Snorkeling at Imorigue Island
So you have done all the tours in El Nido Palawan from Tours A, B, C, D and E. The west side of El Nido, the Bacuit Bay in particular does have dramatic limestone karst islands and captivating beaches, but El Nido doesn’t end there. The other side, the El Nido east coast holds more islands to explore and stunning white sand beaches to bum around. Sibaltan is the jump off point for these island adventures. I have written about some of the islands of Linapacan, now discover the limestone island of Imorigue Island. From afar it looks daunting but the locals swear on how rich the marine life surrounding its waters are.
Imorigue Island seen from the side angle
Imorigue Island
We were on a small outrigger boat good only for about 6–8 people. I joined a foreign couple, judging from their language, they were from France which I have been used to hearing by now knowing a lot of French business men in El Nido. I was hoping I didn’t ruin their supposedly “Private Tour” with me tagging along but they don’t seem to mind. The waves were their usual self, not too rough and manageable and the sun was way up promising a good day. We were approaching Imorigue Island, and I got amused on how its shape changes as we got closer. From the shore, it looks like a small towering island, almost pyramid-like but when we were already beside it, I marvelled at its length. It’s like one of the many islands in Bacuit Bay that got lost somewhere and ended up on this side. There were also limestone walls where balinsasayaw (swiftlet) harvesters stay.
We passed by another islet towards the other end of the island. Under the island shade we stopped on our first snorkel spot. The water was deep blue and everyone was excited to jump in. The current was moderate and it was easy to swim in. The water clarity is not as good as the one in Binulbulan Island when we island-hopped Linapacan. But the corals here were quite expansive and impressive. I did not see the big fishes there but the tropical fishes were plenty. I had a good enough time to snorkel before we moved to our next stop.
The island view from the side with an islet
Some small fishes near this coral
Pristine set of corals
Our guide diving near the reef wall
Cabbage like corals fill the wall
A closer look at the coral
Malapari Islet and Dewil River mangrove on the next pages…
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