Kayangan Lake: Getting there before everyone else did

On our second day, we went on an island-hopping tour in Coron, which was why we stayed there in the first place. I won't really detail every attraction we visited or every site where we spent snorkeling because everybody knows about Twin Peaks, Twin Lagoon, CYC Beach, etc. Plus, of course, there were still a lot of spots we haven't visited (you need several tours for that), including Malcapuya that I've been aching to see. But I can't have it all in one day.

But what I did have that day was about an hour of peace and quiet, of exclusivity, at Kayangan Lake. It was really on top of my list and thankfully it was our first stop. I was after the chance to photograph the place with no people around since in a lot of pictures I've seen of Kayangan, orange life vests dotted the frame, instantly ruining everything. And boy was I lucky, if only momentarily. So let me share with you a couple of shots I took.

Picture-perfect scenery. A mixture of fresh and seawater, Kayangan Lake has been touted as the cleanest lake in the Philippines, in Asia, in wherever - I don't care. It's clean, period. 

Serenity captured. It's nice to see the waters so placid that you can still get a clear shot of what's underneath.

Wooden walkways have been built for the convenience of visitors obviously. Mind you, it can get really crowded, so I savored the moment.

My Bibe and I enjoyed some 30 minutes of swimming in the lake all to ourselves (and our guide who just can't stop swimming) until a family of four and two Caucasians arrived. It was just fine, especially since they just kept to themselves.

More minutes came and we could already hear from afar yelling and laughing fast approaching. It was what I dreaded most: Pinoys in tour groups. True enough to the very reasons I despise them, they were extremely noisy, impolite, they hogged the platforms like they owned them, they didn't care about our things that were there before they came, kids whining all over (Mommy, where's my swimsuit, where are my trunks?) with the mommy answering in an equally loud tone (to think they were just nearly beside each other), etc.

We immediately left all the chaos. Interestingly, the small group that came right after us also left at that same instant. And on our way back, more noisy and whining people (Malapit na ba? Ang layo naman!) were coming.

Getting to the lake, as everyone may know, entails a short climb from the beach and then a descent. The photo below shows the breathtaking scenery right before you start your descent to the lake. Yes, pictures of this spot are a dime a dozen but I felt I had to take my own.

This was the scene at the beach upon our arrival, still calm and peaceful. I would have wanted to come much earlier but the tour operator said there are swarms of mosquitoes around if we arrived too early.

When we came back, the place was jammed with boats.

So it was definitely off to our next stop.