Coron, Palawan Day 2

After breakfast, we deposited our items again at the reception. First, our guide bought a pack of bread from the store across the street. This, according to him, was for the fish feeding.

Our tour guide this time was a guy called Mr. M (short for Magno) hehe. Unlike our previous tour guide, Mr. M. was friendlier and we really learned a lot about Coron from him. He told us stories and some trivia about each attraction.

Our first stop for the day was Siete Pecados (aptly named because of the seven islets). According to Mr. M, this is one of the best sites for snorkeling. I believe this is where they also used to shoot the fantaserye Dyesebel. :p It was a bit cloudy with some rainshowers when we got there. Good thing the water here is clear so you can still see the corals and fish of all sizes and color. I was even lucky enough to see a rainbow-colored fish! :D

This is my first time snorkeling. EVER. I was a bit freaked out when I first dipped my head and tried to breathe through the snorkel. I refused to let go from the boat's ladder haha I was so afraid that I'd float but then wouldn't know how to un-float (If there's such a word. Well you get what I mean right?) 

You see, for someone who can't even swim on a 4 feet pool (nakakahiya, I know!), snorkeling was already pretty extreme for me and to think that I was the one who planned this trip. Kailangang pangatawanan ko ito! hahaha

It was also a bit scary the first time I fed the fishes. Para silang patay-gutom and they swarmed to eat the bread. You could even feel the tip of your fingers bitten by the bigger fishes haha

Next stop was Barracuda Lake. It was as beautiful as Kayangan Lake but scarier. :p

outside the lake

Just like in Kayangan, we had to climb the limestones to get to the lake. The limestones were sharper here!

This was taken before dipping in the lake. You can no longer take pictures beyond this point because it's just the lake inside. No planks to leave your things or to sit down to rest unlike in Kayangan. 

The water was crystal clear that you can see 30 feet below and the lake is 60 feet deep! Like our guide said, you'll feel like flying over the 'limestone cathedrals' which is sort of a doppelganger of the limestone formations on top. He said this was a favorite spot of rookie divers. The lake is also a thermocline - meaning that temperature changes rapidly with depth. 

This lake scared the hell out of me. Imagine how terrified I am snorkeling in the middle of a 60ft. deep lake without anything to hold on to (well I was holding on tight to BF's hand, but I mean other than that) in case I decided that I can longer continue. I think we were swimming for about 10-15 minutes and we still need to swim for another 5 minutes to get to the nearest limestone where we can 'rest'. At this point I felt like I'm already running out of breath! 

We finally got to the limestone, so there I was a-la Spiderman trying to stick to the limestone because I don't want to float in the lake anymore. Then there was this tiny cleaner shrimp nibbling on my dead skin cells haha. The lake was so placid (sounds like the movie, I know :p) it's frightening. And oh, did I mention that we were the only people there?!? All this time my imagination was already running wild thinking that some monster will come out of the water at any moment and swallow us alive when Mr. M. said that there's actually a Barracuda in the lake (thus the name). A foreign diver brought it in, and they still bring in food for the barracuda because once it runs out of food, it might think of munching on the swimmers instead. 

*awkward silence* 

Wow! So much for calming my anxiety Mr. M. Can we go back now?!? 

Got this from Wikipedia:

Like sharks, some species of barracuda are reputed to be dangerous to swimmers. Barracudas are scavengers, and may mistake snorkelers for large predators, following them in hopes of eating the remains of their prey.

I was just so relieved to get out of that lake! haha

Now on to calmer shores. We headed to Banol Beach for lunch and some snorkeling again.

my favorite beach ever!

Last stop for the day was Skeleton Wreck. Wasn't able to take pictures because the camera's battery had already died. It's not waterproof anyway, so it'll be useless too. At this point, I already felt claustrophobic-like when snorkeling so I just waited for BF to finish. It was eerie as well because of the shipwreck. The water is also a bit murky here since this is already a deep part of the ocean. 

That wrapped our day. We returned to the lodge to take a much needed rest. We had a long day. But it's okay since we're already free the following day. We can leisurely go around Coron town.