BEACHES AND CHURCHES: September 2010

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.