your passion has sunk in your innermost being. Needless to say, if you don’t have these qualities, you’re not a real diver. Chances are, it was merely a whimsical urge which after a time, when the excitement wane it will become a thing of the past. A passé but never a passion….
Spotting a pair of clownfish underwater always means they are near an anemone or most likely swimming and playing hide and seek over a bloom of anemone. Anemones are named after a terrestrial flower, but it’s actually a marine animal.
Of the over 1,000 anemone species that live in the ocean, only 10 species coexists with the 26 species of tropical clownfish. Within these species, only select pairs of anemone and clownfish are compatible. Together, they are obligatory symbionts, which means that each species is highly dependent on the other for survival. Symbiosis between the two species is achieved in a variety of ways including a mutual protection from predators, an exchange of nutrients, and the clownfish’s tolerance of anemone nematocysts.
The relationship between the sea anemone and clownfish allows the other to flourish through symbiosis. They are mutually dependent from each other. The above explosion of colors was in Mag-aba Deep Wall in Pandan, Antique!
In February we head for General Santos for a dive trip, it was a quick decision although there have been previous attempts, but deferred as I was thinking of the long land trip from Cagayan de Oro. My friends in our special project at work had been long recommending for the south, urging the richness of the bay. Of course, SarBay has always been known as the tuna country being one of the biggest domestic sources for yellow fin tunas both in the local and foreign markets. It goes without saying that its depths held rich marine life and well-preserved environment being hardly reached for water adventures.
The long trip to General Santos left me sleepless but my transpo connections went fluidly so I arrived earlier and have more than enough time for rest, and later explored the city by myself. The city has a diveshop I found in the net like three years ago but on a hunch I chose the one located at Tampuan Point in Maasim, the western town near the mouth of the bay. As it is, my dive buddy always afforded me to decide for the details of our dive trip, he has trusted my judgment for the necessary arrangements.
Probing Tampuan Point
Angel caught up with me very early the next morning for the dives, too early he had almost four-hour nap to freshen up from the sleepless trip to the city. Rushing up in the morning, we arrived at Lemlunay Resort somewhat delayed from our promised time, but was grateful we were not yet late. They started to prepare for the gears when we caught them up at the shop. A bunch of male divers were there already, I guess they were bit surprised of a lady joining them. In a way, I tried my best not to let my presence an intrusion to them. 🙂
Our first descent was at the Kamanga Marine Sanctuary just a bit off the resort, but we still got into the boat (with no gangplank). It was high tide and the Tinoto Sandbar I was hoping to see was nowhere in sight. Sir Joel was our head DM and Nolan as our guide, the guys were a bunch. The instruction was to stay close the wall, currents can be strong which can pull one down and away to the deep blue. We drifted awhile passing whips, sea fans and soft corrals until the current got stronger. Our DM signaled to get away from the wall and seek refuge up the slope. We circled around up the wide sandy area until we sighted the turtle, everybody moved swiftly and the poor turtle scampered away! We found a herd of shrimpfish, angels, moorish idol, sand perchs, clownfish and variety of juveniles. We found cluster of concrete reef mounds scattered around the area as fish shelters. It was a different kind of model, indeed lot of tropical fish like chromis, damsels, sergeants and anthias hovering over and down the mounds. The turtle appeared again but swam quickly away seeing us! As we prepared for our ascent, a blue ribbon eel came into view as if some closure of our search! We ascend after 48 minutes, my deepest at 23.9 meters with my air still at 110 bars.
We had a treat of warm divers’ soup as we got up in the shop and spent our surface interval lounging near the infinity pool watching the blue horizons. 🙂
Our second descent was still at the sanctuary off the Tinoto Reef, I think the healthy environment of the depths is owed to the concretes domes installed in the area, the artificial reef greatly enhanced the marine life. Our DM after learning of our dive sites quest around the country was bit pressured to find us something interesting in our dives. We shun away from the currents and as we went around sighted nudis, shrimpfish again, chromis and damsels. Obviously, the diverse marine life of the reef is a clear proof being awarded as one of the most outstanding marine protected area of the Para El Mar MPA Awards. As we lingered on hoping to find a rare specie, I caught up with our DM inspecting a crevice on hard corals, he found two bulging eyes protruding. At first, I tried to figure out what it was, something strange. It was upset, it came out – an octopus! It was my first sighting of a cephalopod in its habitat – pure amazing! It didn’t fled away, but courageously stood its ground and before it left, shoot a cloud of black ink, then left nonchalantly in front of us! It was a show, an actual observation of the specie’s behavior. 🙂 After 51 minutes, we ended our dive still amazed of our last find. I went 26.9 meters as deepest, my air still at 100 bars.
It was worth the trip, the probe was more than successful and without doubt a future schedule for dive trip in this corner of Mindanao would be in order. I am convince there are more amazing finds in the SarBay depths just waiting for curious souls! 🙂
Travel Notes:
Davao to GenSan – 7:30am Yellow Bus Line tourist bus (3 hours)
Life in the Great Beyond 
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