I Am Blogie

One of the “intro dives” I did back when I wasn’t certified yet was in the town of Maasim in Sarangani Province. It was at the Lemlunay Dive Resort, where a group of bloggers were hosted by the provincial vice governor and the resort owners. That was more than two years ago.

Last 13 & 14 October, I was able to rediscover the waters of Sarangani, and this time see with diver’s eyes just how beautiful their underwater destinations are.

We did three dives in Maasim: the Sand Bar in Bgy. Tinoto, which connects with the wall in front of Lemlunay; and Rocky Beach in Bgy. Kamanga — one in the afternoon and another at night. We were promised Napoleon wrasse at the Tinoto dive site, but the Mameng (the local name for this species of wrasse) were a no-show. And because we didn’t see any big fish at all, the first dive was a bit of a let-down; although, it should be said that the marine sanctuary appears well managed indeed, with its healthy coral communities and abundant tropical fish.

The second dive, however, more than made up for the previous excursion’s lackluster outcome. At Rocky Beach, a wall presented itself when we got to about 40 feet (12m) deep and around 100 meters from the shore. There I saw my first marine turtles in the wild. The first was gliding high above us: we were at 90 feet, the turtle at maybe 40, and it looked dreamy silhouetted against the bright surface. The second was on the wall, possibly snacking, but it scuttled away from us as we approached — I guess the eight of us venting noisy bubbles bothered it.

Still no sign of the legendary Mamengs of Sarangani, but I did spot a 4-foot red snapper, and a tight group of plate-sized oriental sweetlips. Also, it was my first encounter with the redtooth triggerfish. I’ve not seen this in Samal yet, but in Sarangani this attractive variety of triggers can be seen in large schools. Oh and there are giant clam ensconced on the wall, too (makes me wonder if they shouldn’t fall from those precarious ledges when they grow bigger…).

The best moment for all of us was on our night dive. We saw a very large hawksbill turtle sleeping in a small cave on the wall!! It was at around 50 feet, and the pawikan was nestled in the sloping sand. We made so much fuss around the poor animal that we eventually roused it.

Here are photos from our Sarangani dives, taken by Christian Te.

Our arrival in Sarangani was at around 10:30am, coming from General Santos City, where we secured tanks from the Cambridge Dive Center. I was with one of my regular dive buddies, Christian; Andy, the British dive master I met a couple of weeks ago; and SDI dive instructor, East, and his three friends. We checked ourselves into a family room at Cambridge Farm Hotel and proceeded to the first dive site.

We bought fresh fish from a sidewalk vendor somewhere in the outskirts of General Santos, and had it prepared as kinilaw and barbecue at Rocky Beach. This dive site is an interesting affair: it’s situated by the roadside, so the huts are actually on the road’s wide shoulder, and the beach (and dive entry point) just beyond that.

After the night dive, we gorged on barbecue fare on Tiongson Avenue in GenSan. That place is akin to hawkers’ stations in Malaysia or Singapore, with a variety of food offerings.

The following day, we decided to dive within the city limits. Joel Sarenas, our dive master, brought us to Maharlika Beach for the second day’s morning dive. That was my first black-sand dive site; although, the sand didn’t appear to be purely volcanic — maybe it’s a mix of white and black.

Maharlika Beach is ideal for muck diving. I suggest going far out into the sea, though, because the waters nearer to shore are turbid. I think the turbidity is being caused by a halocline — there are fresh-water streams pouring into the beach. In fact, the beach resort features a spring-water pool, which has been dammed to provide visitors a wide wading and swimming area (and a place for us to rinse our gear aprés diving).

The final dive was at an offshore reef, about 20 minutes away from Maharlika Beach via a small outrigger boat (which we rented for ₱500 for the afternoon). The 50-foot-deep entry point is the top of the shoal, which is surrounded by sloping walls. There the divers of GenSan and Sarangani have long ago deployed artificial reef domes, which now serve as homes to various fish and other marine animals.

Speaking of which, it’s very commendable how the divers of Soccsksargen Region are actively monitoring and protecting their marine environment. They have deployed hundreds of those domes in various places, and they’re still at it. Their marine sanctuaries — which they call “no-take zones” — are thriving with healthy stocks of fish and crustaceans. We have quite a few things to learn from them.

Here are more photos by Christian, taken in GenSan:

These out-of-town dive trips are always something I look forward to doing, especially if it’s the roughing-it-out kind. Our total spend per person for that 2-day adventure was less than ₱2,000 per person, including the hotel room and food. And I even got my first stage checked and adjusted for free!

The people at Cambridge Dive Center were very professional and accommodating — I have no compunction at all recommending them to any diver. I can’t wait to go back to Sarangani to experience the other dive sites, of which they have plenty!

My long-time friend, Avel Manansala of General Santos City, invited me to be one of the judges for his blog contest, What Air Supply Song Are You? (creative, don’t you think?). So I dutifully read through around 20+ entries, thinking inwardly that it was going to be at least amusing. Air Supply was (probably) all the [...]

Today I’m in General Santos City, but on my way back to Davao in a few hours. I spent the weekend here with blogger-friends, Lyle & Brendel, to celebrate a friend’s birthday, and to help out Bariles Republic’s Avel M. in his local blogging efforts. Marz, happy birthday again!! I’m happy to say that Lyle and I [...]

Last 13 & 14 May 2009, Lyle Santos and I conducted a blogging seminar at the Coffee Club 101 in General Santos City, concentrating on WordPress and Google AdSense.

In attendance were GenSan’s bloggers, both seasoned and neophyte, all under the tutelage of Avel Manansala. It was a good group, coming from various age groups, interests and backgrounds.

I was able to introduce WordPress to the participants, and hopefully, allow them to appreciate the power and flexibility of this awesome blogging platform. Admittedly, at present very few bloggers in GenSan use WordPress. But after that first seminar, I am hoping that the numbers will increase. Especially that more and more bloggers there are getting into niche blogging and content specialization, I am counting on their looking to WordPress as their next publishing medium.

Lyle was “discovered” during the 2nd Mindanao Bloggers Summit last year in this city, when he was asked on the spot to give an impromptu presentation on Google AdSense. He is quite the speaker — very engaging and interesting. And so, I look forward to doing more blogging seminars in tandem with him in the near future.

I’d like to thank Avel for making the blogging seminar possible, as well as Coffee Club 101 for hosting the group for two days. This coffee shop is most certainly a blogger-friendly establishment — and serves quality coffee to boot!

Speaking of which, the bloggers of Cagayan de Oro are also conducting a similar event this week. Kudos to ChiQ Montes and her crew for this effort! Blog on!

25th October 2008, General Santos City — the 2nd Mindanao Bloggers Summit was conducted and concluded with flying colors, thanks in large part to Avel Manansala and his team. The bloggers of Soccsksargen really made a fantastic showing! But let’s not forget that a blogger from Zamboanga City, Ryann Elumba, made a big contribution by designing the Summit’s creatives.

When I stood before my fellow bloggers that morning, I felt a swelling of pride and a sense of great fulfilment. MBS1 was a big success because it was the opening salvo. MBS2 turned out to be the affirmation of this fact: the Mindanao Bloggers initiative has become a true community.

Through our efforts as a community, more bloggers are now more aware of their unique role as messengers of peace and truth. Young Mindanaoans and (ahem!) more mature ones alike are all in agreement that there is a responsibility to present Mindanao truthfully and aggressively to the whole world via blogging.

More photos here and here.

In MBS1, it was only a handful of bloggers who carried the torch. Perhaps this was natural, because most of the attendees then were probably still in wait-and-see mode. But with the achievement that was MBS2, more bloggers of Mindanao are firmly on board. Not to mention, a growing number of Metro Manila-based bloggers who support our community. To name a few: Janette Toral, Aileen Apolo, Jay de Jesus, Jayvee Fernandez, and now Pierre Galla, who gave a rousing talk about an observer’s point of view with regards the Mindanao issue.

Aside from the cooler swags and more coordinated movements, what sets MBS2 higher than the previous Summit was the more active involvement of the bloggers. This year, the Summiteers were a lot more participative, and displayed a deeper interest in what the Mindanao Bloggers community was all about. We had a bit more participants, too. And this time, we had a couple of bloggers from Zamboanga, especially Jerome Locson, who was interviewed at length by ABS-CBN. I was also delighted that there was an unexpectedly large number of Dabawenyos who went to General Santos for the event.

Whoever we will appoint to organize MBS3 will be hard pressed to deliver an even better Summit next year! The tour of General Santos that we went through the day after the 2nd Summit was a splendid idea. The bloggers who signed up for the tour went to the fishport, a restaurant overlooking the bay, Manny Pacquiao’s residence, and a tuna store. I’m sure the purpose of the whole tour was to show the visiting bloggers that General Santos is now a progressive city — and I agree!

Many still say that GenSan is still a few years behind Davao City. And yet, there are a number of establishments there that can rival ours. Places like Coffee Club 101 and Grab A Crab can certainly put a lot of restaurants in Davao to shame. Plus, wifi hotspots there are mushrooming all over town, just like here. Many businessmen there are now aware of blogging in particular — and IT in general — as a means to develop their city. Before I and five friends left for Davao, we were invited to have lunch at Sud-an Grill & Restaurant. The owners didn’t want to pass up the chance of getting their place featured by bloggers. The food we were served tasted simply impressive! Check here for one of the reviews.

Mayor Pedro Acharon Jr. was with us after the Summit and during the fellowship night. Despite his busy schedule, he made time for our event and was game for some interviews. It is apparent that the good mayor is aware of the power of the blog and what it can do for his town. (Although we now have a few city councilors blogging, I wish Davao City’s local government would be as appreciative of the new media as well.)

At MBS2, I apprised the audience of what we have been up to since the 1st Summit. Highlights of this were the blogging seminars, my participation in Media Nation 5.2, and of course, WordCamp Philippines 2008. There will be more bloggers’ activities in the near future — all for achieving our goal of connecting the world to the reality of Mindanao.

For MBS3, it is necessary that we upgrade the Summit Resolution that we formulated last year. Since we have already begun to realize the original objective, we have to follow through by expanding our view, our reach. Now that we have made waves, it’s time we explored the ocean some more.

My heartfelt greetings to everyone who made their presence felt at MBS2! Three cheers to General Santos City for a very fruitful Summit!!!