After some time, we were to our last destination – Siete Pecados. They said it was one of the greatest snorkeling spots. And yes, the place was really great!

Just the day before, our tour guide told us of the myth of the place. Siete Pecados is named such because it is believed that there were 7 kids left behind in the island. Wanting to escape from the island, they swam and swam. Unfortunately, no one made it out of the sea alive. Where they drowned is where new 7 isolated islands in the middle of the sea are located. The biggest and farthest, as the tourist guide narrates, was the eldest son.

Finally, we were able to reach the place. At first, you wouldn’t notice that there were 7, but as we came closer it was evident. We were told that the fishes here are protected from fishermen, hence there was a keeper. And some fees too.

And the hype didn’t fail us! We saw really great corals! and great fishes too!

What a great way to end our island hopping. It was sad leaving the place, but it was great that we were able to explore this part of our country! I’d definitely go back!

Everyone was tired from yesterday’s activities. Everyone can still feel the pain from climbing the mountain. We all planned to make this day as a relaxing one, not like yesterday where we visited as much as we can. This day, we were to enjoy the view more, stay at the different places longer and just have fun.

i woke early though, just in time for sunrise. Well not really. Our hotel was positioned at the other side, it was a great place to see the sunset, but not the sunrise. However, I saw a great view of the moon. I call it the moonset. It seemed like the sunset because it was full moon.

Everyone woke up just about the time when I and one of my friends came from the dawn mass. We all ate breakfast and took things slowly. We then went to the market to buy food and supplies we were to use for the day. We talked about our plans for the day. We decided that we won’t go to Barracuda lake since we were afraid of it. I would have wanted to go, but we wanted this day to just be a relaxing one. We’ve decided we’re going to hang out at beaches and have one last snorkeling at the

We left really late! Had we planned to do the Mountain trek and Hot Spring this time, we surely would not have enough time to visit other places. But it was ok, we planned to just eat at the beach since it was nearly lunch time already.

We arrived at Beach 69 about half an hour before noon. They said it was called as such because it was the Batch 69 of a group of students who named it. The tourist guide set out to prepare our lunch while we enjoyed the place. It was yet another one of those beaches that didn't have people! Just perfect! I'm sure in a few years time, this won't happen as tourists are slowly flocking there already.

We had a grand time at the places. Most took pictures. I experimented with my underwater camera. I also practiced snorkeling with a flipper. I also let them use the camera to go to the deeper areas of the beach since they said the corals were good!

We had lunch when it was ready! As usual, we enjoyed our food. Some took the time after to rest and have a quick nap. I took more and more pictures, but sadly my camera’s battery was drained again. We did rest a lot at this place and took more and more fun shots.

One of the options was to go up Mt. Tapyas and see sunset from there (I love sunsets!). After that we will go to Maquinit hot springs to relax our must-have-been tired bodies from the climb. Other options included shopping, taking a rest or just bum around.

I secretly had the intention of going to each and every place possible. When this idea opened up, I set up a plan on how to make everyone agree. I mentioned that if we do this in the morning instead, we might be too tired to do other things, or that if we do it late morning and we were late, it would be too hot to climb and that the hot springs would be hotter due to the sun.

And they agreed! It meant that we could go to more places the next day too!

After our last destination, Twin Lagoon (also known as twin rocks), we already concluded our island hopping for the day. The boatman and tourist guide brought us to a place near the market to disembark. From this venue, we hired a tricycle (a motorcycle with a side car) to bring us back to hotel (to drop off our snorkeling gear and bring items like food and camera), wait for us, bring us to Mt Tapyas, (wait for us again), go to Maquinit hot springs (then wait for us, yet again) then bring us back to the hotel. Expense wise-that was our big mistake – first, to not agree on a price, and to let him wait a lot. However, looking back, we at least didn’t have any problem at all.

We arrived at the foot of the mountain looking ahead with all smiles. We also had a mission, to count the number of steps it would take to reach the summit. Along the way, some took it seriously, others just waited for their turn. When we reached the top – it was tiring. Maybe we could blame it on excitement (in our turn to count,we outpaced ourselves to finish early) or maybe lack of preparation (not all of us maximize the Gym benefits we had).

We reached the top and counted it 722 (it was actually wrong). However, reaching the summit was great. You can see the view of the whole islands. Our tour guide also mentioned the myth on how the siete pecados was created, which you could see from the top. Some stories were also exchanged. It seemed we reached the summit earlier than planned, sunset would be around an hour away. So we just stayed and enjoyed the view. We also took lots and lots of pictures!

You could also probably see our sunset shots, and our favorite shot of all. After the sunset we all went down looking forward to our next destination – hot springs. Descending, we noticed that our legs were shaking – and we were not controlling it. But the view was still great. We were all expecting to rest from all days activities as well, we discussed dinner and our plans for the next day. When we reached our tricycle, we asked to stop by a local sari-sari store (its like your local 7-11 but smaller) to buy drinks then off we went to the hot springs. It took quite some time, as we passed different barangays, and we arrive there night time.

The Maquinit hot springs were really hot. I guess its name was derived from the tagalog word Mainit- meaning hot, but I could be wrong too. They say it was the only salt water hot spring in the country! They said it was 40 degrees celsius (yep, that hot!) and it was night time already. If we did it the next day, as one suggested, it might have been too hot. Some of my friends enjoyed it as it cooled the tired muscles. They all even went to the hottest area. But I couldn’t take it. It was so hot that I felt my wounds open up. Maybe it was a mind over matter thing that I failed again. I just rested on the edge and splashed the water from time to time.

After about an hour, we left the place feelind rejuvinated and ready for dinner, sleeping and the next day.

We decided that we wanted to see the sunset in a great location. The tour guides suggested that we climb Mt. Tapyas. With this, we ended our first day of island hopping and prepared for our next destination.

After some time, our food was cooked and we enjoyed our meal! Afterwards, we took more and more and more pictures while some decided to take some quick after lunch nap.

After some time, we finally decided to leave the island to go and enjoy the other sights and destinations of the Calamian group of islands. We also made sure that we took all that we brought to the island; not only because it was the mayor’s rule to the tour guides, but we also wanted to ensure we preserve the beauty of the place by not leaving anything behind.

We enjoyed the place. For most part, we were the only people in that beach. Perfect for peace, serenity and time with friends.

We were lucky. We were the first group who arrived in the vicinity (leaving the town so early). The island is home to the Tagbanua tribe who have lived in the island for centuries. They would charge you a nominal fee to enter and they presumably use the money to improve and protect its natural beauty.

Going to the lake is challenging. Disembarking from your boat, you would need to climb more up more than a hundred steps, then go down a hundred more to reach the lake. Upon reaching the top, you would be greeted with a fascinating view of the area, from where you came from, a picturesque view of islands, probably the most photographed view in the whole of Palawan and to where you are headed, a beautiful lake awaits.

Stop a little, take a rest, enjoy the view. Take more and more portrait and landscape shots. The climb is definitely worth it.

Climbing down you’d see some small wooden (rattan) makeshift steps and seats where you can leave your belongings. You can then dive to the lake and enjoy having a peaceful swim. You can also snorkel around and see some corals and fishes. The lake is surrounded by huge rock and limestone formations and lush greeneries.

Personally, I would never forget this place. This was where I got the courage to snorkel alone and built my courage for the tougher snorkeling areas in the next places.

After a few hours, we decided to leave the place and go to the other beautiful destinations. Just this place alone made me think I was already in paradise. Looking back, this was my favorite destination in Coron as it had me at hello.

Background:
Kayangan lake is a freshwater lake located in Coron Island province of Palawan in the Philippines. It is also sometimes referred to as Blue Lagoon.

Some more info:
Visiting hours is between 8am to 4pm.
This lake was awarded as the cleanest lake in the country.
The entrace fee is 200Php (US$5 for a 40Php to US$1 conversion)