05/04/18

We were picked up at 8am, and taken down to the port. This tour cost us 1600 pesos, which included pick ups and lunch.

Once we were taken to our designated boat we had to wait for everyone to arrive, which took some time to do. We probably didn’t leave the dock until 9.30am… The first location of our tour was the twin lagoon and as we approached it the huge ominous cloud above opened up and it poured down. Unperturbed we jumped in the beautiful blue lagoon and swam to the other side. Normally when then water is lower tide you can kayak and swim between the two lagoon through a small cave, but when it’s high you have to climb over to the other side. As is Asian rain, it lasted about 5 minutes before the downpour stopped, and the water showed it’s true blue tones. The other side of the lagoon was cut off short and there were quite a few boats all parked up so it wasn’t as enjoyable as the side we first swam in. There aren’t any fish to see but I just really enjoyed being able to see through the crystal clear water.

Our next stop was the Skeleton wreck, which was a snorkelling spot to see the boat wreckage at the bottom of the water. Stupidly a boat had parked right on top of the wreck so you couldn’t actually get close without bumping into a ton of other people and also the boat, so I looked at it from afar. There were some pretty striped fish swimming all around us and I enjoyed that while I waited to get a better view of the wreck, I also found nearer the rocks there was some good coral and more interesting views. We spent about 25 mins at this site.

Coral Garden was next, and this is where they had advised us to wear water shoes in order not to step on anything to hurt our feet like stone fish, urchins and snakes. We had to pay 150 pesos to rent these, I was dubious about spending more money on the shoes but everyone had a pair and then also a guy on our tour came on the boat with sore feet from accidentally stepping on an urchin. This was lovely coral, with brilliant colours, I’d never seen such neon blues, and yellows before. The fish were lovely too, but really the standout at this spot really is the coral.

Lunch was served at a beach, which is somewhat sold in as a stop but really the boats covered the beach so you couldn’t really enjoy the view or space. It had some nice huts for us to eat it but nothing special. The food was pretty good, fresh fish, pork, chicken, aubergine salad and rice.

After lunch we were taken to Barracuda Lake, I was hoping it would be full of actual barracuda but no.. just another stunning clear blue lake. This stop was very quiet as I don’t think many tours stop here. It was nice to float around in our life vests (a must wear due to previous drownings), and look down into the deep depths of the lake. The water was also non salty but a bit.. I couldn’t quite figure it out. It didn’t taste like the sea, but not fresh either.

Then was the supposed highlight of Coron, Kayangan lake which is the number one image that pops up when you search Coron in google. The view is actually where all the boats dock which is slightly disappointing and you have to wait some time until you can actually see the view as there’s a queue for photos. Still amazing though and a view not to be missed. The lake, seeing as this is the top spot for all tours, was extremely busy, but the further you swim out the less packed it is. It’s noticeable that the local tourists are not as strong swimmers as the foreigners so the crowds do disperse across the lake. Again life jackets are a must due to the deep depths of the unsalty water. I thought the sides of the lake were really stunning as the water was so clear it was like you were looking at a reflection of the walls yet it was just them extending down below you. There was one point I could see three depths below me, and I just marvelled at the sight.

Our final stop was the fantastic Siete Pecados Marine Park – named after a fable of seven sisters to disobeyed their father, I couldn’t quite hear the whole story.. I have never seen so many fish around me at one time. Shoals of fish swam towards me, around me, the coral was bright and large masses of it everywhere. It was the highlight for me on this tour.