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T R O P I C A L A D V E N T U R E S
To the sea
I’m blown away by the experience from the start. Having
been based in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam for the past two
years, Manila’s grueling blend of traffic and noise offers little
in the way of novelty factor.
So it is with a huge sigh of relief then that I board my
flight to Busuanga. The northernmost outpost of Palawan
province, Busuanga is famous for its recreational diving due
largely to the 12 World War II Japanese wrecks that were
sunk in Coron Bay. I’m here for adventures above the water’s
surface, of course, and as the plane makes its final descent,
the sight of wild mountains and deserted tropical beach
offers a taste of what is about to come.
The fresh sea breeze that hits me when I get to Coron town
lifts my spirits even further. And the “adventurers wanted”
sign on the wall outside Tao HQ is another promising
indicator that the next few days will offer timely respite from
Asia’s more cacophonous persona.
So it proves. After making an opening day pitstop at
Barracuda Lake — a beautiful expanse of emerald water
popular with the large contingent of divers who visit Coron —
it’s just the deep blue sea, various small fishing communities
and us.
Days take on a pleasantly shapeless quality. Eddie and
company run trips that cover the 200 or so islands in the
Linapacan group between Coron and El Nido, 150km to
the south-west, so there’s plenty of uncharted territory to
explore. Every morning our guide Zaza pulls out a battered
map and we plan a route out over breakfast.
Indeed, so amazing is the scenery that we could
probably have planned our trip by sticking pins on the map
blindfolded and it would still be an outstanding experience.
Over the next five days we anchor off various sandbars and
beaches of dazzling white, and swim and snorkel for hours
in crystal-clear waters, jump from waterfalls into deep forest
pools, and interact with the local fishing communities.
Activity-packed days are not really what the expeditions
are all about, however. Much of the time is spent lazing
on the sundeck, sharing tales with other members of the
group, or simply zoning out and enjoying the front-row
view of some of the world’s most spectacular seascapes.
The waters are so
unbelievably clear, you
can’t help but jump in!
A Tao expedition covers
sandbars, beaches and
waterfalls — just to name a few
PHOTOS
KATHERINE JACK