Something Fishy at Verde
by: Bob Manas
The skies were hazy and it was getting late when we back flipped into the shadows of "Agapito Wall" by the eastern side of Verde Island.The bottom was dull gray yet the water crisp as our team focused on finding three creatures that started with the letter "S" - Stone fish, Sea Snake, and Scorpion Fish. It was all part of the "Fish ID Competition" promoted by "Unlimit
ed Diving" TV producer Rolly Baron forVerde Isl. Resort. Joining me were Melo Hamada, Derrick Hamada, and JR Gallardo while Rolly handled the video cam to record our finds if we got lucky! A good northeast current blew as we hit 30 ft. I swam upsidedown so I could see where I was being drifted and did frog kicks to slow me down while scanning the wall. Scorpions were taking shelter by the lee side of coral mounds. That 
was easy enough! "Here fishy, fishy,fishy" we all screamed. Pelagics were all over the place! "No, we don'twant you. Get out of there!" Focus, focus! It was already 20 min. intothe dive and I was getting impatient. For some reason I started looking for a frog fish, "Here frogee, frogee, frogee!, What the hell do you want a frog fish for? I dunno, I just thought it would be neat to see one. Focus, you idiot!" And then right there, clinging by a small crevice, was the indistinguishable shape of a Stone fish! "Uh, uh, uh,u
h", I exclaimed while waving frantically to Rolly who was way up somewhere tripping by himself. I looked at Derrick but he had his head turned away. "Hey dude, look at me, man!" I didn't bring a tank banger with me (real smart!). So I had to use some ESP, "Yohoo, Yohoo!" And su
re enough he turned his head towards me. "Get Rolly, Get Rolly" I screamed. As Derrick scooted I tried to spot the stone fish again. "Oh No, the fucker's gone!" We were all huddled by a spot of a cliff as Rolly descended on us while I pointed my finger like a scanner and pretended to see something. "There he is!, there, there!" I saw him again! "Where", asked Rolly. "There, in front of your lens!, Shoot, shoot, shoooot!" my bubbles screamed. "Maybe I should just touch the damn thing", I thought. "Hey, you wana get hospitalized, you idiot!" a voice in me replied. Rolly finally got to shoot the fish and I was going"Yes, Yes, two S-fish, eh, eh, eh" imitating the "Count" of Sesame Street. Forty-five minutes of slow drift along the shadows of Agapito wall yielded no snakes. We passed the canyon that descended to the deepsbut veered westwards towards the "coral gardens". Here the current subsided as we swan leisurely taking our time, seriously scanning the surroundings. The last rays of the setting sun still bestowed enough light to mesmerize ourselves with the beauty that abound. Soft, pink corals that almost carpet the bottom induce us into tranquil and sublime feelings. Huge puffers swim about like little pigs on the run. Black, blue, and neon green damsels together with bright orange antheists hide in unison among staghorns then resume their ritual dance with the current. Schools of Jacks, Snappers, and Barracuda make this spot look like a "fishmall", maybe on their last food run for t
he day. I picked up a round, gray, sponge from the bottom and showed it to Rolly. He started shooting. He signaled, "What is it?" I started spelling 
with my fingers, S-H-I-T! then positioned the round sponge from my rear and let in drift away! I was getting bored. Maybe that last "S" had some points! Then suddenly, right there among the corals were the unmistaken banded patterns of a huge Sea Snake! JR saw it too and started hollering. Derrick and Melo were quick on the approach. We had it surrounded (not agood idea)! But Rolly was on his way up! We were all frantically waving at him when he saw the snake from above. It was trying to get away from us. This guy was huge! About as fat as a man's wrist in diameter! I was afraid that Rolly would miss him so I did the unthinkable for many divers - I caressed his belly with a very slight grabbing motion. TheSnake turned around and abruptly faced me about a foot away from my mask. It was like staring at the face of Rameses' pet. I went "Yikes!"and instinctively backed away. The rest of the team went scampering off. Then the snake just went back to its own playful swim, zigzagging among the corals, as if to say, "You don't wanna mess around with me, boys!". Nitrogen and Adrenaline rushed intertwined in our bloodstream as we climbed back into the speedboat. After some cocktails aboard the yacht "Sarangani", courtesy of Roy and Malou Chiongbian, we headed back for Verde Resort. We were in high spirits and found our three "S"creatures from the deep! Our team ended up winning free accommodations at Plantation Bay in Boracay. Not bad for a fun dive! But I would not go to that extent again of grabbing a Sea snake next time just to get some points for a competition. Maybe if it's a date with Anna Kourikova -I'll even grab a shark! (yeah, right! Dream on, Bob!)
ed Diving" TV producer Rolly Baron forVerde Isl. Resort. Joining me were Melo Hamada, Derrick Hamada, and JR Gallardo while Rolly handled the video cam to record our finds if we got lucky! A good northeast current blew as we hit 30 ft. I swam upsidedown so I could see where I was being drifted and did frog kicks to slow me down while scanning the wall. Scorpions were taking shelter by the lee side of coral mounds. That 
was easy enough! "Here fishy, fishy,fishy" we all screamed. Pelagics were all over the place! "No, we don'twant you. Get out of there!" Focus, focus! It was already 20 min. intothe dive and I was getting impatient. For some reason I started looking for a frog fish, "Here frogee, frogee, frogee!, What the hell do you want a frog fish for? I dunno, I just thought it would be neat to see one. Focus, you idiot!" And then right there, clinging by a small crevice, was the indistinguishable shape of a Stone fish! "Uh, uh, uh,u
h", I exclaimed while waving frantically to Rolly who was way up somewhere tripping by himself. I looked at Derrick but he had his head turned away. "Hey dude, look at me, man!" I didn't bring a tank banger with me (real smart!). So I had to use some ESP, "Yohoo, Yohoo!" And sure enough he turned his head towards me. "Get Rolly, Get Rolly" I screamed. As Derrick scooted I tried to spot the stone fish again. "Oh No, the fucker's gone!" We were all huddled by a spot of a cliff as Rolly descended on us while I pointed my finger like a scanner and pretended to see something. "There he is!, there, there!" I saw him again! "Where", asked Rolly. "There, in front of your lens!, Shoot, shoot, shoooot!" my bubbles screamed. "Maybe I should just touch the damn thing", I thought. "Hey, you wana get hospitalized, you idiot!" a voice in me replied. Rolly finally got to shoot the fish and I was going"Yes, Yes, two S-fish, eh, eh, eh" imitating the "Count" of Sesame Street. Forty-five minutes of slow drift along the shadows of Agapito wall yielded no snakes. We passed the canyon that descended to the deepsbut veered westwards towards the "coral gardens". Here the current subsided as we swan leisurely taking our time, seriously scanning the surroundings. The last rays of the setting sun still bestowed enough light to mesmerize ourselves with the beauty that abound. Soft, pink corals that almost carpet the bottom induce us into tranquil and sublime feelings. Huge puffers swim about like little pigs on the run. Black, blue, and neon green damsels together with bright orange antheists hide in unison among staghorns then resume their ritual dance with the current. Schools of Jacks, Snappers, and Barracuda make this spot look like a "fishmall", maybe on their last food run for t
he day. I picked up a round, gray, sponge from the bottom and showed it to Rolly. He started shooting. He signaled, "What is it?" I started spelling 
with my fingers, S-H-I-T! then positioned the round sponge from my rear and let in drift away! I was getting bored. Maybe that last "S" had some points! Then suddenly, right there among the corals were the unmistaken banded patterns of a huge Sea Snake! JR saw it too and started hollering. Derrick and Melo were quick on the approach. We had it surrounded (not agood idea)! But Rolly was on his way up! We were all frantically waving at him when he saw the snake from above. It was trying to get away from us. This guy was huge! About as fat as a man's wrist in diameter! I was afraid that Rolly would miss him so I did the unthinkable for many divers - I caressed his belly with a very slight grabbing motion. TheSnake turned around and abruptly faced me about a foot away from my mask. It was like staring at the face of Rameses' pet. I went "Yikes!"and instinctively backed away. The rest of the team went scampering off. Then the snake just went back to its own playful swim, zigzagging among the corals, as if to say, "You don't wanna mess around with me, boys!". Nitrogen and Adrenaline rushed intertwined in our bloodstream as we climbed back into the speedboat. After some cocktails aboard the yacht "Sarangani", courtesy of Roy and Malou Chiongbian, we headed back for Verde Resort. We were in high spirits and found our three "S"creatures from the deep! Our team ended up winning free accommodations at Plantation Bay in Boracay. Not bad for a fun dive! But I would not go to that extent again of grabbing a Sea snake next time just to get some points for a competition. Maybe if it's a date with Anna Kourikova -I'll even grab a shark! (yeah, right! Dream on, Bob!)-the end-
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