Hadji Panglima Tahil, Sulu: Exploring Marungas Island

A fisherman told me to snorkel past the village jetty to admire an extensive growth of coral that he said looks like “big plates”. The table coral was more impressive than described, descending towards the drop-off like the undersea counterpart of Balinese rice terraces. I float across the vibrant reef. Posses of purple-eyed cardinalfish peered from their underwater patios, while countless blue-green chromis zigzagged through their refuge of labyrinthine tree-like coral. Now and then, a shy Moorish idol or butter-coloredRead More→