Talicud: Paradise not found on map
18.05.12
ISLAND GARDEN CITY OF SAMAL—Lounging on a chair inside the entertainment pavilion of Leticia by the Sea, its open air terrace on Talicud Island overlooking the Davao Gulf, Davao businessman Ray de la Paz suddenly turns animated as he talks about tiny creatures under the sea.
Opening the book “Coral Sea Reef Guide,” he shows the creature called nudibranch (sea slugs) and says, “The good thing about the nudibranch is that it is a host to other smaller sea creatures, so once you find it among the corals on the ocean floor, expect to see other sea critters nearby.”
Then, he thumbs through his iPad to show all the photographs of colorful critters he took with his point-and-shoot underwater camera. “It’s all about colors,” says De la Paz, who has been diving for decades, increasingly drawn by the rare creatures to the Davao Gulf.
He says one of his morning pleasures is to dive at 5 a.m. and simply ogle at tiny creatures underwater.
Lately, however, a different kind of creature, the type unwelcome in the pristine Talicud Island, has been threatening to change the picture: Garbage, tons of it coming from neighboring places.
Source: Inquirer.net