The boat wasn't big and was one of the catarmaran style ones that we saw on the beach yesterday but I loved it. We sped along through the deep blue sea, past rock formations until we reached a place they called the big lagoon. The water here was shallower so we could see right down to the bottom. For those who had paid more there were kayaks to use but for us, and more than half of the others, there was our snorkel and goggles. I decided this was way better than a kayak anyway as we got to explore the seabed as we swam into the lagoon. It was amazing. There were so many fish along the way and when we swam through a small opening into the lagoon I felt like a was some kind of proper diver. However, Matt was struggling. Having never used a snorkel before he got confused (apparently he has a degree) and ended up taking the snorkel off and just using the goggles. To be fair, it wasn't nice to swallow the salt water as it made you feel a little sick but the snorkel meant that I could keep looking for ages. We swam into a little cave which was too small for the kayaks and were able to stand on some rocks and have a breather.
Back out of the cave we swam past a jellyfish and I took a good few minutes to admire it moving along through the water. We climbed back onto the boat and went to another location where the kayakers could go off for half an hour whilst we snorkelled some more. At some points I was surrounded by black and white striped little fish. I felt like I was a Newcastle player and named one of the fish Cissé. Whilst snorkelling here we used life jackets so we could just float and stare at all the fish and corals. Matt managed to find an anemone with lots of little Nemo like fish floating in and out of it just like Nemo does in the film! We really found Nemo.
Next up the boat took us to another secret lagoon where we had to climb through a small hole and end up in a chilly pool of water which wasn't as clear as the rest of the sea so we didn't stay in it for long. We'd left the life jackets on the boat this time as we could move a lot quicker and we were told to swim up to a beach after the lagoon as we were stopping for lunch. This beach was ridiculous. The white sand was bombarded slightly with other boats as there were some other people stopping there for lunch also but it wasn't crowded in any way. The beach was on a little Island. We were unsure on its size as all we could see were cliffs rising beyond the sand but we happily sat in the sea, waiting for our lunch to be prepared.
Lunch was barbecued fish (snappers) and kebabs (pork and onions) and rice and salad and fruit. It was delicious. I'm pretty sure we ate more than everyone else as you could help yourself but we wanted to get our money's worth. We had to swim back to the boat after eating which was a little tricky with a full belly but it wasn't far. The guides took us to another snorkelling area with a little beach that we could swim up to. However, the water became very shallow and Matt managed to cut his knee quite badly on the rocks beneath us. Luckily, we were about to leave when this happened so he only had to swim a short distance back to the boat in order to get a plaster and stop the bleeding. He survived the ordeal (the cut wasn't horrendous) and we were off again to a beach where we were allowed to relax for an hour and swim if we wanted. Obviously, we both built a sandcastle (we didn't look our age) and then had to swim to remove the large amount of sand that was stuck to us. This beach was a little too crowded for my liking as many boats were lined up along the shore and people were sat in little shaded huts positioned on the beach. There was also a designated swimming area which always shouts out touristy when I see one.
As this was our last destination for the day it was almost 4 when we got back on the boat to return to El Nido. A short trip later and we were on dry land and handing over our snorkel and goggles before walking back to our bungalow. We showered and then had to walk back into town again for food. The sun was setting as we strolled along though so the walk was enjoyable. Unfortunately, El Nido lacks cash machines so we were low on money and had to find the cheapest meal we could which turned out to be pasta with a vegetable sauce again. It was a different place to lunch yesterday but it tasted the same. I felt bad because I wasn't eaten Filipino food but I was still unsure what Filipino food was other than barbecued fish. Maybe it depends on where abouts in the Philippines you are.
Both of us were tired from swimming all day so went to sleep quite early. It had again been an amazing day though.
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