That's a Wrap

Well, today is the last day of diving.  Just two dives this morning.

On the first dive of the morning, I got to sit with the biggest Melibe virdis.  I studied it and watched it eat.  Whoa.  I stayed there so long that a pipefish decided to hide in my camera arms.  It was so cute I took a video.

On the second dive I found some additional interesting slugs I hadn’t seen yet on this trip.

Chris, John and I had our picture taken on the boat:

We had a last night party where there was a big Filippino meal and then we had the slide show.  I just slipped away back to my cabin after.  I was so tired.

Here are the slugs for the last day:

161 - Okenia kendi

162 - Hypselodoris whitei

163 - Goniobranchus rufomaculatus

164 - Mexichromis mariei

Well, I am grateful that I was still able to take some pictures, but I certainly know it is time for a new camera setup.

I saw many nudibranchs on this trip I had never seen before in my life.  That is super exciting.  I’ll try to compile that list.

Here is the graph of the Nudis found in Anilao:

I am trying a new thing where I am keeping a Life List of Nudis and all the ones I've ever seen.  That way each trip I can say which ones were new in life for me.  For this trip to Anilao, there are 18 new ones:

• Ardeadoris averni
• Armina scotti
• Atagema sp. 13
• Chromodoris sp. 2
• Doriprismatica sp. 3
• Doris sp. 8
• Elysia cf. degeneri
• Elysia sp. 18
• Ercolania endophytophaga
• Eubranchus sp. 23
• Goniobranchus sp. 42
• Hallaxa iju
• Jorunna sp. 3
• Melibe megaceras
• Phyllodesmium kabiranum
• Polybranchia jensenae
• Thecacera sp. 11
• Thorunna sp. 6

I did 66 dives on this trip bringing me to 2,315 lifetime dives.

Until next time…

Feeling Sluggish

This is the last full day of diving.  I am totally OK with that.  I am getting tired.

We did Bethlehem and the wreck in the morning and some more local dives in the afternoon.  I was cold a lot.  So sad because it is almost 80 degrees in the water.

I found some interesting nudis today and the camera was just not cooperating.  I got some shots but they are not great.

Mike went through some new camera ideas with me at lunch.  I took random scrappy notes on my phone.  He is either recommending the most recent version of my Olympus camera or possibly switching to Nikon.  I’m not even sure the most recent version of my Olympus camera would be able to do blackwater photos.  This is going to set me back pretty big financially.  I am ok with that.  I just don’t want camera problems to be what is holding me back.

It may be time to grow up and buy a real Nikon camera that can handle what I want to do.  I need to work on a comparison spreadsheet.

Of way more interest, here are today’s nudis:

146 - Goniodoridella sp. 5

147 - Sakuraeolis nungunoides

148 - Verconia sp. 5

149 - Hypselodoris decorata

150 - Nembrotha sp. 1

151 - Dermatobranchus albus

152 - Phyllidia polkadotsa

153 - Facelind sp. 2

154 - Mexichromis pusilla

155 - Phyllidiella nigra

156 - Ceratosoma sp. 1

157 - Phyllidia picta

158 - Hallaxa iju

159 - Lobiger viridis

160 - Polybranchia jensenae

Fruit Salad

Well, my housing swap didn’t really help any.  My camera is still blacking out.  It is definitely a camera problem.

In the morning we went to the Aphol and Coconut dive sites.  They call this the fruit salad morning.  Aphol was really pretty with lots of coral, but slow on the nudis.  I did however find a flatworm with the name JAY down the side.  Are flatworms learning to communicate?

John finally went to the doctor this morning and was able to join us on the afternoon dives.  We did a really mucky site and then the town pier again.

I was so cold on both dives as well as the trip home.  I have taken to asking for hot water and then holding it under a towel I make into a hoodie so it is my own personal sauna.  It seems to help.  I cannot believe I am getting so cold in the Philippines.

Here are the slugs for today:

138 - Berthellina delicata

139 - Atagema sp. 13

140 - Goniobranchus preciosus

141 - Mexichromis multituberculata

142 - Dendrodoris nigra

143 - Melibe virdis

144 - Petalifera ramosa

145 - Melibe megaceras

House Swap

I am starting to get tired of my vacation.  It would be one thing if my camera was working well and I was into learning all of these photo techniques, but I am just trying everything possible to keep it working over these last few days.  

I am trying to stay positive and enjoy the diving itself.

I made all four dives.  I was cold and was going to give up on the night dive but I am so glad I went.  I saw many new nudis for this trip and a couple that were new to my life list.

There is an anemonefish on the wreck named Grimace who has lived here for years.  He has something wrong with his lip so everyone can tell exactly which fish he is.

I shared with Mike that he should have a five timers club like they have for Saturday Night Live.  Instead of smoking jackets, the people who have come to Crystal Blue five times or more should have a special hood where they could have stars or patches on it.  

After dinner I decided to change the housings… just to see if that fixes things.  I took a few shot and I am pretty sure it blacked out once.  Oh well, let’s just try using this other housing for a bit.

Here are the super cool nudis today

119 - Mexichromis trilineata

120 - Phyllidiopsis pipeki

121 - Jorunna sp. 3

122 - Nembrotha mullineri

123 - Goniobranchus reticulatus

124 - Phyllidiella annulata

125 - Melibe digita

126 - Hypselodoris pupureomaculosa

127 - Unknown

128 - Chromodoris hamiltoni

129 - Goniobranchus albopunctatus

130 - Phyllidia coelestis

131 - Phyllidia sp. 1

132 - Ercolania endophytophaga

133 - Phyllodesmium kabiranum

134 - Trapania aurata

135 - Hexabranchus sanguineus (juvenile)

136 - Phyllodesmium magnum (juvenile)

137 - Ceratosoma gracillimum