Apo Island Marine Sanctuary (05-Sep-2008)

Apo Island is part of Dauin and not Dumaguete City. You get there by taking a boat from Malapatay beach.  The first thing you do upon setting foot on the island is pay the entrance fee (PHP100 for non-Dauin residents) and other charges that will apply to the activity/ies you plan to do on the island.  The fees go to the maintenance of the island.

Apo Island has been a protected area since 1994 and its marine life has benefited from this.  It is now a popular dive site, and for non-divers like me, one can always snorkel.

One treks across the island from the landing site to the part that faces the sea in order to get to the marine sanctuary. Once you see a path through mangrove trees, you know you are almost there.

If you plan to snorkel, make sure you have in hand the receipt given to you when you paid your fee, otherwise, the authorities on this side of the island will charge you a snorkeling fee again.

One signpost clearly points the way to where snorkelers should start.  There are small "huts" nearby that visitors could rent and use if they want a place to eat or just sit and enjoy the sea.  As it was a Friday and there are few visitors, we get to stash our things in one of the huts with a local volunteering to look after them.  Some students from the island's school were in one of the other huts, practicing a number they are going to present at the coming fiesta (Sunday).

 

Visitors are advised to stay near the beach.  Ideally, one should not wander farther than the boat in this picture.  Note how rocky the beach is.

The authorities decided to build a cement path going down the beach into the water ... which sounds like a good idea if one wants to avoid the sharp rocks ... unfortunately, I found that I prefer to step on the rough rocks than on the slippery cement ramp.

 

The fear of slipping and getting hurt by the rocks made me back out of snorkeling.  Even Bee had trouble getting into the water.  Once she managed that one, she was snorkeling and swimming as far as she could manage.

I decided to stay put on terra firma and take pictures instead.

According to Bee, the fish she saw at Apo Island were bigger than those in the Dauin Marine Sanctuary, but she found the fish in the latter place to be more colorful.

You could not find the pawikan, or sea turtles, in Dauin Marine Sanctuary, though.  The pawikan lay their eggs on Apo Island, and locals could point you to areas where you could find one or two swimming around.