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Published: July 15th 2019
Day 6
Another early morning..ah..
a buffet breakfast before heading off on our tour for the day. We had originally booked the Reef and Wreck tour as we were keen to snorkel over the top of WW2 shipwrecks but unfortunately it was cancelled due to the weather. It looked like blue skies with dotted clouds but apparently the direction of the tour was in was forecasted torrential rain. I was really dissapointed, this tour was the only reason why we went to Coron, but you cant control the weather. We went on the Coron Island Tour instead.
Our tour guide, Dalton, provided a lot of information including history, tips and was great in getting tour guests to get to know each other. He told us by the end of the tour we would be like family.
Our first stop was Kayangan Lake, a trek up a heck of a lot of steep steps and down again to a freshwater lake (well 70% fresh, 30% salt). The lagoon was filled with people, you had to wear a lifejacket at all times, but in saying that you just had to hold onto it. If you didn't, a lifeguard would tell
Drinking a beer
When on a boat in the Philippines you to. Dalton gave me a tip of where to swim without my jacket and after getting into my mermaid tail and hiding around the left corner, ditching my lifejacket into a rock crevice, I was able to free swim. A small cave became my hidey hole and I dived around the exquisite rock formations and felt that I was more a freshwater mermaid than a salt water mermaid. The water was heavier and I was able to sink a bit better (I'm normally really bouyant). I didn't want to get out it felt so good.
Obviously we had to get out and our next destination was a snorkeling spot. The boat anchored a little ways out from the island and we jumped from the boat into the water and explored the area. We saw Giant Clams, in my head I had been picturing clams the size of, well, me, but these were a tad smaller. Most of the insides on the clams were an iridescent blue and purple and they closed quickly when you came close but this one big one stayed open. It was maybe the size of two footballs and I dove down to get a
Ukulele playing on a boat
Again, when in the Philippines.. got to! closer look and swore it had a big creepy eye that followed me.
Snorkelling a bit further out we came across giant starfish the size of a dinner plate and looking a bit like a Pokemon Staryu. They actually looked like fake ornaments or something from an anime cartoon.
The current had dragged us quite far out and it was an effort to swim back, both of us and everyone else who snorkeled all said the same. We would sleep well tonight for sure.
Next stop was lunch on Beach 91. On huts over the light turquoise waters we dined on BBQ 'd fish, crabs and chicken, served with rice, vegetables and cucumber.
A quick swim in the crystal clear waters before heading to our next destination. This one was a 3 in 1 from the tour poster. A coral reef, lots of little fish you could swim through and Skeleton Wreck, where the hull of the ship had gone aground on the coral and was 4 metres below. It was ridiculously busy with so many people around the wreck area. As much as I wanted to spend longer diving down it was too difficult to
come back up to the surface without colliding with someone.
We were happy our next stop was a 'rest' stop. Three local 7/11's came to our boat, selling beer, ice creams and chips. At first we thought the men on the boats were collecting rubbish as large plastic bags were filled with chip packets. Kym was happy for the beer stop and he sat at the hull of our boat playing his ukulele drinking a beer while overlooking tropical blue waters and a small island just to the side of him. It doesn't get much better than this.
Onto our last stop, another lagoon. This was called Twin Lagoon. As we came round the bend of these limestone rock formations in the background of once again stunningly beautiful water provided a good feast of natures eye candy. This view was what you see in postcards of the Philippines, it truly is magnificent to see with your own eyes.
We had to wear lifejackets once again and swam to a small cave hole that led us to the 2nd lagoon. Lifeguards roamed around on kayaks making sure that everyone had at least a hand on their jacket. I
Some of our new friends
And yes me as a mermaid managed to duck under the water a few times when they weren't looking to swim down but again it was overcrowded.
I posed once again on the hull of the boat and many of of the tour guests wanted pictures with 'the mermaid'.
Our ride back to our resort had the rain coming down on sharp, needle pin pricks of rain. I think we were all wetter than when we swam in the ocean.
One of the best things about this trip though, was the friendships we made. When we left we were hugging and exchanging Facebook and Instagram names. Everyone was super friendly and a even a few who didn't speak English, it wasn't a barrier. Maybe we were that family that Dalton had said we would become.
A shower to wash out the sea water (I know, more water!!) And Kym and I went and knocked on our new friends from the tour's door to have dinner together. The rain kept coming.
Kym and I decided a few rums were in order, we wished we had a coconut to add it into but ginger ale had to suffice. We tried the local Filipino dark Rhum which had a smooth burnt caramel flavour to it and was 80 proof (may put this on the Duty Free list). It was 50 pesos a (generous) shot (1.50 AUD).
As we hadn't booked our accommodation yet for Manila, Kym researched a few places and booked us into an Air BnB. Once that was out of the way we went to the upstairs bar, ordered a few more Rhums and sang karaoke. Lucky for me (and the people who didn't hear) the place was empty which meant only Kym and the bartender had to put up with my attempts at singing.
End of Day 6
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