Found the ghost!

Robust ghost pipefish mimic the look and sway of sea grass

I dived at Kalipayan and Sanctuary today. It’s been five days since I last dived which seems like a really long time. At Kalipayan, I managed to find a pair of robust ghost pipefish which I’ve been wanting to see for about a month. I was so proud of myself for spotting them because they’re so hard to find--they’re camouflaged to look like sea grass.

Yellow frogfish

Later in the dive we spotted a same red and yellow frogfish that’s usually there. Near the end of the dive Noel found a black ghost pipefish which I’ve also been wanting to see for a while. Excellent “ghost pipefish” dive.

Ghost pipefish mimic the arms of the feather star

The second dive at Sanctuary was just as good. Right where we descended, Noel found a large cuttlefish about half a meter long. It was the largest cuttlefish I’ve ever seen. I hung out with it for a while taking pictures while the rest of the group went onward. Seeing this cuttlefish already made the dive worthwhile.

Largest cuttlefish I've seen

In the evening, I befriended some young travelers who work in Shanghai--Andreas from Germany, Ina from Russia, and Pedro and Kwame from Portugal. We all decided to go eat and I suggested we eat at Kamalig the Italian restaurant. The food was excellent, especially the tiramisu.

Cheers!

Afterwards, we ended up at Oops (you guessed right) for happy hour. We ended up partying quite a bit to the point where Bob, the manager, turned on the disco lights and played some nice dance music. We danced til late in the night with the bartenders and one another. It was like our own private disco night.

- jason