Capturing the Moment

  Apo Island   Apo Island is a small island off the coast of Dauin, Philippines. The scuba diving here is a stark contrast to the nearby shoreline of Dauin. Huge coral reefs cover every square inch of ground in some areas around the island. Massive schools of jacks hang just off the deeper parts of the reef bathed in current and rich in food. Small reef fish stay close to the protective corals they call home. They do have to share their beautiful neighborhood with turtles, sea snakes, and cuttlefish as well.   Soft corals fight hard corals for space in the shallows and down the submerged walls of Apo Island. It is usually done as a day trip from one of the many dive resorts over in Dauin. We planned a 3 dive day trip. When I saw how small the island was and how fast the current was I thought we would see everything on the first two dives but our guide saved the best for last.   The first two dives were drift dives along the sloping walls. This is where we...

Dauin (Dumaguete), Philippines Scuba Dive Destination Wide angle madness! Apo Island's clear waters Stilted bungalows of our resort   Dauin is a tiny municipality of Negros Oriental, Philippines. Except for tourists coming in for scuba diving the small fishing village vibe still rules here. Ladies set up stalls by the road in the afternoons with all the fresh catch of the day. The men and some women too take out big seine nets right around sunset time and drag them along the shallows. Ten villagers hauling in these huge nets on either side made me wonder how any fish are still out there in the shallows. I got my answer when they pulled the net in the first time and I overheard someone say, "stonefish....we got 1 stonefish." They are hoping to get tiny little fish about the size of anchovies on our pizza here in the States to make little fish pancakes and rice for the next mornings meal. I couldn't believe all the work that went in to such a small...