El Nido: Tour A

 Tour A includes the ffg spots:

1. Seven Commandos Beach
2. Big Lagoon
3. Shimizu Island
4. Secret Lagoon
5. Small Lagoon

Warning: El Nido is so much more than what you see in the photos. So yeah, a picture paints a thousand words but it will never do justice to the actual feeling of seeing the actual El Nido scenery with its natural ambiance and picturesque scenery. I may not have a 20-20 vision, but I'm sure thankful for not being blind!

1. Seven Commandos Beach
     This is usually the last stop for Tour A but our guides decided that it's best if we make this our first to avoid the crowd. And sure enough, we had the beach to ourselves. The resort with its customized cottage-like hotels were nice too but as they say, it was priced in dollars. So, we just satisfied ourselves with the beauty of the clear waters and white sand.

2. Big Lagoon
    We just cruised around the Big Lagoon and we're not given time to take a dip. My guess is that it could be dangerous especially since many boats are coming to and fro. The rock formations were astounding although we had a hard time catching up on our pics as the boat was constantly moving albeit slowly. Perhaps, they're not allowed to park?

3. Shimizu Island
   This is usually the spot where the boats take a stop for the guides to prepare for lunch and at the same time, giving the tourist enough time to tour the place, take pictures, and to snorkel.

The view of Shimizu Island upon our approach

Love the trees and its great help in providing shade for us from the SCORCHING heat of the sun!

Nothing beats a delicious meal after all those swimming and snorkeling!

     There is a big rock formation on the other side of Shimizu Island. Since it was just a short swim away, we swam towards it to snorkel. I don't know what happened but the corals in the front area were quite dead. It could be from trampling, anchors, dynamite fishing, or the corals could have been taken away to be sold. Such a sad state. So we decided to swim around the other side of the big rock hoping to see corals in good condition. And there were! But the current on the other side was really strong as it was already facing the ocean and since were swimming against the current, it took us quite a while and with great effort in swimming thru the circumference of the rock. But it was nice experience especially for my mom who was a first-timer at snorkeling and swimming in deep waters.

Under the rock on the other side of Shimizu Island

 



























4. Secret Lagoon

The reason why it's called Secret Lagoon is because one has to go thru a small hole before one can enter into the lagoon. When inside, you'll feel like you are inside a volcano since the whole place is bounded by the rock formation but you can still see the sky thru a crater. This is one of my favorite places in Tour A. :)

The water inside is not as clear as the other lagoons and beaches perhaps because it's not as free flowing being trapped as it is.

5. Small Lagoon
Calling it "small" is a misnomer as it is not really small. It is quite deep in fact reaching approx 15 meters at some points. Banana boats and kayaks are available for rent by visitors.

Be careful of the territorial fishes who snapped at my companions who unknowingly swam near their respective nests.

 

There's a cave at the end part of the lagoon but only the boys went there while us girls just waited near the entrance and did some formations for fun. Swimming from the entrance to the cave takes some effort as it's quite a distance away. As I said, calling it "small lagoon" is such a misnomer. :D