My Share for #BeautifulSunday initiated by @ace108

All adventures come to an end but not before I share with you an unexpected encounter in this journey. During our boating tour, three locations were part of it. We went out snorkeling in Sombrero Island, we visited the caves of Sepoc Beach and the third one was turtle watching. Some of you might wonder, "What happened to that turtle watching part of it?" In our final episode, I will be sharing with you about that trip. So come on board and listen to my story on the Island of Marikaban here in the Philippines.

 

Ending the Adventure in Marikaban

 

Visit our previous adventures on the beautiful Marikaban Island:

A Getaway to Marikaban Island

Masasa Beach

The Difficult Trail to "Mag Asawang Bato" (Couple Rock)

Kissing the Sky "Mag Asawang Bato"

Underwater Love "Sombrero Island"

The Hidden Treasure of the Island "Sepoc Beach"

The Lagoon of Marikaban

You could also watch and subscribe to our video episodes on the links below:

Masasa Adventure Episode: 1 "Gateway to Marikaban Island
Masasa Adventure Episode: 2 "The Beach"

Masasa Adventure Episode: 3 "Mag Asawang Bato (Couple Rock)"

Masasa Adventure Episode: 4 "Sombrero Island"

Masasa Adventure Episode: 5 "Sepoc Beach Caves"

We had an amazing time at the cave that we visited but it was time to move on and go to our final destination. Our boatman told us there are a lot of sea turtles just lazying out on the site that we are about to go to. Sea turtles are protected here and sometimes you would see one coming up the beach to lay eggs according to the locals.

When we reached the diving site we were handed the goggles and the snorkel again. I was expecting it to be something like what we did at Sombrero Island during fish feeding.

We were ready and my daughter was very eager to jump back in the water. We wanted to see some turtles as this adventure would not be complete unless we see one.

 

After a few minutes we were both in the water and both of us peeked in the water hoping to find a turtle. Our boatman said that we need to hold on that black rope that runs across the boat, also a nylon rope was attached to our life vest. I was wondering why we needed to hang on to the rope and I did not expect that we were in for a surprise.

Holding on to the rope while peeking down below, the boat suddenly moved. I did not expect that the boat would be moving while we hang on, I just hope we were given instructions first as it came to us a bit of a shock being dragged by a boat.

Anyway, after a few minutes, we got the hang of it and we were like flying over the coral reefs below.

Here are some photos while were hovering over.

The speed of the boat was just enough for us to have clear visibility below and if there was a turtle we would spot it right away.

Almost an hour has passed and the only thing that we saw were corals and fishes. We did not want to give up yet and had a go for a couple more minutes. Still not turtles were spotted and we were very disappointing.

Feeling defeated we finally gave up and told our boatman to head back home. As much as we like to search longer our arms were aching from holding on to the rope and it was almost noontime. Both of us were very frustrated and to get our mind off of it we decided to just relax and swim at Masasa Beach instead.

We enjoyed the boat tour but felt incomplete as if the turtles have all left knowing that we were looking for them. Stories of a lot of turtles just sitting on the reef were not true like what the boatman said. I should have asked first some of the tourists if they spotted a turtles.

We tried to have fun and just cool of on the beach and eventually forgot about the turtle.

The water here is so clear and you could easily spot anything below like this piece of coral that has broken off.

My daughter also forgot about our disappointment and just swam to her heart's content in this crystal clear tortoise water.

Night finally came and after having dinner of rice and corned beef we went to our rooms to get some rest from the tiring day. After a few minutes we heard a commotion outside, someone screamed "Ahhhhhh!" People were shouting, "Bilis bilis (Hurry Hurry)". We went outside and my son was already outside and told me that something is going on. I thought there was an accident as people were rushing towards a part of the beach. We went closer wishing that no one is hurt. As we came closer we saw something and upon laying my eyes on it my eyes grew wide and gave me a little bit of chill.

It was a giant sea turtle who found her way on the beach and the locals were saying that she is about to lay some eggs.

We did not see a turtle during our boating trip but this is way much better as it was a close encounter. It was an extraordinary sight and I thought we would never see one on our trip.

We sat there for more than an hour watching the turtle dig its nest. The residents kept telling the folks not to touch it but some are very stubborn. Taking selfies and kept touching the turtle. There was this one particular teenager who wouldn't stop and my daughter kept saying, "Leave her alone, leave her alone give your FB my day post a rest." We got upset as I could see that she was getting stressed out. I wanted to carry the turtle so bad and return her to the ocean so she could find another place to lay some eggs away from the people.

The turtle finally felt threatened and started to head back to the ocean. We felt relieved knowing that she will find another spot to lay eggs in a quieter place where the eggs will be safe. I hope they implement fines if ever you are caught disturbing in their natural state. Teaching the children especially teens that nature should be respected and not everything is about social media. We waited until the turtle was gone and when she reached the shoreline, the crowd also dispersed. We headed back to our rooms and slept soundly knowing that a sea turtle is on her way to a safer place.

Morning has broken and it was the day we leave the island. It was a cold quiet morning and I took a walk on the beach to savor the final hours we have left here.

The sun was slowly waking up and rising from the mountain.

The boats are starting to roll in to get ready to pick up new visitors on the island.

The crows are also enjoying this morning having breakfast from the scraps left on the sand.

Other birds are also spotted catching fish on the shoreline.

I didn't realize that there are so many of them during morning. The chickens doesn't seem to mind sharing their space with the crows.

We were ready to go home and our bags were packed. But before we leave I went back to a spot where I used to hang out. I sat on one of the boats and contemplated the beauty of the island. I kept thinking when will we be back here again as I could not wait even though we have not left yet. If I had enough money, would they let me buy a piece of land here? What life would I have here if we lived here forever? Well, we do not know what the future holds and it is now time to wake up and go back to the noise of city life.

Walking down the trail from once we came leads back to reality. Leaving the island taking with us only memories and photos will serve as a reminder. That there is an island in the Philippines called Marikaban just waiting for us when if ever we want to escape again the chaos in the outside world.

This episode concludes our adventure on the Island of Marikaban. Thank you for taking this trip with us and I hope you enjoyed the tour. If ever you have plans to visit just let me know and I can point you to the right direction.

Until then keep on dreaming and have a beautiful sunday.

 

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All photos are original and taken with

Panasonic Lumix GX85 with 12-32 mm kit lens

 

 

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Posted from my blog with SteemPress : http://watersnake101.steemblogs.club/2020/02/23/ending-the-adventure-in-marikaban-beautiful-sunday/

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