Wrecks, Lakes, and Limestone of Coron - Day 2

I cursed the heavens on the second day. I had imagined weeks before the trip taking awesome photographs of Barracuda Lake and Kayangan Lake - the two places in the itinerary I was really looking forward to - but the weather did not cooperate. The sky was dark. And the sun was having one of its moods. I cursed some more, calmed down, and started clicking away on my camera.

I wanted to describe the entire day's experience in writing but since it would take many paragraphs to articulate my thoughts I might as well just share some photos I took and a description or two. And besides I'm pretty sure most of you would skip the text and just view the photos.

So here are the pics. Enjoy!

There is no other way to Barracuda Lake but to navigate these tricky wooden stairs (ladders?). The stairs do not wobble but one needs to take the time going down (and up). Falling down these stairs to the pointed limestone will hurt real bad.

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This wooden bridge is the final way to a view of the Barracuda Lake. There are no handles to hold on to but the walk will only take a few seconds.

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This is the entire group that I went to Coron with swimming in Barracuda Lake. This lake is huge and deep. What you see here is only a small quarter of how large the lake is. It is said that this is a crater lake similar to Mt. Pinatubo. Divers frequent the lake not because of the fishes but because there is a portion way below the surface where the cold water above and the hot water below diverge. Amazing.

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This is a view of the aqua-colored waters of Coron taken from one of the ladders seen in the first photo. The banca in the photo are the divers waiting for our group, all 27 of us, to finish our swim at the lake.

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This is a view from a cliff midway to Kayangan Lake. Behind where I took this is a small cave which I forgot to take photos of. There is not much to see anyway based on the photos taken by some friends.

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A shot of what is called the freshest lake in the Philippines - Kayangan Lake. It is not as big as Barracuda Lake but the water is clearer. There was no jellyfish seen unlike what was seen in Barracuda. There are fishes too and a small cave located on the opposite side from the wooden plank shown in the photo.

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The next stop after the twin visits to Barracuda Lake and Kayangan Lake was the snorkeling sites which Coron is famous for. The group ain't looking for pearls but at schools of fish and tens of porcupines.

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I got tired dipping my face underwater staring at Nemo and of his species and went aboard our boat to rest. I was not the only one who had the same idea. But alas rest was not to be. We took turns jumping off the boat for the customary jumpshot. Here is a photo of what a friend calls his Superman shot.

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Island hopping for the day finished early. While others decided to grab a bite or went to a dive shop to try on their wet suits for the next day's dive, I and 7 others decided to go to Mt. Tapias and watch the sunset. The sun was falling when we made the first step of the 717 steps needed to get to the top. We arrived at the summit with minutes to spare. The view from the top - a 360-degree view of the islands of Coron - was breathtaking.

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The sky turns yellow as the sun sets in Coron.

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This is the big cross at the top of Mt. Tapias.