Our group of eight was given a good sized boat with lots of room for lounging, with a small kitchen and toilet at the back. It also came with the requisite safety gear - the crew was pretty strict about having us wear life vests.
And the on board lifesaver ring later served as towing ring for tired swimmers like us.
Tip 1. After checking into the boat, check out the local market right in the wharf area for fresh seafood. The tour package included lunch and bottled water, but since the wharf was right next to the market, and the boat crew had cooking facilities right on the boat, we decided to look for seafood. We were not disappointed.
Tip 2. Rent your masks, snorkels, fins, and other scuba/swimming gear from the small stalls by the market.
Even if you have no plans of going snorkelling, rent a set just the same. You will regret not having done so when you see the clear waters and schools of fish.
It would have been nice if there were kayaks for rent, but we didn't see any. Or, we just didn't ask.
Tip 3. We forgot something very important on the first day of the island tour, but we were prepared the next day. Beer, soda and all kinds of drinks, ice and snacks are available at the market, too. Our boat came equipped with a cooler.
The longest trip from one island to another took 1.5 hours. It was the perfect chance to enjoy the scenery...
...or allow oneself to be lulled to sleep..
....or watch the marine life all around. During a one-hour stretch, we saw hundreds of flying fish, several huge jellyfish bigger of all shapes and types bigger than basketballs, and one giant sea turtle chasing fish. An experience of a lifetime, indeed!
We dropped anchor at one of the islands for lunch.
The tour's standard lunch usually includes grilled fish, a vegetable dish (we loved their version of vegetables in coconut milk!) and a seafood dish (blue crab or squid, usually), fruit (we had bananas one day, and watermelon the next), and lots of steamed rice. The crew provided the usual Pinoy dipping sauces - vinegar, soy sauce, calamansi, salt. We asked them to grill the fish and steam the crabs, slipper lobsters and prawns that we got from the market, and they did it perfectly.
Note that the boatmen even managed to make tomato roses to decorate the chili crabs.
....And a happy time was had by all!
"Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air."- Ralph Waldo Emerson
