Day 4. El Nido Island Hopping Tour B

The meeting time for the tour was 8:45-9am, so we got up to have breakfast at 7:30, a bit later than the previous two days. The hotel offered breakfast buffet this morning.

I booked this tour from KKday. I like KKday over Klook for several reasons. 

  1. Yesterday at the Klook check in, the person ahead of me was informed on the check-in spot that there was no Tour B on that day and he could switch to Tour A. This was unacceptably not professional to me.
  2. The KKday tour operator contacted me the day before on WhatsApp to confirm the details and made sure that I had environmental permits. Klook tour operator did not. 
  3. The KKday check in process was a bit nicer experience.
    • At the KKday check in, there was no line, so it went quickly. There were long lines at the Klook check in place.
    • At the KKday check in, there were chairs set up for us to sit when waiting for the boat crew. At the Klook check in, we had to sit on the ground.
    • The lady at the KKday check in took a picture of my environmental permits and returned them to me. At the Klook check in yesterday, the person took my permits and I needed to get them after the tour.

Our boat was Gaddiel 2. There were about 20 people on the boat. There were two college students from Australia, very friendly and pleasant. They went to Tour A yesterday and mentioned that snorkeling in the Great Barrier Reef was better than snorkeling here.

Cathedral Cave

Our first stop was Cathedral Cave. We could only take photos from our boat. Tourists used to be able to kayak inside the cave, but the rules were changed after people found quite a few sea snakes in the cave. Claire did not want a photo so the guide took great pictures for me only. 


  

Cudugnon Cave

This was my favorite stop of the tour. We first arrived at a nice beach. 


Our guide then took us to the first cave. The cave entrance was a tiny hole and we needed to crawl in one by one. The guide helped each one of us.


Once we crawled in, it was a big cave room inside. Then we walked to a small path and reached an even bigger cave room.


After many photos for me, we went back to the beach and went to the second cave. This one was very easy to enter, just walk down the steps. The first cave had small openings at the top so there was some sun light. This cave had no opening at the ceiling, but lights were set up inside, so it was not dark. The guide said that there were bats living here, but they were not there when we visisted.


There was a restaurant at the beach. Claire pet a cat there. We then walked to the water to snorkel. There were corral reefs and quite some fishes. Claire got videos of a group sardines, and a group of black fish that formed a circle on the sand. One fish stared at her for a long time and then charged at her, very much like how our cat Aster would like to do. We played a long time before went back to the boat.


Snorkel Place

Our next stop was a snorkel place. We needed to swim like 40 meters to the spot, so I did not go. Claire went and liked it.

Snake Island

Our next stop was Snake Island for lunch. This island got its name because it has a sandbar that looks liked a snake. I bought a coconut from a "kayak vender" again for 100 PHP. Claire finished the coconut water. We then waded water to get to the island. 

The guides set up the table. The dishes included cucumber salad, rice, noodle, chicken, shrimp. There were people living on this island with pet dogs. Some dogs came to us waiting for scraps. 

After lunch, the guide showed us a hiking trail to the top of the hill where one could get a look at the scenic sandbar from a high viewpoint. I went on the hike while Claire waited at the shaded lunch area. The hike turned out to be only 3-minute long for me. The tour guide was helping everyone to take photos.

I then walked along the sandbar.  The tide was getting higher, so the sandbar was getting narrower. 


We then sat and played in the shallow water till it was time to leave.

Entalula Beach

I relaxed on the beach while Claire went snorkeling with a guide. The guide was truly exceptional that he was like Claire's private guide and showed her some really amazing stuff. He even dived to take good videos for Claire. Claire showed me some blue starfish, 8 clownfish (one family of 5 and another family of 3). 


Back to Town

After we returned to El Nido, we went back to our hotel. The dog we saw the first day was at the front desk again. Claire petted her again.

We then went to Angel's Wish for dinner. The restaurant had a great view of the ocean. The food was also great. I had squid adobo, Claire ordered fish fingers and chicken pasta. We all liked all the food. The squid adobo has black squid ink in the sauce. The sauce was a bit sweet and very flavorful. The squid was also tender. 







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