Isla Gigantes: First Backpacking Experience Day 02

Still sleepy from yesterday's trip and sing till we drop videoke session, we woke up early in preparation for our next exciting activity, ISLAND HOPPING and SPELUNKING (caving)! We first ate our breakfast and prepared all the things we are going to bring for our island hopping trip.

Sleepy Irish.. J

Waiting in vain.. Gutom na! J

Our breakfast, Corned Beef and Sunny side up eggs..

Must bring for the trip: (1) Sunblock Lotion - lots of it for skin protection; (2) Sunglasses - for your eyes only; (3) Towels and shawls - for cover-up; (4) MP3s - for sound-tripping along the way; (5) Fully charged Cameras - for capturing endless photos of you and the paradise; and last but not the least (6) Your wide SMILE - nothing beats the match-up of a beautiful smile and the paradise.

Now geared up, we are bound to experience an amazing tour around a beautiful paradise. I don't think I could say so many things about this trip since the experience was really beyond words and the scenery was really breathtaking making me, us, speechless. All we could say were, "Wow!", "Ganda!" and the like. I think the shots would already speak for itself.

I think we have visited 6 island/spots all in all but nevertheless the experience was really amazing.

Departure: All aboard the boat.. J

Looks like Coron, Palawan..

See how clear the water is...

After 15 mins or so....

First Stop: The Inside Lagoon called Tanke
This lagoon is filled with seawater and is surrounded by tall and steep rocks. You need to pass through some steep rocks before entering the lagoon. The water is so clear and not that deep, even the non-swimmers like me, can manage. JI thinks this is one of the best spots, the place is breathtaking and you can actually swim freely while looking at the clear blue sky and luscious green scenery.

Need to climb these rocks...

For you to get and see the lagoon...

And be able to take a dip into its clear water...

I can't remember the name of this bird but it produces a different kind of sound

Super ganda!

Second Stop: Island Number 2
Due to nature-occupied mind, I wasn't able to ask for the name of this island. This one is my favorite, white sand, clear blue water and breathtaking view. We needed to climb up a mountain-like tall rocks so we can have a better view of the whole island. Need to say more? J

Climbing down..

Posing a shot before going to...

Third Stop: Sand Bar
This is one of the spot that we enjoyed the most. You can amazingly walk through the sand and enjoy the water. While walking, it seems like you are already half of the way through the next island. There is also a sari-sari store here which sells softdrinks! Really nice..

On the way to the Sari-sari store..

Crystal clear water

Panoramic view of the Sand Bar

Fourth Stop: Island Number 4
Wasn't able to know the name, again. This is where we stopped and ate our lunch and rested for a while as we are gearing up for the first spelunking activity. We paid Php 200.00 for 5 persons for the island and cave entrance. The caving activity was really a great experience for us as this is actually the first time we've done something adventurous. Although tired and exhausted with the cave exploration, we really had the best time of our lives, giving wide smiles every photo op. After the cave, we indulged ourselves in the clear, cold and pristine water of the island. Unfortunately, by some chance, my friend was stung by a box jellyfish. I really couldn't explain how scared we were when we saw what happened to her foot but nevertheless it didn't stopped her in enjoying the tour (we even had another caving activity when we came back at the inn).

Need to climb this up before entering the cave

Such a breathtaking view

Cooling off after the cave exploration

The culprit.. Argh!

Off to the next island...

Fifth Stop: Island Number 5
We didn't stayed too long in this island and just took some photos. There is also a cave on this island but we were not able to explore it, we manage to take photos of its entrance though. This island has its own natural beauty, besides its clean and pure, what makes it different from the others is its sand. White and powdery, just like in Boracay, pinung-pino. As if like powder or flour mixing with salt water. Really nice! Wanted to take some more photos but unfortunately my cam ran out of battery! Argh!

On the way to the island

Amazing rock formation

Panaroma view from the island

On the way to the cave

Cave entrance

My cam's last shot of the day

Sixth Stop: Island Number 6
Was not able to take pictures of this island, so sad! Anyway, we took rest in the island and had sometime to have swim for a while. After this, balik tourist inn na for another fulfilling adventure! Yehey! For the photos, credits to the owner.

That was the end of the island tour and now were bound to be back at the inn. As we are back at the inn, Kuya Joel helped in treating my friends foot stung by the jellyfish. We thought that it was already end of our tour, but only to be surprised, were still be exploring another cave! Yay! This time the cave is much more steep and kinda muddy and we will be exiting on the other side of the cave that is actually the steep and rocky side of the mountain! So, so, so much unexplained fun and excitement! My friend's enthusiasm was not hindered by mere pain! What a brave gorgeous girl! So proud of ateh! :)

Going to the cave, we were accompanied by kuya who was with us since the start of the tour and his amazing dog. To bad I wasn't able to take some pictures but anyway for the photos here, credits to the owner. Enough explanation, just see the pictures! Haha.

Shining minerals

Forming stalagmites and stalactites

The brave young girl.. :)

We need to climb this?! OMG!

See how small the passageway is?

On the way down!

Success!

After that thrilling spelunking, we were so exhausted yet overjoyed. That was a very nice experience and we want to do it over and over again. And to freshen up and relax, we asked Kuya Joel if we could dip into their in-house Jacuzzi, which he gladly allowed us! Yahoo!

Photos credit to the owner

After the refreshing bath, we had another sumptuous dinner and another night of non-stop videoke session. We sang to our hearts content and slept at around 02:30 am.

And that's it! End of fun day 02! I think I have defied what I said on the start of this post, that I will not have anything to say, but I ended up saying so much! Haha.. Maybe I have so much to say after all, telling you how I felt when I were experiencing all of these!

Anyway, this will be the last day and were bound to go back to reality as tomorrow we will be travelling back to Manila. Argh! Reality really bites! :)