Hope springs eternal in Tubbataha
By Cora Guidote, contributor
Inquirer News Service
Philippine Explorer
WHILE war in Iraq and SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) have wreaked havoc and despair in many parts of the world, renewed hope springs at a giant Philippine reef called Tubbataha.
Marine life thrives in this 33,200-hectare marine and bird sanctuary, a World Heritage Site located in the middle of the Sulu Seas between the islands of Palawan and the Visayas.
Thanks to conservationists, research groups, local and provincial government units and diving operators and enthusiasts, efforts and resources are being directed toward preserving and bringing life back to Tubbataha and other formerly devastated parts of the Philippines' diving frontier.
It was my third six-day, live-aboard trip to this diving paradise in a span of seven years. What I saw during my first trip was much less appealing, although back then, it was already quite an experience.
Up close and personal
To begin with, I didn't really expect much. To my pleasant surprise, diving very early in the morning into the waters of Tubbataha presented one spectacular photo opportunity after another for a photo aficionado like myself.
I got up close and personal with large sea turtles (pawikan), reef sharks, three-foot tunas, giant trevallies (talakitok), schools of jacks and barracudas. Occasionally, we had encounters with rare species of rays such as the manta, marble and porcupine rays.
A common sight as you swim along the walls of Tubbataha are schools of surgeon fish (labahita) and snappers (maya-maya) cascading down the deep, coral-adorned walls of Jessie Beazley, Black Rock and North Tubbataha, all dive areas. This time, however, the fish have grown in size and there just seem to be more of them.
The many schools of fusiliers (dalagang bukid) in Jessie Beazley, displaying their brilliant colors of yellow and blue, swim past you in long rows, making a drift dive along the reef more akin to watching a Discovery Channel documentary.
The corals on top of the reef have also grown back, many of which were bleached and destroyed by the El Niño phenomenon in 1998.
They are now in full technicolor bloom, in varied shapes and sizes, inhabited by just as brightly colored reef fishes such as anthias, parrot fish, sweet lips, fusiliers, moray eels, trigger fish (notorious for their aggressive behavior when nesting) and octopus, among others.
The walls of the reef are just as lovely as I remembered, yet somehow, even more attractive now because the fan corals branch out more, some in very striking purple, yellow and orange, others in soft white and green.
That's underwater, by the way.
Up on the boat, we had other encounters. Our meals on deck were often distracted by large schools of dolphins cruising several meters away from our boat, with one or two of them occasionally jumping out of the water, proudly displaying a triple twist before diving back down.
Boobies also flew by and sometimes tried to land on the roof deck. These are the white-faced, white-breasted migratory black birds that lay their eggs at a sanctuary aptly called Bird Islet in North Tubbataha.
Humans are not allowed on this tiny piece of land, because boobies by the thousands (and also turtles, by the way), lay their eggs right on the beach.
Spectacular sunset
Now I don't know if other dive operators do this, but ours gave us a treat on our last day. We were served dinner on a sand bar in Jessie Beazley reef. During high tide, all you see of this island is a 3-meter circumference of coral rubble.
During low tide, however, more of the island is exposed, allowing a small group to set up a few tables and chairs and enjoy one of the most spectacular sunsets one could ever imagine.
As soon as the streaks of sunlight disappeared on the horizon, the cloudless sky was immediately transformed into a dome brightened by an awesome display of stars and galaxies. It was just amazing!
As we went back to the boat, everybody was careful not to leave any trash behind to avoid spoiling such pristine surroundings. For certain, though, we took with us sweet memories and lot of photos.
Nothing could've capped that trip better. It makes you experience Easter in a marvelous way, a chance to thank God for this opportunity to gawk at His magnificent creation.
"Build thee more stately mansions, Oh my soul," said Oliver Wendell Holmes in "The Chambered Nautilus." Nothing could've been more apt for what was, in the end, our highly spiritual communion with nature.
http://www.inq7.net/globalnation/sec_phe/2003/may/29-02.htm
By Cora Guidote, contributor
Inquirer News Service
Philippine Explorer
WHILE war in Iraq and SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) have wreaked havoc and despair in many parts of the world, renewed hope springs at a giant Philippine reef called Tubbataha.
Marine life thrives in this 33,200-hectare marine and bird sanctuary, a World Heritage Site located in the middle of the Sulu Seas between the islands of Palawan and the Visayas.
Thanks to conservationists, research groups, local and provincial government units and diving operators and enthusiasts, efforts and resources are being directed toward preserving and bringing life back to Tubbataha and other formerly devastated parts of the Philippines' diving frontier.
It was my third six-day, live-aboard trip to this diving paradise in a span of seven years. What I saw during my first trip was much less appealing, although back then, it was already quite an experience.
Up close and personal
To begin with, I didn't really expect much. To my pleasant surprise, diving very early in the morning into the waters of Tubbataha presented one spectacular photo opportunity after another for a photo aficionado like myself.
I got up close and personal with large sea turtles (pawikan), reef sharks, three-foot tunas, giant trevallies (talakitok), schools of jacks and barracudas. Occasionally, we had encounters with rare species of rays such as the manta, marble and porcupine rays.
A common sight as you swim along the walls of Tubbataha are schools of surgeon fish (labahita) and snappers (maya-maya) cascading down the deep, coral-adorned walls of Jessie Beazley, Black Rock and North Tubbataha, all dive areas. This time, however, the fish have grown in size and there just seem to be more of them.
The many schools of fusiliers (dalagang bukid) in Jessie Beazley, displaying their brilliant colors of yellow and blue, swim past you in long rows, making a drift dive along the reef more akin to watching a Discovery Channel documentary.
The corals on top of the reef have also grown back, many of which were bleached and destroyed by the El Niño phenomenon in 1998.
They are now in full technicolor bloom, in varied shapes and sizes, inhabited by just as brightly colored reef fishes such as anthias, parrot fish, sweet lips, fusiliers, moray eels, trigger fish (notorious for their aggressive behavior when nesting) and octopus, among others.
The walls of the reef are just as lovely as I remembered, yet somehow, even more attractive now because the fan corals branch out more, some in very striking purple, yellow and orange, others in soft white and green.
That's underwater, by the way.
Up on the boat, we had other encounters. Our meals on deck were often distracted by large schools of dolphins cruising several meters away from our boat, with one or two of them occasionally jumping out of the water, proudly displaying a triple twist before diving back down.
Boobies also flew by and sometimes tried to land on the roof deck. These are the white-faced, white-breasted migratory black birds that lay their eggs at a sanctuary aptly called Bird Islet in North Tubbataha.
Humans are not allowed on this tiny piece of land, because boobies by the thousands (and also turtles, by the way), lay their eggs right on the beach.
Spectacular sunset
Now I don't know if other dive operators do this, but ours gave us a treat on our last day. We were served dinner on a sand bar in Jessie Beazley reef. During high tide, all you see of this island is a 3-meter circumference of coral rubble.
During low tide, however, more of the island is exposed, allowing a small group to set up a few tables and chairs and enjoy one of the most spectacular sunsets one could ever imagine.
As soon as the streaks of sunlight disappeared on the horizon, the cloudless sky was immediately transformed into a dome brightened by an awesome display of stars and galaxies. It was just amazing!
As we went back to the boat, everybody was careful not to leave any trash behind to avoid spoiling such pristine surroundings. For certain, though, we took with us sweet memories and lot of photos.
Nothing could've capped that trip better. It makes you experience Easter in a marvelous way, a chance to thank God for this opportunity to gawk at His magnificent creation.
"Build thee more stately mansions, Oh my soul," said Oliver Wendell Holmes in "The Chambered Nautilus." Nothing could've been more apt for what was, in the end, our highly spiritual communion with nature.
http://www.inq7.net/globalnation/sec_phe/2003/may/29-02.htm
