Got the chance to return again to
Digyo after two years since I last visited the island. (For my first blog on
Digyo see
http://beachanatic.blogspot.com/2006/11/digyo-island-inopacan-leyte.html).
The Provincial Management Group and the Board of Consultors of Gawad Kalinga
Leyte went for an overnight outing on the island. Being a member of Board of
Consultors and its Provincial Chaplain I got invited to join the group.
There were a few physical changes on the island which I noticed at once upon
disembarking from the boat. The southern part of the island has been greatly
eroded. Where once there was a wide expanse of white sand beach, now even some
of the trees that were there before have been eaten by the sea. The sand bar
has also shifted its position. The eastern portion however, has gained more
sandy beach than before. However, a bit dismayed by what I saw, it was
compensated when I got to see more corals this time than before. After
snorkeling for an hour in the western part of the island where I knew the
corals were, I tried to snorkel at the eastern part. I was greatly surprised to
see that there were also a good coral growth there. I decided to snorkel around
the island since I haven't done it before. At least I was able to do something
new in my third visit to the island. It took me about an hour and fifteen
minutes. Since the sun was going down already, I did not bring anymore my
camera and so I was not able to take pictures of the corals in the eastern and
northern part of the island. The following day, I tried to go back so that I
could get some pictures.I got the surprise of my life when all I could see were
dead corals. It was only then that I realized that when I snorkeled the
previous day it was low tide so the corals were just about a waist deep.
Indeed, I had to be very careful as just a small mistake my body would get
scratched by the corals and I was especially careful since there were a good
number of poisonous crown-of-thorns star fish. This time, since it was already
high tide, the corals near the shore were just the dead corals as the live ones
were already about 30 or 40 meters away from the shore and it was already quite
deep.
For the boat going to Digyo, one
can contact Pedot or his wife Vicky who are the caretakers of the island at
these numbers: 09067058548 or 09394163721
Recently I got a comment from
Bismark who says they own the island and they gave this contact number Llany
Bismark: 0917-9533384 or Marivic Bismark: 0921-7119967.
Soft corals in Digyo looks like the yin and yang.
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The southern part of the beach has greatly been eroded.
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| This was how it looked two years ago when I visited the island. |
A pair of clownfish among the soft corals in Digyo
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| Sunrise in Digyo |
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| A Sunday morning mass on the beach just after sunrise. |
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| A crown-of-thorns starfish. |
