Today was Christmas Day – and what better to do on that day, than heading out for reefs and beaches on an island hopping trip in the tropics?

Well – today saw us going for an all island hopping trip around El Nido with stops at various spots and beaches.

In the morning we made our way to the beach (after a quick stop at one of the dive shops, to rent fins, for those wanting them), waded to our boat – to then leave the bay and head towards the islands, with the Big Lagoon being our first stop.

We arrived in front of the big lagoon about an hour later – options here included kayaking and snorkeling. I went for the snorkeling, which was a bit of disappointment – the water in the lagoon was quiet dirty, there was also not too much to see. And the reef in front of the lagoon was pretty much destroyed by the ships mooring.

Well … we left the spot after about an hour and were back in the water about twenty minutes later … this time at a more intact reef with colorful coral and plenty of even more colorful fish.

We spend about 45 minutes snorkeling, to then continue for Papaya Beach, where we had a long lunch break – plenty of time to dig into the delicious food, have a read, take some (or more) photos – and yet another snorkeling option (Nemo found).

Final stop of the day was at yet another beach – Paradise Beach – perfect for even more snorkeling. 😉

Meanwhile the weather had changed a bit, the sky was overcast by now and we could clearly see the rain coming at the horizon. Well – we were wet and on the way back into town anyhow, so no harm done here.