We’re home again , with excitement about seeing the reef and knowledge the Chinese dredging ship has gone with no sand . The new energy source that lies beneath the ocean is the new clean fuel of the future . We can hold it in our hands and burn a bright blue flame . It’s solid and satellite pics show an amazing abundance around the Philippine Islands . Wonder why the Chinese want to dredge throughout ? This is the new gold , the new oil .
If mining is now under the sea , who has the rights to this substance ? Within the archipelago of the Philippines it’s clearly the Philippines’ property , Period . Making a mess to steal is like walking into your home after it being ransacked . The feeling is somewhat like rape . The damage is long lasting , just like the mining done in Mindanao . They left a mess that will take decades to repair .
Let’s calm a bit and reflect on the Lobo reef . It is thriving . Many turtles are seen in abundance , fish schools have doubled since sanctuaries protecting the reefs were instated . I’m impressed by the many colors we see growing like a garden , no a forest would explain it best . I swim the kilometer from two to seven meters deep and just don’t want to surface . Yesterday I caught a glimpse of two nurse sharks hunting . Moments later a few turtles lazily grazing didn’t mind me swimming by . If this sounds like paradise , it is .
There is some silt kicked up from the resorts , this week being Holy Week , but visibility is over six meters . The water temps are steady at 84f , 29c at surface levels , just below that a couple meters under . Calm in morning and evening with a breeze in the afternoon . Yes it is like air conditioning from Mother Earth . Across the channel Mindoro is shrouded in clouds until afternoon when it rises to show an outline of the mountains there . Isla Verde always present and calling .
Tomorrow we sail for Isla Verde . I’m so excited I may not sleep . It’s been two years since we explored there and I’ve been itching to get back ever since . Of all the reefs we’ve surveyed Isla Verde stands out alone . Hectares of coral . Fish species in abundance , from grouper of many kinds to rock fish , coral fish , eels and so many I can’t count . There’s an atmosphere of electricity throughout the boat when we get close . We’ll post our journey after editing the Isla Verde voyage .
