Live from the Philippines

[Clay Coleman]

We've finally arrived on Mindoro after 4 days of screwy travel. Our first flight out of Houston (to Honolulu) was delayed for 7 hours, which messed up all of our connections. So we managed to book a direct flight from Houston to Tokyo, then to Manila. That's a LONG ride. We start diving tomorrow morning. I'll keep y'all posted. -Clay

[sorvju-f]

We've finally arrived on Mindoro after 4 days of screwy travel. Our first flight out of Houston (to Honolulu) was delayed for 7 hours, which messed up all of our connections. So we managed to book a direct flight from Houston to Tokyo, then to Manila. That's a LONG ride. We start diving tomorrow morning. I'll keep y'all posted. -Clay

Hi Clay!

That is a pain to have flight problems with far destinations. Sounds like you still have your gears with you.

We really need some fresh UW-pics here ( as well topsides )...waiting for more...

Jukka

[Jonathan Bird]

Hi Clay,
Glad you made it. This place has definitely been quiet and it's about time for a killer ongoing trip report so post away and happy diving!! (Hi to Sharon!)

Jonathan

[Clay Coleman]

Done diving the first day. This place is really nice and the diving is interesting. I'll dump the camera this evening. Tough to post--we dive all day, I'm asleep by 9, up at 3am. I did get a pic I want y'all to see. It's a little eel and nobody here knows what it is. It might be some kind of garden eel that was sick--just laying there in the sand. I'll get pics up as soon as I can.

[sorvju-f]

Done diving the first day. This place is really nice and the diving is interesting. I'll dump the camera this evening. Tough to post--we dive all day, I'm asleep by 9, up at 3am. I did get a pic I want y'all to see. It's a little eel and nobody here knows what it is. It might be some kind of garden eel that was sick--just laying there in the sand. I'll get pics up as soon as I can.

Drumming....

Jukka

[Clay Coleman]

Alright, UW Photochat fish experts. Here's the mystery eel. It is about a foot long, body the diameter of a pinky finger. It was laying in the sand at about 50 feet.

[Clay Coleman]

Here are a few more from today. They're pretty self-explanatory:

[Clay Coleman]

Two more. The frogfish was tiny. G'night.

[sorvju-f]

Alright, UW Photochat fish experts. Here's the mystery eel. It is about a foot long, body the diameter of a pinky finger. It was laying in the sand at about 50 feet.

I know it is "öttimölliäinen"...word we are using to all unidentified creatures:p

It really looks like those sand hole garden eels from the head...but let our experts to comment.

Jukka

[sorvju-f]

Here are a few more from today. They're pretty self-explanatory:

Absolutely great shots!

I know you love to be there ( anywhow I would like...)

Mostly I like this feather star...just little bit other cropping and it would be perfect.

Jukka

[Jonathan Bird]

No idea what that eel is. Never seen one like that. Very neat!! Looks like lots of cuttlefish over there!

[Clay Coleman]

Jukka: I will try again for the crinoids walking around on the sponges. The shot I posted was full-frame--I just got it too tight. They're everywhere, so I'll have a chance to get it right. It's funny how some subjects that aren't considered exotic make the best pictures.

JB: I think we've seen cuttlefish on every dive. I'm still looking for a flamboyant, and they're supposed to be here.

We're off this morning to dive a pinnacle, so I'll hopefully have some wide angle soon.

[sorvju-f]

Jukka: I will try again for the crinoids walking around on the sponges. The shot I posted was full-frame--I just got it too tight. They're everywhere, so I'll have a chance to get it right. It's funny how some subjects that aren't considered exotic make the best pictures.

JB: I think we've seen cuttlefish on every dive. I'm still looking for a flamboyant, and they're supposed to be here.

We're off this morning to dive a pinnacle, so I'll hopefully have some wide angle soon.

Clay, what is you plan there...where you are...how long etc?

Jukka

[Clay Coleman]

Jukka: We're at El Galleon Resort at Puerto Galera on Mindoro. We'll dive here for 9 more days before heading home. I'll get some photos of the place up soon. It's really nice, 100% dive dedicated. I haven't set my gear up once and they even carry my camera on and off the boat! There are 6 in our group, and we have our own boat and divemaster/guide who is very knowledgeable (his name is Jamie from Yorkshire for all of you Island Dreams people who are coming over here soon).

[sorvju-f]

Jukka: We're at El Galleon Resort at Puerto Galera on Mindoro. We'll dive here for 9 more days before heading home. I'll get some photos of the place up soon. It's really nice, 100% dive dedicated. I haven't set my gear up once and they even carry my camera on and off the boat! There are 6 in our group, and we have our own boat and divemaster/guide who is very knowledgeable (his name is Jamie from Yorkshire for all of you Island Dreams people who are coming over here soon).

Looks nice!

http://www.asiadivers.com/elgalleon/index.php

Jukka

[DoctaDink]

Hey Clay. Thanks for posting the photos for those of us that love photography (and will probably never get to go there). Cool photos. And, I too, love the Feather Star.

[The Rock]

Looks from the photos like the destination was worth the trials and tribulations. Nice stuff. Keep the images coming. Tell Alan I said hello!:D

Best,

Tim of the Deep

[Clay Coleman]

Dean: Hey! Thanks for dropping in. Take a look around the site; there are many fine photographers here.

Timbo: I sent Alan your regards, and he returns them. As you know, we never made it to Guam coming over.

We dove an impressive pinnacle this morning called Verde Island. Rough weather and tricky currents, but a place I hope to get to again before we leave. We also dove more wrecks in Sabang Bay. I'll dump the camera and put a few pics up. Still haven't shot the resort. The dive schedule is busy, but I'll get around to it.

[Clay Coleman]

Not a great day, photo-wise. A few nice shots, but nothing really grabs me. Here are 4:

[sorvju-f]

Do you want to change your day with me;)

Lot of different colours frogs!

Jukka

[Ken Hawk]

Do you want to change your day with me;)

Lot of different colours frogs!

Jukka

You do have a point lol

[Jonathan Bird]

Like the octo!

[Clay Coleman]

Long day today trying to get some difficult subjects. We saw a pygmy seahorse in an awkward place, but I got no faces. We dove all day, then went out for a look for mandarin fish. A few emerged, but not close enough for quality shots. I'm posting one drastic crop just to document that they're here. I'll try the pygmies and mandarin fish again later this week.

[DoctaDink]

Beautiful, Clay. Keep 'em coming. Are you shooting these as both NEF and JPEG?

[sorvju-f]

Long day today trying to get some difficult subjects. We saw a pygmy seahorse in an awkward place, but I got no faces. We dove all day, then went out for a look for mandarin fish. A few emerged, but not close enough for quality shots. I'm posting one drastic crop just to document that they're here. I'll try the pygmies and mandarin fish again later this week.

I have never seen ribbon with those colours:eek:

Jukka

[Clay Coleman]

Dean: I shoot NEF plus basic jpeg for quick screening.

Jukka: I think that's a juvy stage of a blue ribbon eel.

[sorvju-f]

Dean: I shoot NEF plus basic jpeg for quick screening.

Jukka: I think that's a juvy stage of a blue ribbon eel.

NEF?

What and why?

Jukka

[Jonathan Bird]

NEF=raw for Nikon

[sorvju-f]

NEF=raw for Nikon

Thanks!

Jukka

[Clay Coleman]

Remind me to tell you about the time I swam 100 yards at 100 feet to find a special sea fan with pygmy seahorses, finally arrived and discovered that my lens cap was on inside the housing. I might be too stupid to do this anymore.

[scubagirl]

Don't feel so bad, Clay. I did a similar thing when I was in Raja Ampat. I had just found the cutest, tiniest Wonderpus octopus, when I realized my lens cap was still on! I swear it'll never happen again! ;)

BTW, great pics so far; please post some more.

Natalie

[Clay Coleman]

Thanks Natalie. Stupid people untie! 2 from this afternoon:

[Ken Hawk]

Love the lens cap bit :rolleyes:

Keep up the good work

[scubagirl]

Thanks Natalie. Stupid people unite! ...

It's only stupid if it happens more than once ;)

[Clay Coleman]

The diving continues. We've been here 5 days already. Here are 4 from today. You'll notice a snake--it got into my BC without my knowing it and stayed with me until I got back to the boat. I never saw it, but everybody raised a ruckus when it came out and headed back down. I wish somebody had gotten a pic of that!

[DoctaDink]

Clay,
Man, what a dive! Again, reallly I appreciate the photos, I've never seen most of those things. Re: the Banded Sea Snake....SHeesh, that could have really ruined your day...er, life if you had grabbed him accidentally while removing your gear. What scene it must have been when they saw it with you!

[Clay Coleman]

Dean: That snake tried to buddy up with someone else during the dive before it got shooed away. I'm just glad it held still enough for a few photos. It couldn't have bitten me through my wetsuit, and its mouth is too small to bite anywhere but a fold of skin. It wasn't aggressive; it just seemed to want a place to stay.

[Jonathan Bird]

Clay, two awesome stories in one day. We have all done the lens cap thing (or left the synch cord off the hot shoe of the camera or something like that). It was dumb mistakes like that which led me to my now standard practice of shooting a test pic with both strobes each and every time I put the camera back together, even if I haven't changed anything but just changed cards. I catch a lot of mistakes that way!!

Love the pics!!

Jonathan

[DoctaDink]

. I'm just glad it held still enough for a few photos.
The words of a TRUE photographer.

[Clay Coleman]

A few trials and annoyances the past day and a half. The focus motor on my 105mm disengaged last night for more mandarin fish, so no camera on that dive (I got it going when I returned to the room--nothing permanent). Synch cord crapped out on a nice wreck with the fisheye this morning, so no pics there. Everything seems to be back together and I'll try again. Here are a few more. The most impressive subject made the least interesting photo--the electric clam. Amazing to see. It would have made great video. For those who have not seen one (this was my first), it's a file clam with rapid light movements inside the mantle. It's really quite a show. I got the light lines, but, man, you should see these things go off! I also shot another crinoid with some more wiggle room. Those shots are everywhere.

[Clay Coleman]

One more shot. There are quite a few giant clams here. I found one small enough to shoot--really pretty mantle.

[sorvju-f]

A few trials and annoyances the past day and a half. The focus motor on my 105mm disengaged last night for more mandarin fish, so no camera on that dive (I got it going when I returned to the room--nothing permanent). Synch cord crapped out on a nice wreck with the fisheye this morning, so no pics there. Everything seems to be back together and I'll try again. Here are a few more. The most impressive subject made the least interesting photo--the electric clam. Amazing to see. It would have made great video. For those who have not seen one (this was my first), it's a file clam with rapid light movements inside the mantle. It's really quite a show. I got the light lines, but, man, you should see these things go off! I also shot another crinoid with some more wiggle room. Those shots are everywhere.

Great you got it:p I also like the anemon fish.

Jukka

[solisti]

Clay, two awesome stories in one day. We have all done the lens cap thing (or left the synch cord off the hot shoe of the camera or something like that). It was dumb mistakes like that which led me to my now standard practice of shooting a test pic with both strobes each and every time I put the camera back together, even if I haven't changed anything but just changed cards. I catch a lot of mistakes that way!!

Love the pics!!

Jonathan

I started this practise from the beginning and it really is a good way to check that your gear is ok. We all do check our dive gear also so why not the camera?

Clay, thanks for posting all the great images!

[Clay Coleman]

Good advice, and something I often practice. Every time I take a shot in the room, all is well. Every time I forget or neglect to do it, something's wrong. I have a new subject on which to test my gear. Notice the nice double highlights in the eyes to indicate that both my strobes are firing properly with a 60mm.

[Clay Coleman]

A couple from today (Friday). We've gotten glimpses of the harlequin shrimp several times, but haven't gotten photos until today. I think backscatter is a necessary part of the photo of the feeding catfish.

[sorvju-f]

A couple from today (Friday). We've gotten glimpses of the harlequin shrimp several times, but haven't gotten photos until today. I think backscatter is a necessary part of the photo of the feeding catfish.

Those harlequin shrimps are one of the most beautiful creatures underwater...I have seen only once in Lembeh pair of them...didn't get pictures but video I have.

Jukka

[Clay Coleman]

The shot of today (Saturday) was a Coleman shrimp Sharon found on a big fire urchin. I haven't done much wide angle here, but I'll post a Coleman babe I found by a seafan.

[dascubanut]

Love the Coleman shrimp, and all the rest of your shots. After what you have been posting, the Philippines have moved up a few notches on my must dive list. Thanks for sharing.

Doug

[sorvju-f]

A couple from today (Friday). We've gotten glimpses of the harlequin shrimp several times, but haven't gotten photos until today. I think backscatter is a necessary part of the photo of the feeding catfish.

Clay, here is very short video of this beautiful creature from Lembeh. I noticed that colour is little bit different than in your picture.

http://sorvjuf.1g.fi/Harlequin%20schrimps%20Lembeh.mov

Jukka

[Clay Coleman]

Thanks, Jukka. There is very little blue on the harlequin that we found. Maybe it's a youngster. The dive staff is putting sea stars by its hole in the hope that it will stay a while.

Doug: I've never been diving in the Pacific, and I picked the Philippines because of good reports and the fact that it's relatively cheap. My buddy (Dave Breidenbach) got a great blue-ring octo and some nice pygmies. I've had little luck with the pygmies, but they're certainly here if you have the eyesight and patience for them. Plenty of weird stuff to shoot here. I have shots of frogfish that you can barely decipher even when looking at the photo. On one of the few wide angle dives, we came across a beautiful leaf scorpionfish. The weird and wonderful are here.

[Clay Coleman]

David has several shots better than this, but at least I got something that looks like a pygmy seahorse. I wasn't ready for this and shot with a 60mm. I might have another chance tomorrow afternoon. Current is up and viz is down today.

[Clay Coleman]

Dive day 9 is done. Here are a few pipefish from today. I don't yet know what the first one is. The robust ghosts were found near a wreck tonight.

[JESSESAILFISH007]

Clay, great work!!! .... and your images are getting me excited thinking more about my trip there in May. Jesse

[Jonathan Bird]

Clay, great shots man! Love the blue tridacna and the Coleman shrimp especially. What's it like to photograph your namesake?

Love the test shot of Sharon. :D

Jonathan

[Clay Coleman]

Thanks, y'all. The Coleman shrimp was really something to see. I've been impressed by the fire urchins, which are like nothing I've seen before. The shrimp on top was a real bonus. Unfortunately, Sharon and I were the only ones to see it (we were separated from the group, which happens almost every dive--currents keep everyone else moving and they're gone if you stop to concentrate on a subject).

Jesse: I'll give you more info on the diving here before you come. Currents are the main thing. Lots of thermoclines and upwellings. I thought this would be tropical/shortie diving, but I've been diving in a 3/2 wetsuit, which is comfortable. The boats are bungkas, which is possibly the worst designed boat in the world. Not maneuverable and generally a pain although there is plenty of room for 6 divers. There is also a speedboat to the more remote sites (Verde Island), but there are 16 people on that boat. David's and my cameras take up all the camera space on the bungkas. I'm not sure how a big group of photogs will manage space. You'll probably have to keep your camera on your lap. Most runs are very short, and lots of good sites are right at the resort. Most of the diving is macro, but there is a wreck (Alma Jane) out front with good wide angle stuff. Also a wreck called Drydock is good wide angle. Verde Island is the best wide angle. Watch for the currents there--they're RIPPING if you make a wrong turn. Conditions are widely variable; viz has ranged from 100' to 15'. The best froggies are in Sabang Bay, which is right here. There are 3 wrecks there. The harlequin ghosts are also there. Our guide has been a young Brit named Jamie. He's very knowledgeable and knows enough about photography to recommend what lens to use at each site. He's also an entertaining young guy. Sharon threw her back out 3 days ago and can barely walk. Jamie has been helpful getting her out of the water. We'll talk more about this place and how to get to Galapagos next week when I'm home.

[Clay Coleman]

JB: Sharon has been finding stuff like crazy. She is responsible for the Coleman shrimp shot. She doesn't know that I posted that shot of her, but she's just too cute!

[Clay Coleman]

All done here. We'll get back to Manila today and fly out tomorrow night. It's been interesting and fun. Here are three more from yesterday. The swimming giant frogfish is not a particularly pleasant photo, but it was pretty weird to see--it just came trundling down the reef and kept going.

[sorvju-f]

All done here. We'll get back to Manila today and fly out tomorrow night. It's been interesting and fun. Here are three more from yesterday. The swimming giant frogfish is not a particularly pleasant photo, but it was pretty weird to see--it just came trundling down the reef and kept going.

Swimming giant frogfish is great!

Thanks for keeping our chat living for couple of weeks!

Safe trip back home.

Jukka

[Sharp]

Very good and interested pictures of you trip Clay.:)

[Clay Coleman]

Jukka: We're in Manila now, and I finally got a look at your harlequin shrimp video (the connection was too slow at the resort). Very nice footage!

[Jonathan Bird]

Thanks for the updates Clay, we enjoyed them! Have a safe trip home!

[Clay Coleman]

Home. Whew. That's a long way.

[Clay Coleman]

Just took a look at raw shots. I got something that I didn't post earlier. When we were on Verde Island we came across two mating octos. I posted a shot of one. Here's the couple in the act. If I come across anything else interesting, I'll put it up.

[sorvju-f]

Just took a look at raw shots. I got something that I didn't post earlier. When we were on Verde Island we came across two mating octos. I posted a shot of one. Here's the couple in the act. If I come across anything else interesting, I'll put it up.

Beautiful colours and good theme...old rule...to have two is more impressive.

Clay, nice to have you safe home! It takes couple of weeks to have great feeling to be back home and you always can return to your trip trough pictures but then step by step diver's mind starts to move to new adventures...AND THAT'S GREAT...never ending story.

Jukka

[Clay Coleman]

Thanks, Jukka. I hope everybody enjoyed the trip log. It's also a great way for us to re-live the trip day-by-day in the future. We left Mindoro about a day before the earthquake hit. I'm glad we missed that!

[sorvju-f]

Thanks, Jukka. I hope everybody enjoyed the trip log. It's also a great way for us to re-live the trip day-by-day in the future. We left Mindoro about a day before the earthquake hit. I'm glad we missed that!

These trip logs are more perfect if you you can show us some topsides also.
Anyhow the past month have been your show;)

Jukka

[Jonathan Bird]

Welcome home Clay!

We enjoyed your posts. I'm with Jukka, can we have some topside and maybe a little trip report?

Jonathan

[Clay Coleman]

Well, alrighty then. I didn't take many topside photos. The resort is north-facing and is in continual shade. That's good for everything except photos. They have a nice website, and you can get a view of rooms. We stayed in a "Poolside" room. Have a look at http://www.asiadivers.com/elgalleon/rooms.php The room was clean and functional--pretty much what I expected from a dive-dedicated place. Some rooms were high on hills. I wouldn't have wanted to huff up all those stairs after every dive.

We booked our trip through Ken Knezick at Island Dreams, as they go to this resort often. Our itinerary was supposed to be Houston to Honolulu to Guam to Manila. However, as I posted earlier, our first flight to Honolulu was delayed 7 hours and we ended up catching a direct ride from Houston to Tokyo, then to Manila.

We stayed at the Oxford Suite Hotel in Manila. It's a nice place, but on the fringe of the red-light district (I thought I was really on my game until I figured this out) with vendors galore. From Manila we drove to Batangas and caught a boat to the resort--about a 2 hour drive and a 1 hour boat ride. The driving style of Filipinos is nutty. There are no traffic lights, and intersections are chaotic, to say the least.

The El Galleon Resort was a great deal. We paid about $1500 each for 10 days of diving (4 dives a day) plus 3 meals a day. All paid dives were during daylight hours, and we paid a bit extra for night dives. Nitrox was $60 for the week. There is good diving right out front, but no shore diving is allowed due to unpredictable currents. My favorite macro site was Sabang Bay, which is right at the resort. There are 3 wrecks there full of stuff. Wide angle sites were Verde Island (longer boat ride plus a surcharge), the Alma Jane wreck (right out front), and a wreck called Drydock, which is also very close to the resort. Sites are determined by wind and current. Manila Pass is protected from most weather and has several good sites. Conditions varied greatly--viz ranged from 100' at Verde Island to 15' or so in some of the macro/muck areas. Sharon and I surfaced independent of the group on about half of our dives. Bring a sausage, as the diving is in areas with boat traffic. Our boat picked us up promptly every time we surfaced with our own sausage. The resort staff was terrific. They set up dive gear and carried everything, including cameras, to and from the boats. Vendors are all around the property, but they aren't allowed on the property. The proprietor is Alan Nash, a very hospitable Aussie. The food was varied and good.

Currents are the main thing about the diving. It was ripping in some places. All dives are with the current with the boat following. On a few drifts, we were going so fast I couldn't see a thing. Don't even think about trying to stop for a photo in some of the currents. Water temps in March were in the high 70s to low 80s. I started the week in a shortie, but was in a 3/2 wetsuit by the second day. I was comfortable in the 3/2 even on the 4th dive of the day. Most dives are shallow and last an hour.

The boats are bangkas--sort of a deep-keeled canoe with bamboo outriggers. They're not maneuverable and offer lots of chances to bang your head on the outriggers. But, they're comfortable for short rides and roomy enough for 6 divers.

I have no experience with Pacific destinations, but I was pleased with the variety of subjects off Mindoro. David Breidenbach got some nice blue-ringed octo shots. There are several areas for pygmy seahorses.

Here are 2 photos. The first is of Sabang Bay, which is a good dive site. The second is of the El Galleon dive pier. Part of the pier is floating, and the boats moor bow-to. It can be tricky getting on and off the boats when the weather is up. We experienced several days of 20 knot winds.

[sorvju-f]

Well, alrighty then. I didn't take many topside photos. The resort is north-facing and is in continual shade. That's good for everything except photos. They have a nice website, and you can get a view of rooms. We stayed in a "Poolside" room. Have a look at http://www.asiadivers.com/elgalleon/rooms.php The room was clean and functional--pretty much what I expected from a dive-dedicated place. Some rooms were high on hills. I wouldn't have wanted to huff up all those stairs after every dive.

We booked our trip through Ken Knezick at Island Dreams, as they go to this resort often. Our itinerary was supposed to be Houston to Honolulu to Guam to Manila. However, as I posted earlier, our first flight to Honolulu was delayed 7 hours and we ended up catching a direct ride from Houston to Tokyo, then to Manila.

We stayed at the Oxford Suite Hotel in Manila. It's a nice place, but on the fringe of the red-light district (I thought I was really on my game until I figured this out) with vendors galore. From Manila we drove to Batangas and caught a boat to the resort--about a 2 hour drive and a 1 hour boat ride. The driving style of Filipinos is nutty. There are no traffic lights, and intersections are chaotic, to say the least.

The El Galleon Resort was a great deal. We paid about $1500 each for 10 days of diving (4 dives a day) plus 3 meals a day. All paid dives were during daylight hours, and we paid a bit extra for night dives. Nitrox was $60 for the week. There is good diving right out front, but no shore diving is allowed due to unpredictable currents. My favorite macro site was Sabang Bay, which is right at the resort. There are 3 wrecks there full of stuff. Wide angle sites were Verde Island (longer boat ride plus a surcharge), the Alma Jane wreck (right out front), and a wreck called Drydock, which is also very close to the resort. Site are determined by wind and current. Manila Pass is protected from most weather and has several good sites. Conditions varied greatly--viz ranged from 100' at Verde Island to 15' or so in some of the macro/muck areas. Sharon and I surfaced independent of the group on about half of our dives. Bring a sausage, as the diving is in areas with boat traffic. Our boat picked us up promptly every time we surfaced with our own sausage. The resort staff was terrific. They set up dive gear and carried everything, including cameras, to and from the boats. Vendors are all around the property, but they aren't allowed on the property. The proprietor is Alan Nash, a very hospitable Aussie. The food was varied and good.

Currents are the main thing about the diving. It was ripping in some places. All dives are with the current with the boat following. On a few drifts, we were going so fast I couldn't see a thing. Don't even think about trying to stop for a photo in some of the currents. Water temps in March were in the high 70s to low 80s. I started the week in a shortie, but was in a 3/2 wetsuit by the second day. I was comfortable in the 3/2 even on the 4th dive of the day. Most dives are shallow and last an hour.

The boats are bangkas--sort of a deep-keeled canoe with bamboo outriggers. They're not maneuverable and offer lots of chances to bang your head on the outriggers. But, they're comfortable for short rides and roomy enough for 6 divers.

I have no experience with Pacific destinations, but I was pleased with the variety of subjects off Mindoro. David Breidenbach got some nice blue-ringed octo shots. There are several areas for pygmy seahorses.

Here are 2 photos. The first is of Sabang Bay, which is a good dive site. The second is of the El Galleon dive pier. Part of the pier is floating, and the boats moor bow-to. It can be tricky getting on and off the boats when the weather is up. We experienced several days of 20 knot winds.

Thanks Clay!

Your last post made your reporting perfect.

Jukka

[Andrew]

Hi Clay,

Just got home from spending the last month in Africa where the internet connection was not great at the best of times! I have just looked through your wonderful photos and trip report, it sounds like you had a great time (apart from the actual travel time!) and took some great pictures. Thanks for sharing it with us.

Andrew

[Jonathan Bird]

Andrew, if there was diving involved in this Africa trip, we need pics! Start a thread!

[Clay Coleman]

Thanks, Andrew. I'm with Birdman--show us what you've been up to.

[Andrew]

Sorry guys... no diving this time otherwise there would have been a full report! Just went down to buy and move in some furniture etc for our new house down there and to go on safari.

Andrew


PS. I am very frustrated, I found an advert for a new trimaran liveaboard which was going to be offered from this year for the sardine run which I thought would be cool. Can I find it anywhere in my unpacking and not on Google either!!! :confused:

[Jonathan Bird]

Andrew....uwphotochat party at your place???

[Andrew]

Sounds good, but will the wetsuits be playing at the party? ;) Unfortunately not much diving in our area, just tons of safari animals, but only a short flight to dive with the tigersharks or to the tropic water of Mozambique.

Andrew

[Brandon Cole]

Clay-
Welcome home. Great pictures from your trip. Thanks for sharing with everybody. I've been to Indo a million times, but never Philippines. It obviously has a lot of great critters. I also hear great things about the friendly people, food, and obviously the price is excellent. Some spots in Indo are still inexpensive, but others are now quite pricey in terms of the diving.

Being a fish geek, I was immediately jealous of your mysterious eel at the beginning of the thread. That's a "Snake Blenny", Xiphasia setifer. It's basically a monstrous fang blenny. You probably know this by now being back home with access to ID books. A great find! I've only seen a few over the years, and I have a grand total of zero pictures.
Best,
Brandon

[Clay Coleman]

Hey Brandon! Thanks for the positive id on the mystery "eel". I guess beginner's luck counts for something!

[Jonathan Bird]

Brandon,
OK, now I know where we should run our photo course together. Philippines are wonderful and cheap. Indonesia gets all the press because people consider it more exotic, but the fact is that 95% of everything you can see in Indonesia you can see in the Philippines. In fact, I have photographed nearly every species in the Philippines that I photographed in Lembeh, with only a couple exceptions.

Jonathan