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nel between Tapiutan and Matinloc Islands, we headed that way. In the channel we found a rich man's home in a prime position beside a domed 'Shrine to the Madonna'---a variation I suppose of the Virgin in the Grotto.
Miniloc along with others in the Bay, have been leased by a Japanese-Filipino consortium with highly ambitious plans which, if they succeed, will control tourism in the area. Plans are afoot by them to establish resorts on about a dozen islands. Initially three resorts of five-star standard were built. One of them, due to an electrical short, burnt down before it even opened!
Miniloc is known for its Small Lagoon and Big Lagoon. Our navigation notes were extremely skimpy. Sea Quest followed a tourist laden banca into Small Lagoon but discovered that an anchored diving raft took up all the available anchoring space. At Big Lagoon the situation was no better. There was no deep water channel into the lagoon, as we had surmised. Instead we anchored in 12 fathoms outside the entrance. Inside the lagoon however, the towering walls and lovely scenery made up for the difficulties.
The next afternoon the wind picked up and swung us onto the lee shore. Sea Quest immediately dragged in among the coral heads. We picked up anchor and headed toward South Bay on Lagen Island where we anchored in nine fathoms. The cove was buttressed on both sides by enormous walls of stone like an aquatic Yosemite National Park. A pair of Philippine Eagles patrolled the skies. Here in the semblance of a normal anchorage, we stayed a couple of days.
About a mile offshore was Pinsail rock and a couple of other islets. We took both dinghies out in the early morning calm to explore. On Pinsail we rounded into the entrance of an enormous cave that opened like the maw of a monster. Inside we peered into the soaring ceiling of this aptly named Cathedral Cave as a gentle surge sucked the dinghies to and fro. From a fissure streamed light into the dim interior.
That same evening we again took the two dinghy's along Lagen Island's coast to visit the El Nido resort there. We were kept waiting on the dock quite a while for 'official' permission to visit. Eventually we were allowed to promenade the boulevard and enjoy a cold beer with the resident dive master.
April Fool's Day, 04. And a day lost. Norio needed time to fix his outboard. I needed time to finish the editing of my book so that I could send it back to the publisher by email from El Nido. South Bay was comfortable and we still had a day or two's supply of fresh vegetables. The next day, however, we pulled the anchor out of the muddy bottom to head over to Gudugman Point. Gudugman is almost an island, connected only by a low spit of mangrove to Palawan. We anchored behind the point and motored around to land on its pretty beach. The caretaker was absent but his worried dog set up relentless barking as we explored the hillside for a cave entrance we had been told was here somewhere.
The cave which we had to crawl into opened into
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