The flying Fish of the Sulu Sea.

'Looking for the flying fish amongst the Mangroves' - Background our lodge

Really they are there, I have seen them many times, moving across the path of the outrigger boats or along them. I never managed to photograph them (yet), they are so fast and the only thing I achieved was many blurred images of water, fishes long gone. Most of the time I had the wrong camera, wrong lens, well the usual excuses, but honestly, more often than not, I was just at awe with the serene beauty of the place taking in the scenery that I forgot photography at all.

That what is it, the serene beauty of the Sulu Sea at the southwestern part of Negors Island in the Philippines. The Sulu Sea is on its western shores, a big void of open water, with the next land, either the Island of Borneo or the Island of Palawan to the North West. In the midst of that, reefs and small islands which are excellent dive sites, like Tubbataha Reef, a world heritage site and considered one of the best diving sites in the world, rivaling the Great Barrier reef. Somehow the Sulu Sea was and maybe still is also notorious for some piracy and of course the muslim insurgency in the southeast in the Tawi Tawi group or Jolo. However this is not to distract from the beauty of the place and decent diving or snorkeling it offers. We spend time near Sipaly at a small resort located away from the main roads, run entirely by Filipinos. It is located on one of the cone shaped islands and can be reached via a fresh dirt track from a tertiary side road winding through the jungle and mangroves. It has only for rooms on top of the island and a fantastic infinity pool, blending in with the surroundings. One thing though, it is about 120 stairs from the entrance to the rooms and the pool and once you have gone up you think twice of going down again. Thankfully there is a bar next to the infinity pool and yes, room service from the restaurant at the entrance. The setting is superb, surrounded by Island still coverd in lush green jungle, crystal clear waters of various kinds of blue. The noise of civilization is very low to none existent, with the exception of the occasional outrigger motor or some other work activity. The rest is magnificent silence, with bird calls from the forrest, some human voices maybe, all in all exhaling a lot of tranquility and peace. An outrigger can be rented through the reception for dive or snorkeling excursions, and the service is actually still provided by local fishermen who through such gain additional income, involving the community in the benefits that responsible tourism can bring.

The tip snorkeling takes you along the shores to the south towards Campomanes bay, through crystal clear waters, were even from the boat looking down you can see the bottom, the corals and some fish (yes the flying fish too, they exist:)) The shore is limestone rock with sandy outcrops of beaches with light brown soft sand that pepper the coast. Some are larger and other lodges have discovered them, other are only small nooks between some rock outcroppings and can probably only be reached by boat, hidden gems and treasures. I thoroughly enjoyed the snorkeling since I do not dive but might take it up when moving to the island permanently in a few years. I have no experience with other world dive sides, except Apo Island from a dozen years ago, which at that time was exorbitant. A marine eco park has been created at the Sipaly coast and from what I saw snorkeling it is great. I say that the abundance of fish was good, great and small, colorful and more muted, blue starfish and huge clamps on the rocks. I don't know the name of the fish swimming around, but yes, I did see Nemo! I am a little hampered due to my shortsightedness in properly seeing all the life around me and identifying it, but it is still amazing. I still see enough to have identified a shark that according to literature inhabit these waters and I will have to get two things for the next time, a waterproof camera and a vision corrected scuba diving mask. Tectonic, the Negros Trench runs parallel to the coastline, and for me observing the corals giving way to the dark blue sea was incredible. I also saw deep splits in the bottom of the sea, extending to through the coral and reef towards the coast, maybe signs of seismic activity, but who knows.

On the coastline and in the Mangroves there is an abundance of bird-life and I have to believe also other creatures like snakes, lizards etc. Since ever I am trying to photograph Egrets, but never managed to get a decent photograph since these birds are so careful. You drive by they won't blink, but the moment you stop get the window of the car down, forget getting out of the vehicle, they are gone. Better safe then sorry I guess is their principle. The local people are friendly and laid back, as in general the whole approach to life in the Visayas or Negros Island is.

But the whole trip was not only about the Sulu sea, considerable time was spend also around and on the Kanlaoon Mt. Range. Mount Kanlaoon is an active Volcano in the middle of Negors Island, splitting it into the provinces of Occidental and Oriental and part of the Pacific ring of fire. In 1996 several people were killed near the summit (2435m) due to a sudden and unexpected eruption, by falling debris. Three major hot-springs are located at the base of the volcano, of which we visited one, Mambukal, which is located at a hight of 400m and serves as a gateway to Mt. Kanlaon National Park. Its slopes and valleys have interesting rock formations and lush forests of tropical and semi-tropical trees as well as a variety of pines, ferns and orchids that thrive in the cooler climate and rich soil, known as Mambukal clay as well as an abundance of butterflies and more than 4000 fruit bats around the area. They can be seen hanging in the trees above the pools during day time and start getting active as closer the time gets to dusk. Many of them are of big size and when they start flying, mixed with the tropical vegetation like ferns and trees, a prehistoric feeling comes along and it would be perfectly normal if one would sight a dinosaur walking up through the adjacent mountain stream valley. Quite an experience. Bathing at the same time in the sulfuric hot-springs beautiful setting of a Japanese Onsen or Ofuru just helps you imagination and relaxation that one couldn't really care about a dinosaur or two. Jurassic Park comes to mind, but without fences. The Kanlaon range is also home to rice terraces on its slopes, tropical jungle and old growth forests. Geothermal energy is used to generate electricity and several facilities are located around the volcano.

This journey was not only spend on the shores of the Sulu Sea and the jungles of the Kanlaon range but, yes, also in Makati (Maynila), relaxing and meeting friends from old times that now have retired and live in the Philippines. Ok, Maynila is not Singapore, but you know what, a great effort is made to get there. Especially Makati and Taguig are coming up from behind I say, and it is something to watch out for. Services are being improved, money poured into infrastructure and modernization of services and facilities. Soon Maynila could become even more attractive for businesses or entrepreneurs as a base for South-East Asia. People are friendly and well educated. This mixed with a reasonably good infrastructure at the right price will make it very attractive. It is attractive to me already, and right now I can envision a base in Taguig or Makati with a country escape in the islands. We stayed at the Gramercy Residences Apartment complex in Makati, newly opened and supposed to be the highest building in the Philippines with 250 m (73 floors). It has all the amenities of modern living, health spa, restaurants, gym, pools etc. It is located close to Makati's business and entertainment district, with the later giving it a slightly seedy taste, which for me was actually a nice addition to an all business manner over-tune. The views from the infinity pool at the 36th floor were great, day and night. Taguig a short taxi ride away has the flair of a modern functional place, wide avenue, tall buildings with all the latest shops and restaurants and the St. Lukes Hospital that was voted by the Foreign Diplomatic Association to be among the 20th best worldwide. Not unimportant when one get's older.

For the photographers that might be interested, all photos this time were made with the OMD and EP2 from Olympus. A relatively small bag enabled me to carry the gear everywhere and have the cameras handy at any time, except on the outrigger to photograph the flying fish, but I will get there. Time was short as always, but that means that there is so much more I can discover and will discover during time. As Douglas MacArthur said: “ I shall return!”