Found less than 2 miles from Romblon town is the small island of Alad and as we discovered, some of the best diving. In a small marine sanctuary in front of the main village the corals, soft and hard, are healthy and vibrant providing habitat and safety for the small critters through to the large; colourful nudibranchs, blue ribbon eels, a zebra eel, and sitting in 6m on the top of a bommie, a 15cm black frogfish. Usually difficult to spot this one was sitting boldly for all to see.
A wall dive south from the village in a protected cove provided more good diving and more fish giving proof to the theory if you protect one area from fishing it generates more fish in the open seas. The villagers scooped a school of bonito tuna not far from where we were anchored and generously brought us one as a gift.
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| Small shed on a small island |
The next island north from Alad, Cobrador, also has a marine sanctuary but not of the same quality as Alad. However, it was here on an underwater mount I saw the only shark we've seen in the Philippines, a white tip. Their park officer has his office, a small shed with solar panels, on a detached island overlooking the bay. Our daily dive fees of £1.50 per person helps to keep the parks free from fishermen. We've seen more fish, and bigger fish in the parks than elsewhere.
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