Kayangan Lake

The perk of being a law intern of Environmental Legal Assistance Center (ELAC) in Coron is to visit the beautiful island surrounding it. So, before my  internship ends and my boss leave for his Thailand trip, he actually planned for an island hopping.

As we enter the entrance of Kayangan Lake, which was dubbed as the cleanest lake in the Philippines. We were welcomed by the marvelous limestone walls and rock formations. What fascinates me more is that one area, on the way going to the lake, which actually gives you a scenery of the magnificent bluish green waters which leaves me breathless.

So, before we go swimming in Kayangan Lake, we must bear in mind some important house rules which we must comply while we enjoy the waters. Among those listed, we must always remember this "Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints, keep nothing but memories, kill nothing but time."

After a short trek, you will be amazed by this magnificent lake, which was said to have a combination of lake water and salt water. Although there maybe many visitors, I am actually shocked on how disciplined people are and how the locals are able to maintain the beautiful of the lake and its pristine clear waters.

 As you can see, the waters are really clean and clear where you could actually see the stone formations and different sea creatures in it.

With the initiative of the locals and the local government, they continually work hand-in-hand in strengthening tourism in Coron without sacrificing the environment and exposing it to threats. 

After Kayangan, we decided to look for a place where we could actually have are lunch and alcohol sessions. Since it was summer, most of the famous beaches were actually occupied. But we found this  private beach and so we decided to dock and have our lunch here. 

Just look at that magnificent crystal-clear waters and that pure and powdery sands. It is always fun to spend a day in this place and just feel the breeze of fresh air while you retreat yourself from the chaotic metro or town. This is definitely great way to spend your day! :D

Just the smell of the summer

can make me fall in love.

xoxoxo

ooo

Bali Beach

Went to Bali Beach with my boss and his friends. They invited me to join them for lunch but it turned out to be an early drinking session. The session was actually fun especially since the place was windy, which made my warm day cool. Anyway, the Bali Beach is a local resort in Coron Island, its not that developed like other resort with fun water adventures and all the modern facilities or amenities. This is just a small place where you wanted to chill and spend time in a native cottage, a pinoy-way to enjoy the resort.

The beach faces the island known as the "sleeping-giant." 

 At the right portion of the beach, you could actually view the "Siete Pecados." Its actually 7 small islands and which is considered to have a wonderful spot for snorkeling because of its beautiful fish sanctuary. Just this afternoon, my boss told me that we might spend our weekend in the floating house in Siete Pecados. :D So i'm actually looking forward to that. 

Lastly, I just wanna share how happy I am when I got a tweet from Nix Nicolas. I was really ecstatic getting the Mt. Tapyas blog post featured in paper.li last April 29, 2013. Thank you!!

Explore the wonderful paradise.

Breathe and Live.

and Enjoy.

-o-

Coron Invasion

CORON, PALAWAN - is considered to be one of the best vacation and tourism spot in the Philippines. Known for its great natural beauty and ecosystem, this is the best place for people who would love to do wreck diving, snorkeling, island-hopping, sun-worshiping and exploring. 

You might be wondering what am I doing here in Coron. If you are guessing that I'm here for vacation, you are definitely wrong. I'm on my internship in Environmental Legal Assistance Center, Inc. (ELAC) under the Ateneo Human Rights Center of ADMU. The significance of this internship program is to provide  law students the experience in order for us to acquire the knowledge, skills and attitude of being a human rights lawyer who renders service to sectors who are vulnerable to human rights violations. In my case, I advocate the rights of the people to a balanced and healthful ecology and campaign against the further impairment and destruction of our ecosystem and environment. However, apart from the law internship, I take this chance to see and appreciate the exquisiteness of the rock formations, white sands, coral reefs and crystal clear water of their seas. In short, a mini-vacation for me. Yey!

To start my Coron Adventure, my boss invited me to an overnight in Nici Island. It is a private island owned by his Brazilian client. 

It took us 1 hour bangka ride going to the island.

My boss asked me what could be the possible reasons why there are no trees on the mountains. I was thinking maybe its because of mining or illegal logging; but to my surprise its due to the soils acidic consistency because of  the oozing large amount of manganese underneath it.

Look at the pretty and clean water of Coron. No wonder, people from Coron are really advocating their environmental rights to have a balanced and healthful ecology. Let's maintain cleanliness and the integrity of the ecosystem and stop the further destruction of coral reefs and the habitat.

Ta-daaa. Look at the house. Its a simple bungalow house with 3 bedrooms. The client owns the whole island, so we were taking (with my boss) and we said that it would be more beautiful if it was a glass house. Apart from that, there are two things which surprised me.

First,  they have a built in pool and its actually intended to be an infinity pool, overlooking the wide ocean view from the top of the island.

and Second, this Lawn Tennis court at the backyard. I just can't believe  that this actually exist in the island. :D I was beyond my expectation.

After, looking around the island, we decided to go snorkeling before it gets dark. What's amazing is that the place is a coral reef laboratory (as what they call it). There are great and amazing coral reefs and fishes. Below, are some underwater photos which we took when we snorkeled around the are. 

Hard Coral reef with black weeds/fern.

This is one of my favorite, a spiral coral. I love how its spirals resembles a rose.

This is quite blurry, but look at the blue fishes. :D

They look pine trees, its just that they are found underwater. I wonder if fishes also celebrate Christmas. *kidding.

Lastly, this is also another favorite. I actually don't know what the blue thing is but I love how it was taken and with that small black fish. Too bad, it was not Nemo. :D hehehe. I'm expecting more fun before my internship ends, hopefully, I could go snorkelling again and take more great underwater photos. 

 Do what we can, summer will have its flies

- Raplh Emmerson 

~x~x~x~

o