17 images Created 25 Feb 2013
Palawan - Kayaking the Bacuit Archipelago
When I first went to Palawan in 2009, my first objective was to kayak around the Bacuit Archipelago in the north-west, one of Palawan’s greatest natural treasures, where there is a group of spectacular limestone karst pinnacles jutting out of the sea, similar to Halong Bay in Vietnam and the Phi Phi area of southern Thailand. The small coastal town of El Nido is the gateway to the spectacular vista of karst towers dotted around the bay. I set up my camp on Matinloc Island on the outside of the bay, from where I could make day trips to the other islands and find the best places for snorkelling. My biggest logistical problem was taking enough fresh water because there is no standing water on the limestone islands, so I was compelled to make weekly shuttle run back to El Nido to collect water and fresh food. It was on the verge of the rainy season and on several occasions I experienced sudden squalls when the tranquil conditions rapidly changed and I was being pounded by icy cold water on a very choppy sea. Instead of entering the sea to cool off during the hot sunny days I found myself immersing myself just to stay warm.
On my first night camping out on the way to Matinloc Island I made the mistake of pitching my tent under a tree that I later discovered was full of caterpillars. They rained down on my tent and proceeded to spin their cocoons under the flysheet, and prior to that they nibbled holes in the mosquito netting! With virtually no standing water on the islands I was very surprised to discover that there was no shortage of mosquitoes. In fact they were so bad that I devised a new strategy for “culling” them. I waited until there were enough buzzing around me before running into the sea and immersing myself up to my neck. The bloodthirsty mosquitoes followed me and then I proceeded to clap around my head and eliminate them. After doing that a few times I managed to reduce them to manageable levels. It would have been an entertaining spectacle for a passer by.
On my first night camping out on the way to Matinloc Island I made the mistake of pitching my tent under a tree that I later discovered was full of caterpillars. They rained down on my tent and proceeded to spin their cocoons under the flysheet, and prior to that they nibbled holes in the mosquito netting! With virtually no standing water on the islands I was very surprised to discover that there was no shortage of mosquitoes. In fact they were so bad that I devised a new strategy for “culling” them. I waited until there were enough buzzing around me before running into the sea and immersing myself up to my neck. The bloodthirsty mosquitoes followed me and then I proceeded to clap around my head and eliminate them. After doing that a few times I managed to reduce them to manageable levels. It would have been an entertaining spectacle for a passer by.
