Palawan and its Outer Islands, Philippines
January 6 - February 3, 2001

The Heraclitus left Puerto Princessa behind and set off on a cruising expedition of the outer islands of Palawan, heading for TayTay Bay, Coron and ultimately El Nido on the north west side of Palawan.  A pattern was soon established of non-stop diving and moving the ship, anchoring for a night or two off the many beautiful islands.  The reefs they dived showed the inevitable signs of devastation, fishermen having raped the reefs for all they could gather with whatever methods necessary - cyanide, dynamite.  Hard corals have taken the brunt of their actions.  There were no large schools of pelagics here, yet a great diversity of small reef fish and brightly coloured soft corals give some sense of survival.

At Cotad Island some of the crew climbed the fields of long grass to find themselves hanging over sheer drops of limestone and a glorious view of the open sea beneath them.  They beat a path throw thorny overgrowth to make it back down to the beach in time to watch the full moon rise behind two palm trees.  That night, the shipís night watch was rewarded with a lunar eclipse.

The Heraclitus set her own pace to enjoy the ever-changing ocean landscape but limestone formations are a firm constant in this part of Palawan.  Nabat was the ultimate piece of limestone sculpture - an island that resembled a steel grey camelís back shooting out of the water.  Its overhangs were streaked by rainfall and provided a home for bats and swallows whose nests are guarded carefully.

At Guintungauan the ship anchored carefully between pearl farms and ship wrecks in the bay, in front of a wall of limestone cliffs.  Strange winds surged over the tops at night, bringing strong gusts to the bow.  The crew taught each other about clouds, winds, tides and tusnamis.

The diving on the wrecks was interesting, making mental comparisons between the coral reefs and these ëman-madeí reefs.  Spadefish guarded each sunken ship and had abandoned their usual shy behaviour.

The golden hills of Busuanga led the way to Coron where the Heraclitus spent a week exploring Barracuda Lake with snorkels, dive gear and cameras.  This was not an easy dive since the equipment had to be carried over a ridge of sharp limestone that separates the lake from the sea.  But the underwater scenery made it worth the effort - rock pinnacles, a gothic cathedral formation, and crazy thermoclines in the dark and sulphurous depths.  Unfortunately, the crew did not meet the lone barracuda from which the lake gets its name but were reassured that he has been sighted recently.

After a voyage of 130 miles around the tip of Palawan, the Heraclitus arrived in the El Nido area to find caves carved into the sides of the small islands in Bacuit Bay.  Shades of jades and sounds of stone amphitheatres.  The crew drifted silently in lagoons and made music on the slate needles.

Once anchored next to Cadlao Island, the month of cruising was over and preparation for a voyage on the South China Sea began.  The original destination was to be Cambodia but there was a sudden change in plan at the last minute, the crewís fate decided by a disaster back in Puerto Princessa - passports, shipís papers and money were stolen from the Captain at the end of a frantic day in the city.  Singapore became the obvious place for the ship to head for, where friends could help in replacing the necessary paperwork and changes in the crew would be more straightforward than in Cambodia.