TRAVELSPECIAL
I was staying at Magic Island Dive Resort , a sister operation of Magic Oceans on the neighbouring island of Bohol [ featured in Travel Special , March 2023 ]. It ’ s small but perfectly formed , 10 well-appointed bungalows nestling in tropical gardens and a swimming pool . A well-stocked bar overlooks the sea , with views of the Island of Negros . There is no beach ; the resort was constructed close to the water coast with the dive centre carved into coastal rock .
I arrived in a frazzled state after the journey , but a warm welcome and a night ’ s sleep make a big difference . I emerged
Panoramic view of Moalboal ’ s peninsula
feeling refreshed the next day and enjoyed a light breakfast of fruit and coffee as I contemplated the coming six days . You see , this trip was taking place on the 30th anniversary of the year I learned to dive , at the location I started diving in earnest . I even briefly worked as a dive guide here , and I wanted to see if the place was as beautiful as I remembered it .
At Moalboal , the beaches give way to coral walls . Back in my day , these were regarded as of secondary interest to the area ’ s signature site , the island of Pescador , but a lot has been discovered since then .
The local guides have become more adept at finding and pointing out cryptic animals , which I don ’ t remember seeing at all 30 years ago . Magic Island ’ s all-seeing guides turned up all manner of treasures , including giant frogfish , its camouflaged frame suspended between sponges as it faced into the current , waiting for an unwary fish to swim into its lunge-zone .
There were also tiny Shaun the Sheep ’ nudibranchs munching on seaweed fronds , and pygmy seahorses the size of rice grains nestling in Muricella gorgonian fans . The pygmy species around Moalboal is Hippocampus barginanti , which has only been known to science since 1965 . If its size wasn ’ t barrier enough to detection , the seahorse ’ s skin is mottled to impersonate the polyps of its fan coral . Tiny they may be , but they represent a near impossible challenge for underwater photographers .
Another challenge is the secretive mandarinfish , a romantic if elusive dragonet that lives under the jagged protection of shallow water corals . The only time you get to see them is just before dusk , when they emerge briefly to enact a
Dragon face pipefish
Pygmy seahorse
Pinnate batfish
Soft corals at Pescador Island
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