TAO EXPEDITION Day 1: From Coron to Patcy (A Photo Essay) @TaoPhilippines

01/04/2017 Updated Blog Post: TAO Philippines: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at What Makes @TAOPhilippines Successful?

Meet our Tao Expedition group: Dallas and Miranda from Wisconsin, Adrian and Raqui from New York, Rich from UK, and Alex from Germany. 

Day 1 of the expedition was dedicated to exploring the islands around Coron, snorkeling around the different shipwrecks, and making our way to the small island of Patchelyn (Patcy for short), in between Coron and Culion.

Here’s a photo essay of our Day 1 TAO EXPEDITION experience from Coron to Patcy…

We took a tricycle (P20/ride) to the Main Port of Coron, just in time for the 8am call time.

My bag configuration for this trip…

• A day bag (green Deuter travel bag) to use for the day and when going down to basecamp;
• A main bag (black Deuter computer bag) for valuables and other stuff to leave on the boat; and
• A dry bag to protect gadgets.

Check out Deuter bags for your next travel adventure: http://www.deuter.com/

The Tao Boat named Aurora Una, which has a capacity of 24 people including the crew.

The 7 crew members introduced themselves one-by-one:

• Romy (Expedition Leader)
• Jeric (Asst. Expedition Leader)
• Jomar and JR (All-around Guys)
• Kapitan Junior
• Ronel (Chief Mechanic)
• Jeff (Chief Cook)

The beer, soda, juices, and rum are loaded with ice, ready for the expedition. 🙂 

The restroom at the back of the boat.

Coffee and Ginger Tea are kept hot and served throughout the day.

Everyone must wear their life jacket for the inspection of the coast guard before we are cleared to go. 

It was a brilliant idea to have expedition dogs on the boat–a Jack Russel named Tom, and his sister from another father, Lapita.

Breakfast is served on the boat as we kick off the expedition. 

Bread

Scrambled Eggs 

Sweet, fresh Watermelon for dessert. 🙂

The best breakfast can actually be found at the back of the kitchen.

Sinigang na hipon with rice!

Chief Cook Jeff, the person responsible for the yummy food on board Aurora Una. 🙂

Throughout the trip we would go trawl fishing and use this bait to catch fish.

We had new snorkels and masks in time for the start of the Tao Expedition season this October.

First stop is snorkeling to see the Japanese gunboat wreck that sank on Sept. 23, 1943 during World War 2, in the east side of Sangat Island.

Don’t forget to apply sunscreen and reapply after every swim, or after 2 hours to avoid sunburn.

A great time to learn new tricks, like the back flip.

First merienda is half-moon cookies from Coron Bakery.

Romy showing us the expedition route for the day, to give context on where we are and where we’re headed.

Meet the lovely couple Raqui and Adrian from New York City.

Second stop is the Lusong gunboat shipwreck, which is located in shallow waters. 

Lunch is usually a home-cooked Filipino meal of fresh catch of the day and vegetables from the market. 
Cucumber and Tomato salad

Shrimps!

Cabbage, Carrots, and Beans

Fried Fish

Meals are always best with ice-cold San Miguel Beer. 🙂

Meet the beautiful Physical Therapist couple from Wisconsin–Dallas and Miranda. 

 

 

Third stop is the 1-km Coral Garden at the other side of Lusong Island, where we spotted green turtles.

The water is clear and the coral garden is beautiful and long.

Thanks to Jomar for helping me take pictures while on our kayak.

Kapitan Junior, always smiling throughout our trip. 🙂

The best spot on the boat is the honeymoon suite on top, which can accommodate four beds.

Before the sun sets, we finally arrive at Patchelyn Island basecamp.

Banana-cue merienda before exploring the basecamp.

Hammocks on the beach are popular resting spots for the expeditioners. 

I love that you actually get to sleep on the beach in a beach hut, and they set up a mattress with a mosquito net.

The restrooms at the basecamp. There’s no electricity so better do your thing before lights out.

We decided to visit the fishing village on the island by walking through the mangroves.

Island life is simple, and Tao gives you the perfect immersion in this kind of life.

The main industry on the island is fishing. 

A middleman buys all the fish from the fishermen.

He consolidates the seafood and puts it on ice.

The middleman then sells it in Coron town the next day.

You can also support the local economy by buying from the sari-sari store on the island. 

We visited the Church built by the Tao project after the old one was destroyed by the typhoon. 

It’s a simple church on the island.

We prayed for safety and a good voyage for our expedition to El Nido.

It’s now time for the Tao Sundowner–Tanduay rum + Del Monte Pineapple Juice + Kalamansi (Philippine lemon)!

The best part of the day!

We taught the guests how to play the Philippine version of Gin Rummy—Tong-its!

The beautiful sunset at Patcy island.

Don’t miss the opportunity take a sunset shot with your special someone.

The shower situation on the island at night.

It’s best if you have a head lamp so that your hands are free to do things. 

We literally just hung around and talked. There’s no mobile phone signal, and it’s actually suggested that you keep all your electronics for the next 5 days.

Dinner is served!

Morning Glory or Kangkong.

Tomato and Labanos (Raddish).

Eat-all-you-can Grilled Catch of the day! 

Best of all, the sawsawan of chili vinegar, garlic chili, and soy sauce–concocted especially for the Tao expedition.

Our tour mates raved about all the Filipino meals we had this day. I’m happy! 🙂

Ended the night playing Texas Hold ‘Em with a German and a Brit…

to be continued…

Aurora Una

P.S. Bring your favorite card games and board games so you can play throughout the expedition.