unmolested around Dauin and
Dumaguette. Marine life is easier to
approach, observe and photograph.
The dive sites vary and each has a
certain set of critters to offer divers.
In all there are at least 60 known
dive sites between Sibulan,
Dumaguette City, Dauin and Apo
Island. One site may be known for
the elusive mimic octopus while
others may be great for a herd of
seahorses or for seeing zebra crabs
living in the spines of colorful sea
urchins. While much of the terrain
may look the same, its marine life is
dictated by currents that flow over
the seabed or by rivers and streams
that may feed various runoff and
nutrients into the site.
For the macrophotography nut,
this is heaven. Secure a guide with
good knowledge of the local Dauin
habitat, give him or her a wish list
and have a blast getting wonderful
photos or checking the odd and
cool off the macro checklist.
But don’t forget to look up and
see what’s happening in the water
column to see feeding mackerel,
jacks pursuing
clouds of silvery
baitfish or perhaps a
small raft of
Sargassum weed
floats by. These kind
of weedy rafts can
produce bonanza
of critters like
seahorses or the well-camouflaged
Sargassum frogfish. Dauin is also a
good place to plan a day for bigger
marine life. Divers take a day trip to
Oslobfor whale sharks and then a
stop at Sumilon Islandto see reef
sharks and then a stop at Apo Island
for a big jack school. There are
countless possibilities with all of the
major dive sites in the area. Or
spend an entire day exploring the
corals, sea turtles and big fish
schools at Apo Island.
Dumaguette and Dauin sit in the
shadow of the impressive, cloud-
shrouded dormant volcano Mt.
Talinis. Set aside some time to visit
the very busy and bustling market
in Malatapay. This barrio becomes
alive with livestock, fruits, produce
and lechon starting Wednesday
morning and runs all day.
Dumaguette is the lively capital of
the Oriental Negros province on
Negros Island. It is reliably served
daily by domestic airline flights
from Manila and Cebu City. Flights
take less than an hour.Cattle for Malatapay market day,
Apo Island in background