The Phantom and the Opera house (Romblon)

[Ajay]

In an earlier chat about Philippines, @scubadiggy had recommended Romblon, so we decided to make a brief trip to check out this little Island.

It's been around, I learnt, for a fair number of years, but lately they are focusing more on super macro. The guides enjoy discovering rice-grain (or smaller) sized critters.

But I suppose the two things that make the place special are the Phantom nudibranch (aka, the ghost melebi nudi), and the tiger butterfly nudibranch - whose shape reminds me a bit of the Sydney opera house - hence the title of the post.

 

A trip report is on my blog, along with more photos. Frankly, I felt a bit handicapped with the Sony 28-60 lens and Subsea +10 plus an Inon 165 macro wet lens in tandem. I've been somewhat reluctant to add more travel weight, but Romblon pushed me to seriously consider getting a dedicated macro lens and the associated ports, sigh.

 

Anyway, in keeping with the title, here are two photos as teasers.

 

Kind regards,

Ajay

 

 

 

 

 

[scubadiggy]

I love the place and there are some amazing critters to find and see. Hope you saw the sashimi shrimps (rice grain size) on a night dive. The black water is also phenomenal. A dedicated macro lens and Romlon create a beautiful symphony. 🙂 

 

Lovely images.

 

Diggy

[Ajay]

ohhh, it was just a bit cold, we didn't do any night dives at all. Missed the sashimi shrimp. But still was great diving. Couldn't agree with you more about the need for a dedicated (super)-macro setup.

Ajay

[Whiskeyjack]

Yep, I love Romblon! Just wish getting there wasn't quite so much of a pain...

[Ajay]

Indeed - getting there was a mess. I am thinking a better approach would be to dive Anilao a few days. Then take the overnight Ferry from Batangas (I figure it's only a 40 min car ride from any resort in Anilao).

 

Ajay

[makar0n]

On 1/25/2025 at 9:28 AM, Whiskeyjack said:

Yep, I love Romblon! Just wish getting there wasn't quite so much of a pain...

 

It's not that bad in my opinion, personally I avoid the flight route though.  Last time I've checked, flights were at ridiculous morning times and then you land at Tablas, completely different island. Getting over to Romblon then takes quite a while, and involves a car and a boat usually.

Much better route was always the ferry - take one in the afternoon, have a good night sleep on the ferry (and get over the jetlag) and arrive right in the actual Romblon in the morning - have breakfast and jump straight into the water.

Well, ferry times have changed a bit now, so it starts in Batangas earlier and gets to Romblon earlier, but still preferred that than the flight. And no need to worry about baggage allowance for once.

Edited January 27 by makar0n

[Whiskeyjack]

Yeah I live in Manila, so at least I don't have to deal with the jetlag.  I have a hard time sleeping on the ferry as I'm too tall for the bunk beds and can't really sleep upright in the chairs on the other ferry line either.

[Ajay]

Some other divers staying with us had taken the ferry route. One feedback from them was that the beds in the private cabin had very thin/hard mattresses: they were wishing they had carried air mattresses. 🙂

 

Ajay