I have heard of Honda Bay before, b
ut had deliberately not prioritized it. One of my office buddies, Tats, had at some point decided to buy land in Puerto Princesa, and had been convincing the office gang to visit once he finishes setting up. His land overlooks Honda Bay, he said, and it has a magnificent view. Although I was happy for him, I remembember thinking "Why would I want to go swimming in a bay?!", visions of Laguna de Bay swimming in my head. Hahaha! Tanga! 'P So I went to Boracay and Puerto Galera and Bohol...etc...etc...but never really seriously planned on going to Honda Bay. Big mistake. Huge!
ut had deliberately not prioritized it. One of my office buddies, Tats, had at some point decided to buy land in Puerto Princesa, and had been convincing the office gang to visit once he finishes setting up. His land overlooks Honda Bay, he said, and it has a magnificent view. Although I was happy for him, I remembember thinking "Why would I want to go swimming in a bay?!", visions of Laguna de Bay swimming in my head. Hahaha! Tanga! 'P So I went to Boracay and Puerto Galera and Bohol...etc...etc...but never really seriously planned on going to Honda Bay. Big mistake. Huge!Toyang & Tweety, quite fortunately, found herself in Puerto Princes
a a year ago, soon after her wedding to Hubby Sweet. We had initially decided to put off travelling for the honeymoon, what with our budgets running low, and had initially decided to just take a road trip somewhere. As the wedding drew near and as our nerves started to fray, however, we decided we needed to get out after all. We needed to take a trip somewhere to recover, if only for a few days. =) The only criteria we set was that neither of us should have been to that place with anybody else before--quite a feat considering my traveling nature and the budget constraints. Hahaha. Ngyaaaahhhhh.....=) With our budgets nowhere near what we would need to go to Coron, that's basically how we discovered Puerto Princesa, Dos Palmas and island-hopping in Honda Bay. =)
a a year ago, soon after her wedding to Hubby Sweet. We had initially decided to put off travelling for the honeymoon, what with our budgets running low, and had initially decided to just take a road trip somewhere. As the wedding drew near and as our nerves started to fray, however, we decided we needed to get out after all. We needed to take a trip somewhere to recover, if only for a few days. =) The only criteria we set was that neither of us should have been to that place with anybody else before--quite a feat considering my traveling nature and the budget constraints. Hahaha. Ngyaaaahhhhh.....=) With our budgets nowhere near what we would need to go to Coron, that's basically how we discovered Puerto Princesa, Dos Palmas and island-hopping in Honda Bay. =) Used to ocean waves, the first thing that struck me about Honda Bay was the relative calmness of the water. Except for the tiny waves created by our banca as it navigated through, Honday Bay was almost still. I remember thinking it felt a lot like travelling on a flat mirror. Several islets littered the bay, with Dos Palmas being among the last and most remo
te. Almost an hour away from the dock of Puerto Princesa, it pretty much explains why it was easy for the notorious Abu Sayyaf to run off with their hostages. (That was in the past though. Learning from the experience, Honda Bay is now secured by regular, but very discreet, Marine patrols.)
te. Almost an hour away from the dock of Puerto Princesa, it pretty much explains why it was easy for the notorious Abu Sayyaf to run off with their hostages. (That was in the past though. Learning from the experience, Honda Bay is now secured by regular, but very discreet, Marine patrols.)Each of these islands have unbelievably white, almost-powder like sand. Still in their relatively pristine form, unharmed by waves upon waves of visitors, I actually now prefer the beaches of Honda Bay over the crowded beaches of Boracay. Maybe it also has a lot to do with my frame of mind. During my younger years, the theme was party (with triple !!!)--hahaha! Older and hopefully more mature, my focus is now peace and family.
On this particular visit one year hence, there were tiny ripples on the water, but still not as big as the waves I've been used to. One year ago, our Honda Bay island hopping tour brought Hubby Sweet and me to Arreceffi (where Dos Palmas is), Starfish
Island and Snake Island. This time--with The Legend tour--the stop was primarily in Pandan and Snake Island, with "running tours" of the rest of the islands: Cowrie, Bat, Canon, Lu-Li (for lulubog-lilitaw =)), Senorita and Meara Marina. I asked Guide Echo why this year's island hopping tour had different stops compared to the ones we had the year before. He explained that the stops had everything to do with who owns the rights to the island. Dos Palmas owned Arreceffi and had rights to Starfish. The Legend apparently owns the right to Pandan Island. Snake Island (named so because of its curvaceous, tongue shape) is the only island on Honda Bay whose rights were not (and will never be) assigned to any private individual or corporation.
I've snorkelled in every single beach I've been to, but none compares to the snorkelling in Honda Bay. Fish literally swarm around you. Not just any beautiful, but relatively generic fish, mind you, but fish that I did not even know existed. My absolute favorite were the slim silver-blue-green fish with syringe-like snouts. They all look like swimming injections. Hahaha! =) Them, and the polka-dotted clownfish that had even Sister Pusjing absolutely delighted. Snorkelling in Honda Bay goes way beyond the feeling of diving into a very big aquarium of tropical fish. Every turn surprises you with a different coral, a different fish color, a different fish shape, a different fish size, a different fish specie. I've seen the most beautiful, most colorful fish in Honda Bay; I have also seen the ugliest, dullest looking stone-like fish in it. (Strangely, I got just as excited over the ugly one. Hahaha!)
If you hold out a piece of bread, entire schools of fish will swim around you and eat off your hands. (Niece Patita had the time of her life feeding them, it was as if she opened a cafeteria for the different
schools! Hahaha. =)) Not all of them are friendly though; some can be quite territorial. Swimming through corals, I inevitably found myself being threatened by one small fish. Hahaha! He charged at me like some schoolyard bully and--if you can imagine it--stared me down. (If looks could kill!) Probably realizing that he was no match for my size, he eventually backed down and retreated quickly to his coral home, only to charge back up--this time with another fish in tow. Kumuha lang pala ng resbak! Hahaha! ATTACK OF THE PALM-SIZED FISH! HAHAHA!!! I wanted to laugh, and was quite honestly enjoying myself, but I thought I'd better get off their "backyard" before the entire reef comes charging at me. Hehe. 'P Good thinking. Soon after I moved on, a guy swimming in the vicinity that I had just left abruptly pulled off his mask and started screaming, "Aray! Aray! Aray! Leche, kinakagat ako ng mga isda!" HAHAHAHAHA!!! I had apparently incited a revolution and left someone else to deal with it. Haha! 'P
On this particular visit one year hence, there were tiny ripples on the water, but still not as big as the waves I've been used to. One year ago, our Honda Bay island hopping tour brought Hubby Sweet and me to Arreceffi (where Dos Palmas is), Starfish
Island and Snake Island. This time--with The Legend tour--the stop was primarily in Pandan and Snake Island, with "running tours" of the rest of the islands: Cowrie, Bat, Canon, Lu-Li (for lulubog-lilitaw =)), Senorita and Meara Marina. I asked Guide Echo why this year's island hopping tour had different stops compared to the ones we had the year before. He explained that the stops had everything to do with who owns the rights to the island. Dos Palmas owned Arreceffi and had rights to Starfish. The Legend apparently owns the right to Pandan Island. Snake Island (named so because of its curvaceous, tongue shape) is the only island on Honda Bay whose rights were not (and will never be) assigned to any private individual or corporation.I've snorkelled in every single beach I've been to, but none compares to the snorkelling in Honda Bay. Fish literally swarm around you. Not just any beautiful, but relatively generic fish, mind you, but fish that I did not even know existed. My absolute favorite were the slim silver-blue-green fish with syringe-like snouts. They all look like swimming injections. Hahaha! =) Them, and the polka-dotted clownfish that had even Sister Pusjing absolutely delighted. Snorkelling in Honda Bay goes way beyond the feeling of diving into a very big aquarium of tropical fish. Every turn surprises you with a different coral, a different fish color, a different fish shape, a different fish size, a different fish specie. I've seen the most beautiful, most colorful fish in Honda Bay; I have also seen the ugliest, dullest looking stone-like fish in it. (Strangely, I got just as excited over the ugly one. Hahaha!)
If you hold out a piece of bread, entire schools of fish will swim around you and eat off your hands. (Niece Patita had the time of her life feeding them, it was as if she opened a cafeteria for the different
schools! Hahaha. =)) Not all of them are friendly though; some can be quite territorial. Swimming through corals, I inevitably found myself being threatened by one small fish. Hahaha! He charged at me like some schoolyard bully and--if you can imagine it--stared me down. (If looks could kill!) Probably realizing that he was no match for my size, he eventually backed down and retreated quickly to his coral home, only to charge back up--this time with another fish in tow. Kumuha lang pala ng resbak! Hahaha! ATTACK OF THE PALM-SIZED FISH! HAHAHA!!! I wanted to laugh, and was quite honestly enjoying myself, but I thought I'd better get off their "backyard" before the entire reef comes charging at me. Hehe. 'P Good thinking. Soon after I moved on, a guy swimming in the vicinity that I had just left abruptly pulled off his mask and started screaming, "Aray! Aray! Aray! Leche, kinakagat ako ng mga isda!" HAHAHAHAHA!!! I had apparently incited a revolution and left someone else to deal with it. Haha! 'PThere were other groups by the time we got to Snake Island. My tip is that if you find yourself in this situation, stay away from the groups of people. Ask perm
ission from your guide to go to the end with very few folks. Where there are less people, there are more schools of fish. =) I wish I had an underwater camera to take pictures, but I suppose it's just as well that I didn't. No picture can ever fully capture the experience. While it may be true that there are other better snorkelling spots in the world, that in Honda Bay tops my list for now.
ission from your guide to go to the end with very few folks. Where there are less people, there are more schools of fish. =) I wish I had an underwater camera to take pictures, but I suppose it's just as well that I didn't. No picture can ever fully capture the experience. While it may be true that there are other better snorkelling spots in the world, that in Honda Bay tops my list for now. 'Twas a good day.
'Twas good to find ourselves back in Honday Bay. =)
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WORD OF CAUTION: De
pending on the season (I say that because I did not experience it last time), you might fall prey to sandmites. Having said that, it would be good to wear a rash guard and lay towels on the sand (and on the hammocks and benches) before you think of lying down. The thing with sandmites is that you don't know that you've been bitten. The rashes usually appear a day after and all of a sudden, you feel like you've been stung by some insect that causes the itchiest (no joke, as in ITCHIEST!) bugbites in the world! Learn from Toyang & Tweety's experience: JUST PAT, DO NOT SCRATCH!!!! I scratched them and now I have pockmarks all over. WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! My cousin recommended Nerisona Forte to get rid of the itch. 'Twas pretty effective; stopped the itch and dried the bites up in a few days. You might want to keep it in hand should you find yourself in the same situation.
pending on the season (I say that because I did not experience it last time), you might fall prey to sandmites. Having said that, it would be good to wear a rash guard and lay towels on the sand (and on the hammocks and benches) before you think of lying down. The thing with sandmites is that you don't know that you've been bitten. The rashes usually appear a day after and all of a sudden, you feel like you've been stung by some insect that causes the itchiest (no joke, as in ITCHIEST!) bugbites in the world! Learn from Toyang & Tweety's experience: JUST PAT, DO NOT SCRATCH!!!! I scratched them and now I have pockmarks all over. WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! My cousin recommended Nerisona Forte to get rid of the itch. 'Twas pretty effective; stopped the itch and dried the bites up in a few days. You might want to keep it in hand should you find yourself in the same situation. 
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