The main thing that motivates me to visit Port Barton is its beautiful and rich snorkeling sites! If you go to San Vicente, it will be the same island tours as Port Barton, the only difference is the price. It is much cheaper in Port Barton.
First things first, Port Barton is a quiet and sophisticated place in Palawan. But little did people know, this place offers beautiful underwater world comparable to El Nido’s snorkeling sites. This is a fishing village and also do pearl-farming, hence the abundant fish and preserved corals. The advantage in this small village? Tour price is relatively cheaper and the sea is SOOO CALM!
Love at first sight! The sea is soooo quiet! No waves, no swinging. It is like a big swimming pool! First time I saw this kind. I remember the days I have to stay away from swimming seas with strong currents and waves even if it is a snorkeling site. Is it only me who find it hard to snorkel in such? Anyway, I’m no good swimmer. Sooooooo, you know it!
There are four tours available. Tour A, B, C and D which when analyzed, contains one/two common destination – the Twin Reef and German Island. I took tour A which was the most popular. It starts 8AM or 9AM and ends at 4PM and it costs Php 700 in Port Barton (Php 800 in San Vicente).
This tour was arranged by the owner of the place where I stayed and it was originally sold to his boatman friend. However, at the actual day I was transferred to another boatman who has completed his desired number of guests. “Siningit lang ako” in short. If I only had the bucks I would’ve taken the private tour. But I don’t mind it. No kaartehan. I’m the only Filipino guest BTW and if I was quirky I would’ve played as their tour guide. Hahaha! Char!
First stop is at Twin Reef. It is located in the middle of the sea. With the quiet sea you actually don’t need a life vest. But since I’m no good swimmer, I still use it.
Colorful, lots of its kind and not too deep. If only I can swim better I’ll dive near them!
I freaked out when I saw a Jellyfish! Yay! It is a small yellow one with no tentacles. The guide said it does not sting, it will only give you rashes.
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| Fierce! |
“Ang ganda!” These are the only words I kept saying until we left Twin Reef. I want more ..more swimming! But I do not own the boat and I can’t command, we have to leave. We went to Exotic Island where we had lunch.
Oh sooo white! All I see is white, white sand, white sky and the clear blue water with small fishes nearby. I didn’t swim on this part because I’m hungry but I bet the view beneath is gorgeous! There are fishes already on the docking area and I can grab them with bare hands! A-huh! With few people on the island, one can spend a quiet afternoon sleeping under shades of trees and a book on his face.
I had regrets during the island hopping. One is I realized I didn’t bring my scarf, now I didn’t have anything to sit on. Second is I didn’t bring a book or anything to keep myself entertained, now I only stared nowhere far across the sea. Though it was relaxing, I spent about an hour over nothing. “Tunganga” mode lang. So to keep myself moving and keep my eyes open – (I’m so sleepy) – I took pictures.
Required skills as a boatman and assistant in tours:
· Knows how to operate a boat
· Knows where to dock the boat
· Knows how to speak English
· Skilled in sales and obtaining guests
· Knows how to cook – grilling and cooking rice is a musts!
· Skilled in taking photos
Those are the few of the many abilities of an assistant and boatman in many island hopping tours in the Philippines. They are like ‘all-around’. Amazing. Below is our lunch prepared by them:
- I love Papayas!
- The foreigners loved the mixture of soy sauce, onion and tomato
- Our main dish was the grilled fish..and it was the only dish that we had. No other meat.
After digging in on our food, we went to German Island. It is another popular island where one can had lunch. I already pictured this place because of the iconic coconut trees lined up along the beach with lots of hammock that I saw on the internet. The boatman said it was called German Island because a German used to rent the whole island for more than 20 years but haven’t really lived on the island. Guess it was only used as a rest house.
Again I haven’t swam that much because of the jellyfish!!! I totally freaked out and failed many attempts on going further because these jellyfishes are like cancer. They’ll show unexpectedly and you can’t easily turn back. There are times when I kept my eyes close so that I won’t turn crazy when I see them. I just swim,.. And swim, then when I opened my eyes, BOOM! I’m surrounded. I was already in the hunt for the turtles but when I knew I can’t handle them, I felt stuck at one point and just turn around and go back to shore. Decision made: Not this time.
Note: You’ll only recognize them when they are at your face.
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| I guess this is the place where I should be |
For our last stop is another wonderful snorkeling site, the Fantastic Reef. Sea is much deeper but the corals are no less beautiful than the first one. This time, I enjoyed it very much! And NO jellyfish in sight!
I can’t say much more because the whole tour is like meant for me. A non-swimmer who loves to be a mermaid. Char! I just felt proud and I’m craving for more tours like this. I actually thought of breaking my itinerary and have another round the next morning. But due to schedule restrictions, it just can’t be. Sad. Anyway, having this tour is already enough to make my Port Barton trip a successful one!
Here’s to ending this post: Nearing sunset shot. I regret that I didn’t catch any sunsets in Port Barton. Tsk!
Boatman Assistant that became my friend and patient swimming teacher, he also does tours:
Jumong
0999 582 0483
Until my next hullahoos,
Glens