We're off! We met at one of the many piers in Coron Town to load our gear and ourselves into our home for the next six days. Most of us have more adventures ahead of us, so the luggage that we won't need for the expedition are loaded into a waterproof hold. Most of the time, we will have a dry bag with all of our essentials for swimming, snorkeling, and life on the islands overnight. We can repopulate the dry bags as the trip progresses, but the idea is to travel light. Traveling time on the boat is for lounging, relaxing, applying sunscreen, and staying hydrated.
When we checked in, we purchased two cases of San Miguel, two bottles of rum, and three containers of pineapple juice. Once everything was loaded and demonstrated that there were enough life jackets to the local officials, we left Coron and made our way to our first stop: Barracuda Lake. One of our fellow expeditioners said he saw the lake already and that it is a popular day trip for tourists on Coron.
We were not the first visitors today, and we got our first taste of disembarking into the water to swim the final several meters to our destination. At first, I was a little shocked, but then realized this is exactly what I signed up for: a bit of a float, a bit of a swim, repeat! The water was fantastically warm, almost like bathwater. I was perfectly comfortable in my bathingsuit and rashguard. We arrived at a narrow dock for foot traffic only, took some stairs up and then down to the edge of a beautiful freshwater lake.
There was no beach to speak of, only the small wooden dock where we donned our fins, masks, and snorkels to see if any barracuda lived in Barracuda Lake.
The spires of rocks present on some of these islands are impressive if not intimidating. How funny it was to see that similar spires awaited us below the lake's surface.
Although Ryan and I did not see a barracuda, David and Sirina said they saw a huge barracuda following Ryan for a while. I'm not surprised that the one barracuda in the lake would follow the only other "hunter" to see what was up. Ryan did not have his spearfishing gear with him for the lake, but was hopeful that one of the many swimming stops would allow him to show everyone his mad skills as well as provide something delicious for dinner.
We left the lake, swam back to the boat, and made our way to one of the (many) private island resorts to pick up two more members of our party, Anne Christine and Martijn from The Netherlands. Tox, our tour guide, promised to keep a map of where we'd been, which we all appreciated as none of us speak Tagalog and we have no set itinerary other than to try to reach El Nido by 4 January 2015. Our next swimming opportunity was a Japanese gunboat wreck called "Lusong." We joined two other boats at the wreck, both of which were nearly full of scuba divers. The wreck was not very deep, and I got particular joy out of seeing the expressions on the divers' faces when they saw I was as deep as they were.
This was my first wreck ever, and I was amazed at how thick the corals and fish were inside and around the wreck. I wanted to swim through the few remaining rungs, but was too scared to go between spaces. Ryan had no problem.
After getting our fill of the wreck, our chef prepared a lunch and we relaxed a bit before moving on to the next location. There is always time for a stogie.
The Lusong Coral Gardens located not far from the Lusong wreck are an attempt to encourage healthier reefs in the area. Not sure what they used for the coral substrate, but the gardens seem to be doing well. We enjoyed the swim and saw many new organisms different from what we're used to in Okinawa, but we both admitted that the water clarify is better better in Okinawa.
Our first base camp is a relatively new camp called "Papachilin." We waded onto the beach and were told to select a sleeping hut. The area where we would stay was surrounded by coconut palms and beautifully kept: no sea or leaf debris anywhere. We learned later that the villagers who call the island home are asked to keep the "explorer" area neat and clean as part of their agreement with Tao Expeditions. This is a daily task for the villagers, as they are never sure when a Tao Expedition boat will arrive.
Our beds were foam mattresses with sheets, pillows, and mosquito netting. We would use the same bedding for the duration of our trip, and each explorer "team" received a bag with their name(s) to hold the bedding while we traveled from camp to camp. Our crew helped us with the mosquito netting on the first night, so that we could protect ourselves for the remaining nights.
Then it was time for a lesson on the toilet. Only pit toilets here, as our base camp has no freshwater nor electricity. The closest approximation would be a primitive campsite, except for the fact that we at least had a bowl to either hover over or sit on for bravest of us. The large blue containers held water and scoops in order for us to "flush" the toilet after use. I have to say that the bathrooms were all very clean and without odor. In fact, these facilities seemed more clean than those I'd had to use on my Mt. Fuji climb.
After getting settled, meeting the villagers, having dinner, and enjoying some pineapple and rum courtesy of Tox, the ultimate cocktail wizard, we realized how tired we were and turned in early. As promised, our first day was full of snorkeling opportunities and areas to explore. Ryan and I agreed that if the entire tour was like this, we were going to love this expedition.
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