San Miguel
Seriously, the directors of "Finding Nemo" should've come here to do a casting call.
There are more clownfish here, in this part of the Philippines, than a dive guide can wave a pointer at.
But hey, who's complaining?
Just look in any patch of anemone here, at this site which bears the same name as the national beer, and there are bound to be some. As dive shop operator Jason Schwenke of Florida Keys Diving in Islamorada, Fla. told me about this time last year: "If you don't see (insert fish species) here, you're diving with your eyes closed."
On this dive, a patchy reef with sand channels in fairly shallow waters, there was some interplay between two clownfish and a tiny crab sharing the same anemone. Not quite combat, but not quite harmony either. And then there was that eggplant-colored moray eel which poked its head out of a narrow outcropping. That was the first time I'd ever seen a moray of that color. And note the differences you see, in the clownfish in the pictures. They are different varieties.
Dive Buddies: Rick and Kathy Stratton
Dive Guide: Marco Inocencio
Max depth: 59 feet
Total Bottom Time: 51 minutes
Water temperature: 81 degrees Farenheit
Exposure Protection: 3mm shorty wetsuit
Air source: Enriched Air Nitrox 32% oxygen
Photos Copyright Gil Griffin 2009. Clockwise, from top left: panda clownfish in anemone; Clark's anemonefish, in anemone; moray eel; Clark's anemonefish and crab.
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