Thursday, February 11, 2016

APO ISLAND, Philippines -Marine Turtles

Apo Island, Philippines -off the coast of Negros Oriental Feb 10, 2016

Apo Island is the little dot off the boot.
But seeing the turtles makes this a really special trip.


  
The outrigger's mate

We approach a small beachfront on an outrigger aimed for the tiny island of Apo off the southern coast of Negros Oriental.  The draw is a Marine Turtle Sanctuary.  Four Chinese tourists an older couple in their 50s and their son and daughter-in-law share this 6 seater as we get buffered by the waves and sea between Malatapay, Negros and Apo.  Many Chinese tourists await boats as we sit at the pier in Malatapay.  We note their amazing choice of wardrobe for their turtle viewing experience.

Onesies for snorkeling


Like pop beads in the 50s


A 45 minute trip with an outrigger engine makes one appreciate the manpower it took to ride these waves before gasoline powered outboard motors.

The Filippino captain a sun darkened,wiry,seaman focuses straight ahead to the point of population along the beach at Apo.  The many orange life vested Chinese tourists are a gay splotch in the sand and surf ahead.  The engine cut, the mate jumps ashore and muscles the boat into harbor, tying it on the rocks.  A cordoned off area on the beach designates the turtle sanctuary and several local guide shops await the outpouring of tourists planning to view the native species that still hang out here among the throngs of Chinese New Year seeking tourists.


We skip the snorkeling guides and find a small shaded spot along the far end of the beach to launch our snorkeling activities outside the roped off "sanctuary."  Rob goes in first while I guard the camera and day tripping possessions in our backpack on shore.  Soon he is waving and telling me,"You have
to come in. There're  turtles."  He trades posts with me and I don the snorkel mask and head out into not exciting coral but deeper water than the sanctuary bound markers.  I am enjoying the waving movement of the coral, the bright neon blue little fish, the blue starfish clinging to the sea floor, a school of angelfish, a blowfish and an eel squirming back into it's cave, and figure that is a pretty good display of marine life.  No turtles but a nice little snorkeling experience.

So I slowly turn and head back toward the beach. All of a sudden in a movement to my left, a gentle flowing brown mass appears and I realize a green turtle is swimming alongside me.  I am amazed at the buoyancy and effortlessness in which it moves and its total lack f concern for my large presence in its space. It outstretched its leathery neck and nips a piece of food from the coral below, totally at home in its environment and I feel like a privileged voyeaur.  Then a smaller turtle perhaps a few years old comes floating by and I am delighted at seeing the pair. I breathe evenly through the mask floating as they do in the waves and realize a oneness with them.  I can't help but think of the turtle totem the Native American Indians revere them as a go between Mother Earth above and the seas below.

The town is a small enclave totally at peace with this inflow of tourist economics. After a lunch of fresh caught tuna fish grilled , Rob walks around to take pictures of the town while I find some shade.   It is totally laid back except for the hordes of tourists who coalesce within the cordoned off area.
Those who can not swim are drug around by their Filippino guide while  clinging to a life ring . We await our outrigger who takes us back to the mainland before the seas get really choppy and we leave with impressions of coral swaying on the sea floor and turtles floating above.




native fish trap




A native son






Kids happy to see you.


Apo Village overlooking the coast.


A piece of shade.


Fate awaits.



Idyllic calm seas close to shore.




Sarawak, Borneo around Gunung Mulu National Park

SARAWAK, Borneo





THE PEOPLE
The gentle and kind nature of the reserved Malay people comes across as we traveled the Western side of Borneo in Sarawak at Gunung Mulu National Park and along the west coast beaches of Sabah. The Muslim call to prayer in their Masjids awakes one from slumber at 5am to turn over while the faithful men make their way to the mosque and face Mecca 5 times daily intoning prayers to Allah.  

It seems too foreign to Westerners this separation of male and female and the clear social division that exists between the sexes as required by the Muslim religion. Women do not talk with men outside the family.  I approached an older Muslim man wearing a prayer cap in the coastal town of Kota Belud, sitting under a tree in the square to ask directions.He studiously ignored me, acting as though he did not hear my "Excuse me sir."  

The older women seem to appraise us with an expressionless face, hiding their judgment and distancing themselves from us Western females. While the younger women are quicker to show a smile and  acceptance or curiosity, it takes a lot longer for the older ones to warm to our Western presence.  One gets the feeling that they think It is best to ignore us or at least keep their distance and opinions of our Western clothing and its' flaunting of skin to themselves.  I watch the men very surreptitiously check out Jenny's long legs and her blonde hair unfettered by a hajib.  They look at her like they do not look at their own women. There is a subtle judgment, male appraisal and often a hooded dismissal that suggests they are ambivalent as to how they should respond.  Yet they seem to still check her out  because she is Western, young blonde, tall and good looking.  They are much more circumspect with Kellyn because she is clearly with Erik. Unlike India there is not the leering from men but a certain distanced quiet appraisal.

I am told by a friendly massage therapist in Kota Kinabalu that Christians outnumber the Muslims in Sabah, a surprising fact until one gets out into the countryside. It seems that every few miles one sees yet another small church, St. Peter, St. Paul, etc. that unites a community. Clearly Magellan was followed by  the Spanish missionaries, first. 
 to claim land and souls, they made significant headway converting these locals to Christianity, a religious overlay that worked here in the jungle much as it did in the Southwest of the US among the Indian populations along the Rio Grande. 

Back to my masseuse, she shared with me that she has lived with her boyfriend for 7 years, an offshore oil and gas worker and that many young women come to the city KK to live lives that are not necessarily approved of by their more traditional families.  She also shared that the Muslims do not come for massage, just Christians, Buddhists and tourists in KK.  

Development in the Countryside
 Seaside and riverine habitat meets rain forest and jungle where once indigenous peoples lived off the land and nomadic tribes moved following food sources.  Now Sabah's jungles are highly developed and the food source for larger mammals, coconut palms,bananas and the most diverse habitat for jungle species in the world has been replaced by the homogeneity of palm oil plantations.  We flew over unending miles of rows and rows of palm trees which have supplanted much of the inland rainforest. Much of the jungle has been subdued in Sabah's inland territory.  Development and economic success here means subduing the rain forest, cutting it down and replacing it with the mono species that spells Malaysian ringits for the shrewd 'landowners' who have done the deals with development enterprises on once tribal and/or unclaimed jungle.  

Consequently much of the native habitat of the indigenous peoples and animals is gone.  The orangutans and probiscus monkeys which Borneo jungles were so famous for are now largely only found in very limited reserve areas that are thin ribbons of nature surrounded by miles of Palm oil plantations.  There are only a few opportunities to really see orangutans outside of the rehabilitation centers,  and because it is the fruiting season they do not need to venture close to the waterways where boats might easily bring tourists to put them on display.  This is the only way we were able to see about a dozen probiscus monkeys on a tour we joined with 2 busloads of Chinese tourists who had all come to see the nosy monkeys and the evening fireflies along the river bank.  We ended up opting not to see the orangutans at all because it would have take a flight across country and another boat trip to maybe see them in the wild around Sandakan, the area now famous for the Nov 2015  beheading of a Malaysian engineer taken hostage by nearby Philippinos.  WEehave seen orangutans in the San Diego zoo so we left it at that.   

Coming next.... the beaches of Borneo were terrific.
Sands wept secluded Borneo  beaches without the hordes of sun seekers. Quiet little beach getaways with backpacker vibes around the tip of Borneo, Kudat and off the shore of Kota Belud, western side of Sabah.