Gone Solo in El Nido: Day 3

Just when I thought traveling on lean season was purely genius, I totally forgot that in the Philippines lean season also means typhoon season.  The day after I enjoyed my first island tour in El Nido, in came the rain. I was just chilling in my cabin waiting for the coordinators to come and say the tour's postponed but it wasn't. In my mind, I was like "Really? In this ungodly weather?". I just had to ask why. Ate Coordinator's answer was short and simple, "We had to. No tour, no income". I didn't know what to respond. Here I am, worrying about my safety while there they are worrying not about themselves, risking their own lives, thriving to make a living.

The boat ride was one hell of a ride. Whew! Just a little two minutes from the anchorage and we're already soaked, both from the splashes and the rain. Fun and thrilling at the same time. Our boatmen gave us huuuge garbage bags to secure our things. Talk about improvised dry bags. Haha. 

I chose Tour C for today's island hopping trip, with Miniloc Island as its main attraction, is the farthest of all the islands. With no island in sight and seeing those huge waves, it was a challenge to keep my calm. Shouldn't we be bothered or is it just me? I glanced over our boatmen and saw the captain having coffee. Literally! I'm like, okay, this should be no biggie. Haha. (I met them the night before the tour when they saw me running downtown under the rain, in search for shelter. Our guides from yesterday's tour was with them, so I'm guessing they're from the same tour services. BTW, thanks for lending me an umbrella. :) )

With an all island tour, a waterproof camera would be the best option to bring. I kind of learned that the hard way yesterday, so the night before the tour I rented an underwater camera at a local camera shop. I was surprised that the rent for a GoPro was almost the same with an overnight hotel accommodation. Probably because GoPro was not yet that popular here in the Philippines (2013). This wasn't in my budget so I opted for a cheaper alternative, Canon point and shoot with an underwater case for P750.00. Still a bit pricey for me but hey, they have the right to dictate whatever price they want since they are the only rental shop in town. Plus, what choice do I have. Lol.

The pictures were okay. Exposure and colors could've been better if it wasn't gloomy. However, for sun sensitive-skinned people such as myself, you might want to take advantage of the weather and plunge into the water for as long as your time permits without worrying about skin rashes or burns. As much as I want to, I got an open wound on both knees acquired yesterday, not visible in the photos, though. Open wound, not just a scratch or cut, it doesn't bleed anymore but I swear I can see the tissues underneath, lol, and in my book, open wounds and salt water don't go well together. 

Few shots from the underwater cam. 

Overall, everything that happened today was quite an experience. From my stinging wound up to the safety docking of our boat, everything was worth it. 

Shout out to all island tour coordinators and boatmen who uses all their might to make each tour an awesome experience. Especially to the boatmen of Oceana1 and 2 in El Nido, mabuhay po kayo mga ser! :)

xxx