Too early for today but that’s okay and this island hopping that we are going to do is just a half day activity but I'm so looking forward to this.
We were at McDonald’s by 5:30AM to have some breakfast because our tour doesn't include lunch since we should probably be done by then if everything went well. By 6AM we meet our guide who processed our papers and we also rented a GoPro because this time we are not taking it for granted.
After maybe 30 minutes of waiting finally we are headed to our boat and our first stop is Dolphin watching. I even saw dolphins in Ocean Park in Hong Kong last year and I never thought of ever seeing dolphins in the wild because is it even possible? Yet here we are chasing dolphins in the wild. The sight is so funny because 10 or more boats with tourists including ours are all waiting for the appearance of dolphins it may be also a hit and miss. We are about to give up but then they appeared swimming together and you have to really look because the waves can trick you. After almost an hour of waiting we finally saw them and the boat captain don't want to further chase it like the other boats so we went to our next destination which is Balicasag Island where we will be doing our snorkeling with fishes and turtles.
I'm surprised that we are going to do all of those in this one area.
At first we were assigned a small boat and then we paddled to the area of the snorkeling which is pretty near that you can actually swim to that area if you are not so scared. Hehe Same little fishes and some big ones have different stripes and color. I'm not holding the rented GoPro in here but I really do wish I have a GoPro of my own to be able to capture what I saw from Palawan and to Bohol. After feeding the fishes with crackers, we are done and I’m not sure how will I be able to get back on the small boat but we did. Surprisingly just a few paddle to the left side that’s already the spot where you can see a turtle. The guide says that sometimes you can spot turtles on the fish area. I was with aunties at the other boat and just when our guide gave the clearance to swim then I did and right there on a shallow area right under me was a freaking turtle! I hurried to the other boat where I was shouting “GoPro!, GoPro!” Because I don't want to miss this already. I got a good 3 minutes shot and I'm so satisfied with it.
The guide always tell that they are good taking photos and all but dang they keep on stopping the video every now and then. I believe it is because of the file size but they keep on stopping right there when there’s a good shot already. I’m just not so familiar with the new settings of the GoPro but before there’s a “video+photo” setting and that what I always use so no missing out on anything. It’s easy to delete a non-sense file than miss out the important ones.
Thoughts on my mind right then was “dang, in Palawan it was so hard to look for the turtle but here it is just swimming right below in a shallow area”. Don't get me wrong I do know how this is a hit and miss since these creatures are in a wild and I do appreciate that they are being safely watched by the people in this island.
I almost got sea sick on the tiny boat because of the waves.
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Sadly behind all the tourist activity the island is also having problems with water and other basic needs. I don't know how Carlo and their guide led to conversation about their living situation in the island. We even asked about their situation during COVID when all along they depends on how many tourist will be there so they can sell the souvenirs they are making or on the tips that will be given by tourist.
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We can't somehow get hungry so we did early lunch on the island after snorkeling. We ordered before hand so our food will be ready once we are done. Here we go again with the mango shakes. Hehe
After lunch we headed to the Virgin Island as they called it. It is a sand bar but it was high tide so no sandbar that is visible above the water but you can still walk on it.
Right before that island would you ever believe that we saw I think 2 more turtles that was just catching a breath. So beautiful.
After a few minutes on Virgin Island we head back to Alona beach and we went to Gerry’s Grill for some halo-halo.
We’re back at the Villa and finally I can use the swimming pool! I've been wanting to swim in the pool since Palawan! Since I’m on a villa with my aunties I have time to swim while they shower but then they hangout with me too. Hehe
Last agenda for the day, dinner. My sister was suggesting Mist and then I remembered seeing that somewhere too. They are game to try it and the place is amazing as well as the food.
Goodnight!
My Photographs: Bohol
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