Today we arrived in the Philippines! Every port we stop at on this cruise is a first for me. J had travelled to the Philippines about a decade ago for work.
The Captain put on the engine thrusters while we were at breakfast around 8 am – so we slowed down considerably to enjoy the islands as we approached Coron. We went up top to deck 12 to take in the sights as we approached.
It was lovely to have half the morning available to pack up for our first snorkelling excursion before disembarking at 11 am.
We were greeting by baton twirling dancers and a band on the dock. We had a great view from our window, port side. We met up with our new friends from Winnipeg, Lisa and Wes, to begin our adventure, thoroughly researched by them!
We had a plan to take a tuk tuk (3 wheeled motorcycle with covered sidecar) to the Seven Pecados Marine Park.
We negotiated a price with our driver, Jon Jon, to drive the four of us in his vehicle to the marine park, wait for us for two to three hours while we took a boat out to the snorkelling areas, then drive us back into town for 1,000 Philippine Pesos (about 23 CAD apiece - $92 total).
We then arrived at the marine park where J and Wes went inside the information booth to pay our fees to snorkel in the park and arrange for a boat to take us to the snorkelling area. We were provided with life jackets and could have used their snorkels and masks but we all brought our own from home. To our delighted surprise, Captain Jack Sparrow (our boat captain) also got in the water with us to snorkel and lead us on our swim around two small islands.
The coral and fish were far beyond anything we expected snorkelling here. The water was beautiful and warm. After about 45 minutes we had circled back to our boat and boarded.
Captain Jack then took us to a second snorkelling area (hardly 100 metres away) and led us on to an area where we saw a lot of clown fish (the orange and white striped ones like in Finding Nemo). He asked if we wanted to go to a cave, with access from above ground. As we approached the cave entrance, we were no longer above the coral reef, so I took the opportunity to put my foot down and take a step. I immediately felt a prick on the back of my calf and turned to see a white fish had nipped me. When we reached the cave, I asked Captain Jack if it is was possible that a fish would bite me. He said yes, in this particular zone they were territorial. It wasn’t super painful but the nip was enough to make me shriek. Two other women at the cave entrance indicated they, too, had the same experience when they put their foot down.
The water in the cave was beautiful and clear and warmer still! We swam back to the boat and headed back to shore. We thanked and tipped Captain Jack and found our tuk tuk driver Jon Jon ready and waiting for us. We drove back to town – which was hardly a 15 minute drive.
Jon Jon dropped us at the gate to the pier where we paid our agreed upon fare, and tipped him as well. We walked the street to see how the locals lived a bit. I bought a cold fanta orange pop for 25 Philippine pesos – about 75 cents. Wes bought a beer, and Lisa, a coke.
We returned to the ship and cleaned up ourselves and our snorkelling gear. When we went to deck 11 to eat around 3 pm, we learned the pizza place closed at 2:30 pm so the only option that remained was the Outdoor Terrace grill. We found something to eat and our friends at a table! What a wonderful ambiance sitting outside – under the shade of a canopy, but enjoying the sights around the ship.
Supper was in the dining room again and we were given a port side table for 2 at the window. How lovely.
I need to get this blog posted and prepared for another day of snorkelling and on the water tomorrow in Puerto Princesa!
No comments:
Post a Comment