Camotes Islands

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Map of Camotes Islands

Camotes came from a misunderstanding with the Spanish and the local natives. The Spanish asked what was the name of the islands but the natives thought they were asking what they were digging for (sweet potatoes – Camotes) so they replied Camotes!

Camotes Islands comprises three major islands and one minor islet, divided between four municipalities. On Poro Island are the municipalities of Poro and Tudela. Pacijan Island's sole municipality is San Francisco. Ponson Island's sole municipality is Pilar. Tulang Island is an islet and part of San Francisco. The main islands of Pacijan and Poro are connected by a 1.5-kilometre-long (0.93-mile) causeway. Ponson lies about four kilometres (2.5 mi) northeast of Poro, across the Kawit Strait. Tulang is located a short distance north of Pacijan. The Camotes are low-lying with several hills, some used for telecommunications relay stations. The highest point is Altavista, 388 metres (1,273 ft) above sea level, on Poro. Pacijan has a large lake, Lake Danao, one of the cleanest fresh-water lakes in the country.

Municipal Hall of San Francisco. 

Poro Town Hall

Tudela Town Hall

Pilar.Town Hall

Spanish Conquest

The islands were first mentioned by Antonio Pigafetta, one of the survivors on Ferdinand Magellan's fateful voyage, as they waited off the islands for several days before going on to Cebu in the first week of April 1521:
De mazaua agatighan sonno vinti leghe partendone de gatighan al ponente il re de mazaua no ne puote seguir por che lo espectassemo circa tres ysolle cioe polo ticobon et pozon.
There is a distance of twenty leguas from Mazaua to Gatighan. We set out westward from Gatighan, but the king could not follow us [closely] and consequently we awaited him near three islands, namely Polo, Ticobon and Pozon.
Writing in 1582, Miguel de Loarca stated

ysla de Camotes Por la pte del leste de la ysla de çubu esten dos ysletas pequeñas qe ternan de box cada vna çinco leguas que llaman ysletas de camotes ternan entrambas como treçientos yndios son proprios de la çiudad de çubu es gte pobre aunqe tienen alguna çera, y muçho Pescado son las poblaçones pequeñas de siete y a ocho casas estan apartadas de la ysla de çubu como tres leguas y siete de la çiudad—
Island of Camotes. East of the island of Çubu are two small islets, each about five leagues in circumference. They are called the islets of Camotes. The two are inhabited by about three hundred Indians, and are under the jurisdiction of the city of Çubu. The people are poor, although they possess some wax and a great quantity of fish. The villages are small, consisting of only seven or eight houses each. These islets are about three leagues from the island of Çubu, and seven from the city of that name.

He also wrote:
"todos son de vna manera tienen tambien gallinas y puercos y algunas cabras frisoles y vnas Rayçes como batatas de sancto domingo qe llaman camotes
All are provided with fowls, swine, a few goats, beans, and a kind of root resembling the potatoes of Sancto Domingo, called by the natives camotes."

Modern Time
In 1942, Imperial Japanese troops occupied the Camotes Islands at the beginning of the Second World War. In 1945, Japanese soldiers massacred almost all of the inhabitants in Pilar, which led to a war crimes trial.[citation needed] The liberation of the islands happened soon after the massacre, when Philippine and American soldiers landed and fought the remaining Japanese soldiers in the Battle of Camotes Islands.

Countries - Traditional Clothing

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Fishes and Deep Sea Creatures

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Was it a raccoon? A dog with mange? Or was it a genetic experiment from Montauk Air Force? The internet went wild over this mysterious small animal, which washed ashore on a beach in New York. No one’s ever really been able to confirm what it is and to this day, no one knows what happened to the creature’s body.

The Paedocypris progenetica is officially the world's smallest fish at only 7.9mm long, that is less than 1/3 of an inch! Not only is in the smallest fish in the world, but it is also that smallest vertebrate or backboned animal in the entire world! It was discovered in the swamps on the Indonesian island of Sumatra in water that has a PH level of 3. This is about 100 times more acidic than regular rainwater!
The Paedocypris progenetica is actually partially see-through, they have a reduced head skeleton, which leaves the brain completely unprotected by bone. The previous record for smallest vertebrate was held by an 8mm species of Indo Pacific Goby. This discovery was made in 2006, I wonder if this really will hold up as the world's smallest fish.

The Pacific barreleye fish is one the weirdest creatures lurking deep in the ocean. Named after its eyes that are literally shaped like barrels, the species' most unique trait is the completely transparent head.

Pretty much everything about the venomous lionfish—its red-and-white zebra stripes, long, showy pectoral fins, and generally cantankerous demeanor—says, "Don't touch!" The venom of the lionfish, delivered via an array of up to 18 needle-like dorsal fins, is purely defensive. It relies on camouflage and lightning-fast reflexes to capture prey, mainly fish and shrimp. A sting from a lionfish is extremely painful to humans and can cause nausea and breathing difficulties, but is rarely fatal. Lionfish, also called turkey fish, dragon fish and scorpion fish, are native to the reefs and rocky crevices of the Indo-Pacific, although they've found their way to warm ocean habitats worldwide.

Hawaii based photographer Joshua Lambus explores the mysterious creatures that live under the sea. In his latest project called Blackwater, he is able to capture stunning glowing shots of many of the marvelous species that inhabit the sea.

Koran Angelfish or Pomacanthus semicirculatus belong to the family Pomacanthidae. This species is endemic to the Indo-Pacific and the Rea Sea as far east as Samoa. Their geographical range stretches fromJapan down the entire east coast of Africa to Western Australia and New South Wales. These are marine reef fish, occupying depths from 3-100 feet. 

Anglerfishes are fish that are members of the teleost order Lophiiformes. They are bony fish named for their characteristic mode of predation, in which a fleshy growth from the fish's head (the esca or illicium) acts as a lure. Anglerfish are also notable for extreme sexual dimorphism seen in the suborder Ceratioidei, and sexual parasitism of male anglerfish. In these species, males may be several orders of magnitude smaller than females. Anglerfish occur worldwide. Some are pelagic, while others are benthic; some live in the deep sea (e.g., Ceratiidae) while others on thecontinental shelf (e.g., the frogfishes Antennariidae and the monkfish/goosefish Lophiidae). Pelagic forms are most laterally compressed, whereas the benthic forms are often extremely dorsoventrally compressed (depressed), often with large upward-pointing mouths.

The 'smooch' fish, a recently discovered creature in the deepest part of the deepest part of the ocean (deep squared!) and can now be seen in a fantastic book called The Deep—The Extraordinary Creatures of the Abyss

The researchers investigated how the vision of deep-sea shrimps exhibiting both light-emitting organs and secretory luminescence differ from those with just secretory bioluminescence.
In the deep sea, the only forms of light are bioluminescence and dim sunlight from the surface, most commonly peaking in the blue spectrum. Therefore, most deep-sea species have one photopigment that is sensitive to blue-green light. They found deep-sea shrimps with both secretory and photophore bioluminescence have two photopigments making them sensitive to both blue-green and near-ultraviolent (near-UV) light. 

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