Sea Surprise!

Anilao, Batangas is truly a diver’s paradise. It is a home away from home for the divers who live in Manila. It is a stone’s throw away from Manila, so it is easier to access than any other dive spots in the Philippines, if you live in the metro.  I find its location really convenient. Aside from being accessible, its water is clear, has countless dive spots and has a diverse range of underwater species. After a year of numerous dives in Batangas, never have I ever gotten bored. You could go diving again and again in the same dive spot, yet see a different kind of fish each time. I am not yet an expert in diving, but I must say that I really appreciate it more now. I used to be so afraid of swimming in the sea, whenever I go snorkeling but now,  I can’t believe that I actually dive and swim with the schools of fish 15-30 meters below the surface!

a great day to dive

Diving will never cease to amaze me. There is one particular diving day in Anilao that I will never forget. This was when we saw a pygmy seahorse, pawikan and a huge octopus all in a day.  The pygmy seahorse was as tiny as a fingernail. We had to use a magnifying lens to be able to see it clearly. 

Pygmy Seahorse

It completely camouflages with the fan corals, where it lived, which made it even harder to be seen.  

Try to find the Pygmy Seahorse.

The pawikan, on the other hand, was huge but I believe that there are a lot of bigger ones around the area. I tried to swim after the pawikan, but contrary to how slow it walks on land, it is quite a fast swimmer.

"Hey, dude!"

Needless to say, it slowly disappeared into the deep. It swam so gracefully, like as if to glide without any effort. 

gliding gracefully

I actually wanted to jump unto its back and ride it, but of course, I can’t! “Never touch anything.” is one of the golden rules in scuba diving. I still enjoyed just watching it. It felt so surreal.  

Nearing the end of the dive, we chanced upon this big octopus.

Spot the octopus!

I think its head was as big as ours. I was lucky to have caught it on camera. The way that it continuously camouflaged with whatever it touched was like magic.

Yes! It is the same octopus!

At first I thought that it was just a huge rock until it suddenly moved. Its tentacles glided seamlessly with the rocks while the fishes were swimming all around it, like as if to take a small bite off its head.

Of course, these three aren’t the only species that we saw underwater. The sea is like a vast museum of living creatures that you can’t even imagine without seeing it live. 

Just keep swimming.

If you think that you’ve seen it all, yet you haven’t tried scuba diving, then maybe you should give it a try.