Finding Beauty

Pasig river is very polluted. But I managed to get a nice photo from the walls of Intramuros shooting across the river. The dark clouds worked well I think with the image

Our Lady of Guadalupe Church

I took this photo on my last trip to the Philippines. It was very dark and no tripod was allowed so shot this handheld at ISO 800. My canon 50D did a good job at controlling the noise in the photo. Would have been nice if the light wasn't shining on the painting but not much I could do about that. I forget the exact details of this church but it is the Our Lady of Guadalupe Chapel inside Intramuros. I had been to the Philippines many times but never here so decided to wander around for the day exploring. It is worth the trip but beware, when you exit it is a nightmare trying to find a taxi.

I spent the evening tonight getting ready to fish as it is Senior Citizens Day tomorrow in Palau, which is a holiday. Got a new fishing pole I want to try out but it is kind of windy so will have to play it by ear.

Dolphins in Palau

Wow, it;s been over a month since my last post. Was off island for awhile and they busy with work. Also didn't have any photos that I wanted to post. But, on Saturday went fishing and on the way back a pod of dolphins showed up and put on a show. There must have been at least 50 of them. I almost didn't bring my camera that day but am glad I did. This is one of my favorites. You can see Koror way in the distance and we were about 15 miles offshore. We were also lucky enough to find a floating buoy and ended up catching a bunch of tuna/mahimahi/wahoo that day.

Sunrise at Two Dogs

Took this photo as the sun rise appeared over the horizon. We still had the beach to ourselves and I wandered around with my camera in hand. It was a beautiful morning and you could not ask for a better place to be. After taking this photo we ate a breakfast of spam and rice and I heated up some chili (yep for breakfast). Kids immediately went off to explore and I just relaxed with some coffee that we heated up. Just a great way to start the day and I wished we could have stayed for two nights, but next time we have a chance we most certainly will.

We ain't leaving now

This is looking out from two dogs towards Koror. When we arrived, the tide was high and we had about 5 feet of water. I knew the tide was going to drop so we timed our arrival. The bottom is sand so no problem with the boat sitting. I just made sure that there were no rocks laying where the boat would come down. I must admit, I did not think the tide would be that low. The boat was completely High and Dry. But, when the tide came back it was nice for the kids to swim.

You Talking To Me?

Well, finally decided to go camping. Got the permit to go to Two Dog Beach (as alot of people call it) and Saturday morning loaded up the boat. And man, we are talking about loading the boat. With six kids total, we had a full boat. Lots of juice and food, as well as blankets etc. Of course, I had to bring my camera equipment and fishing gear. We got the boat loaded at 11:00AM and it was a full boat. Headed out of Malakal and smack into high winds and rough weather. Of course, we are in the reef, but we had a swell and a full boat. In hindsight would have cut through the rock islands on the inside, but we braved it. Within minutes not a dry person on the boat. After an hour we hit Ulong and I was seriously thinking of camping there. But as we got around Big Toi, we got a little bit in the Lee and I decided to battle on. By 1:00 we were there. Pulled up the boat and all the kids except for my oldest daughter jumped off and started to swim. That left us to off load the boat. Finally got camp set up around 3:00PM. Two Dogs is great as the beach is sandy and there is a nice area to swim. The wind was blowing and although I was tied to a mooring next to the beach, I threw out an anchor in the front and another behind to keep the boat from swinging. By 6:00 it was low tide and the boat was high and dry sitting on the sand. Got the fire going and started cooking. All the tourists were gone by now and we had the place to ourselves. Kids running and screaming, grill going and cold drinks. Couldn't get better. As night came you could tell the kids had never been camping as the sounds made them nervous. But it was great and took them walking looking for sandcrabs and just looking at the million of stars you could see. By 11:00PM they were so sleepy they went to their tent. I sat in my tent and listened to them until they went to sleep. Unfortunately, I forgot to pack a pillow or blanket for myself so slept in the tent with a towel for a pillow. It was not cold, but I'm getting too old to sleep on the hard ground. Think I slept maybe three hours. At 2:00AM it started to rain, but the tents I had never tried before were great and not a drop of water inside. Woke up in the morning to another low tide and grabbed my camera and got this interesting shot of an Egret. At 10:00AM we packed up to head back. The wind was blowing and I knew it would be a rough ride back. It was and we pounded our way back home. All in all, a great trip and the kids can't wait to go again.

I wish I could say this is a photo of a magnificent Sea Turtle sleeping on the rocks. I wish I could say a number of things................. But, this sea turtle is not sleeping. It is dead. Someone shoved a stake all the way through the poor thing. God only knows how it ended up by my house. It died for nothing. Not because someone was going to eat the meat. It just died. Look, I fish and I used to hunt, but I would never kill anything for no reason. And I would certainly never kill a sea turtle (in season or out of season). So who did this? We will probably never know. I did call the conservation and law enforcement department in the phone book and they said they will come down. I hope so. At least then it can be measured and hopefully something will be learned from this needless death. In the end, I knew I had to take a photograph, but couldn't bear showing the thing from an angle that illustrated how cruel people can be. So, I tried to take a photo that put some dignity into the poor thing. My kids found it first and asked why someone would do something like that. The only answer I could give is what I strive to teach them. We never kill anything for no reason. If we catch a fish and we are not going to eat it, we release it. If you treat things with respect, I believe you will also be treated well. If not, well then karma will come back some day and get you. Although I wish no harm on people, I hope the person that did this realizes what they did and regret it and learn. Probably not, but who knows.

mucking around

Just a short post tonight. Mucking around again in photoshop and came up with this. Thought it was kind of cool. Now, time to watch a DVD and relax.

Napoleon Wrasse

My little underwater camera does not do these fish justice. They are beautiful fish. I keep dreaming of getting an underwater housing for my canon 50D but it just costs too much right now. But at least I can still have a camera in my hand while snorkeling. This guy was down kind of deep and it took all my lung power (which ain't much) to get even close. It was a little wary, just keeping far enough away as it swam back and forth along the bottom. Luckily, I did manage to get this shot which is far from perfect but good enough for my scrapbook.

Just plain freaky

"Cannon Ball" I yelled as I launched myself off of the boat into the clear waters of Nikko Bay. As I came up I was immediately surrounded by these fish. I'm talking hundreds of them. And they were all giving me the eye like I ate their brother or sister. Yeah, it's true I've eaten this type of fish, but never here so they couldn't know. As I swam more and more came around until I was engulfed in a sea of fish. As I moved my hands I was bumping into them and they were bumping into me. Never had that happen before. Being that we were at a place where people snorkel, fishing would not be allowed (I'm a firm believer in having areas where you don't fish). Imagine if people fished in a place like this, soon there would be no fish there to enjoy. The kids jumped in an we watched in amazement as they swarmed around us. It was truly amazing to watch. Given that it was so hot, we just swam around in the water watching all of these fish. Just another day in Paradise!

By the way, to my friend Russell, didn't weigh the sailfish but had to be 80 or 90 lbs. I actually got on the scale with the fish fillets and that was 30 lbs of fish. Figure they gave me half (less the stomach) so that is 60+ lbs of meat, plus the bones and insides. Got to come to Palau and fish.

Sailfish in Palau

I finally got my boat back and on Saturday decided to take the kids to Ulong to go swimming. Loaded up the boat with all the kids and a whole bunch of stuff for a day at Ulong beach. Also threw on my trolling pole and a smaller spinning rod that I use sometimes to catch small tuna in the lagoon. After going out of Malakal channel and heading towards Ulong, I put out the trolling rod with a lure hoping to maybe catch a barracuda or somethin

g. After 45 minutes we were right off of Ulong so we stopped the boat and I reeled in the big pole so we could make the run the rest of the way to the beach. My Son who has great eyes spotted some birds and after talking to the kids we decided to see if we could catch a small tuna. I gave the controls of the boat to my son who loves to drive and we headed towards the birds, which were a couple of hundred yards off of Ulong. As we approached, I threw out a small squid lure on the spinning pole. The reel has 25lb test which makes it light enough to have fun with the smaller tuna. I held the pole in one hand and jigged the line back and forth as my son went by the birds, hoping to catch something. All of a sudden the pole almost got taken out of my hands and the kids started to scream. Looking up I saw a sailfish jumping out of the water as line screamed from the reel. My only thought was that this was going to be a short fight before the line broke. Instinctively I told my son to turn the boat towards the escaping fish as I brought the pole around to the front of the boat. The chase was on as we drove towards the sailfish and I frantically reeled line as by this time the spool was 90% empty. We managed to get some line back on the reel before the fish took off jumping again. Line peeled from the reel so quickly I could feel the reel getting hot. Again we chased the fish and I told the kids there was no way we could catch this fish. Not only did I have 25lb test line, my leader was only 30lbs and too top it off, I only brought a small hand gaff. Well after more than 1 1/2 hours I found I could get the fish close to the boat before it would take off. I told my oldest daughter to stick the camera in the water and try and get a photo of it. Ended up getting a few photos. After another 15 minutes we had the fish by the boat again. I told my daughter to lay the small hand gaff next to me and get ready to grab the pole and hang on. The swivel came up and I handed her the pole and grabbed the leader. I figured it was time to lose the fish as surely I would be unable to leader this fish with only 30lb test leader. I gently pulled and the fish came up for a split second. I grabbed the gaff in one hand and made a desperate attempt to gaff it. I knew I had to am close to the head to have any chance. The gaff hit it's mark and I grabbed the nose with my other hand and hung on. Turning the head towards the boat, the fish made an attempt to get away and actually helped me get it in the boat. Now I had a sailfish in my lap with half of it in the boat and half out. I carry a pipe on the boat and told my daughter to grab the pipe and hit the thing on the head. She hit it a couple of times and with the last of my strength I heaved the fish into the boat and stuck the head under the front bench seat. Grabbing the pipe I hit it some more but it was over, the fish was ours. Against all odds we landed this fish with 6 kids on the boat (my kids and my son's friend) and my young son driving the boat. He was great and would go left/right when I said and would chase the sailfish at the right speed. He would put it in neutral just when it was time and it was a team effort with against the odds. After that we had to turn back because there was no way we could keep the fish all day without it going bad. The kids were great and also insisted we head back to make sure the fish didn't spoil. I ended up pulling into Sam's where I negotiated for them to clean it for me. They gave me half and I kept half. I also got the tail as a trophy. After dropping off the fish we actually headed into Nikko Bay and found a new spot to swim, but that is a story for another day.

Nikko Bay in HDR

Another photo of Nikko Bay, this time in HDR. I combined a total of 6 images and then ran it through photomatix. I had the tripod and camera in the water waist deep to take this. One of the good things about kayaking is you can get into places that are hard with a boat.

Heart Scare

I guess it was bound to happen. After eating such an unhealthy diet and not really exercising, woke up Friday not feeling too good. Kind of felt some heaviness in my chest. Went to work and got dizzy and decided I better get to the doctor. After driving myself to the hospital and waiting an hour to see a doctor, they ran some tests, including an EKG. Good news is they said no heart attack. Bad news is my cholesterol was 248. Made me decide right then and there need to eat healthy and stop with all the fat in my diet. Dad ended up dying way too young and got kids that need me. So today was a bowl of oat meal. Went kayaking all day and packed a healthy lunch. Instead of chips, brought some dates and some Taro, which are good sources of carbs to help me during my paddle. Ended up leaving at 10:00 in the morning and paddled all day, stopping a few times in places to eat and have a drink and snorkel. Ended up getting back home at 4:30PM. Picked up the kids and went to Sams. Instead of something Fried, asked for some fish grilled without butter and oil. No problem, they cooked up some grilled wahoo that was great. Sam's by the way is one of the best places to go and have a cold drink and get some food. Right on the water to watch the sunset. The place is actually called Bottom Time Bar and Grill, which is also the home of the Yacht Club in Palau. Great food, great people and if you have kids like me they are very kid friendly. If you are visiting, check them out not only to eat, but if you want to dive/snorkel/kayak or just go on a tour. You can't go wrong with them.

The photo above was taken after paddling through the bay and almost out the other side. If you are planning to take photos here of landscapes, the one thing you want is a polarizing filter. It will make a huge difference and is a great investment. In fact, if I could only have one filter, it would be a Polarizer.

All Roads Lead to water

Well, they finally picked up my boat and are working on it. Took them about 5-minutes to get it started, which shows how little I know about engines. At least I have a kicker in case the main engine goes down. This photo is of the dock where I keep my boat. No, the boat in the photo is not mine, but the empty buoy is where my boat normally is. The tides here in Palau are extreme when compared to Hawaii. If the tide is not too low, the area in the photo that is exposed reef is high enough to drive your boat over. But at low tide you have to be real careful. There are a lot of reefs here in Palau just waiting for you to run into. I have been lucky and have a good feel for the reefs now but you can never be too sure. After I get my boat back I plan to do some more exploring around Risong Bay, which is just opposite the mountain (rock island) in the background. Might even get adventous and paddle there.

I am amazed at how many people have boats here. Just about everyone. Of course, living in Palau you really need a boat to get to the best places. I'm also amazed at how many small docks there are around. Almost all roads will eventually lead to a dock or pier of some sort.

old pier in Palau

When I first saw this old Pier (I think) when paddling, I knew I would have to come back with my camera. I had the opportunity on Sunday, but unfortunately the weather was not cooperating. It was too late in the day, so some harsh sun met me. The tide was also higher than I would have thought. Nothing like wading out to take a photo with several thousand dollars worth of photo equipment to keep you on your toes. Anyway, got this photo. Lots of things I would change in hindsight. Probably come more around so the pier is more of a leading line into the scene. Also lower tide and more clouds. Hey, I don't ask for much.................

Kayak

Sometimes I think I should have stuck with a Kayak instead of a boat. Called the shop who promised to check the boat right away (not). So now the boat is sitting and I'm waiting to get it fixed. I have had my Scupper Pro Kayak for over 15 years not and it has been shipped to 6 countries and is still going strong. I want to pick up another one but the shipping kills you to get one to Palau. I bought a 2 man kayak in American Samoa which is okay, but hard to paddle if there is any wind. Attached is a photo of one of the many small bays in Nikko bay. The water is so clear it is amazing. I'm hoping to paddle again this weekend. Hopefully I will get some good photos to share.

Orange Fish

Orange/Yellow I don't know. I'm kind of color blind. But it was a nice fish to photograph, no larger than your little finger.

More fishes of Palau

Just a short post tonight. Feeling kind of stressed out and looking at fish somehow mellows me out after a hard day. One of these days I will have to look up the names of these fish.

Nautilus of Palau

The nautilus is one of the most incredible creatures. Living at depths of over 500 or even 1000 feet, the only way to see it in the wild is to arrange with one of the dive companies who will go out the night before and set traps. They are then brought up so that divers can interact with them, before being set free to go back to the deep. Apparently it does not hurt them. These things have not changed much and are still so prehistoric looking. You could watch them for hours and never get bored. Just one of the amazing things to see if you ever decide to visit Palau

Snakes in Palau

I hate snakes. I can't help it. Growing up in Hawaii there were no snakes. Sure I saw snakes in the zoo, but not up and personal. Now I know there are many places with large dangerous snakes that would eat these babies in Palau for lunch. But it don't matter, don't like them.

Now going to a waterfall I ran into more than 5 snakes all of a sudden. These snakes were not shy and did not like us being there. Of course, i only had a small point and shoot camera but was able to get a few photos. Wish I would have had the canon with a proper lens. Ironically, got the courage to go the following week with my good camera and not a snake to be found. Go figure.

Star Fish

We loaded up the Kayaks with lots of drinks and food and headed out from the house towards Nikko Bay. It is only a 10 minute paddle and once inside the bay you are treated with a wide variety of corals and fish. We paddled through a 100 yard area that was filled with these starfish. These things are the largest I have ever seen. Stopping right after the shallow area we tied the kayaks up and went swimming. I say a small blacktip shark which was kind of cool, but was unable to get a photo. It is so tranquil here and we got up along the rock islands and explored the many areas where it is difficult to get to in a boat. Because the bay is so protected, it is a great place to snorkel and there are huge amounts of baby fish all over the place. Paddling right up against the rock islands you can't help but marvel at how beautiful and peaceful it is. Despite it being a sunny day we saw only one boat the whole time. It was great.

Land Crab

Well it's official, I can't start my boat. Don't know why, it turns over but won't start. Will have to check some more but I want to get the bottom painted so will probably just have the engine checked out and the bottom painted at the same time. Luckily we were tied up and not out in the ocean somewhere. Guess it will be back to kayaking. I need the exercise anyways.

This photo is a large crab I found on one of the rock islands. Not sure what type it is but it had some mean claws. Guess it is some type of land crab? If you know what type it is, please let me know.

Fishes of Palau

I'm blessed to be living so close to the water here in Palau. I'm amazed at how many great sites are located within paddling distance in a kayak from my house. Although I have a boat, gliding along the shallows in a kayak gives you so much more opportunities to see things. We found an old WWII site last weekend with a bunch of old motors and 55 gallon drums. It was so far back I probably would not have found it if I was in my boat. Another stop and I found a trail leading up to the top of one of the rock islands. I plan on exploring this more over the weekend. Best of all about kayaking is the cost. No paying for a bunch of gas for the boat. I am hoping to get the kids in the boat and make a 5 minute run to a landing where you can fish and snorkel and explore. I plan on dragging the kayaks behind the boat. Hopefully it will be nice.

Corals of Palau

Have not been able to get into the internet for a month. Started with my computer getting a virus. When I got rid of that, the computer would connect to the internet but could not open a browser. Tried everything. Finally saw a post that said to download the google toolbar. Did that and it worked. Don't know how or why and don't care. But at least I can get on the internet again at home. Had a friend here for a few weeks. Weather was rough so couldn't take the boat out. I live close to Niko Bay, which I can paddle to with my kayaks. Did some exploring there. It is amazing how much sea life there is here.

Night after New Years

Went out the night after New Years as we had a few sparklers we didn't use the previous night. This is a photo of my Son Jeffery. The trick to photographing lights to get the trail is to use a slow enough shutter speed, then set your flash to 2nd curtain so the flash fires in the end. This allows the light from the sparkler to get picked up, while the flash at the end freezes the person so they are not blurred. Try it out if you get the chance. It can be fun