With an early start of 5am, we were ready and down to the beach front by 5.30. It wasn't quite as busy as we'd thought, and there weren't as many Filipino men trying to sell the Island hoping tours we thought there would be. Eventually, one guy asked us if we had booked a tour, he offered us the complete tour for 400 pesos each which was cheaper than the previous offers so we took it. I liked the vibe of Alona beach, there was one main strip of cafes, restaurant and dive shops all the way along the front next to the beach, it wasn't too touristy either which is the whole reason we weren't keen to go to Boracay Beach!

The first stop was Dolphin watching which we didn't get to see much of due to the boat having to wait for other guests and leaving later than planned. As we saw dolphins in India and probably the best dolphins in Poole of all places, we weren't too bothered, but it would have been nice. The next stop was the main place for us, Balicasag Island. We had read there were turtles in parts of the water that surrounded the island and I was desperate to see one! On arriving, we had to pay an entry fee of 250 pesos per person which included a guide and then another 250 pesos each for a boat to take us to where the turtles were. Another 1000 pesos (£16) for things we weren't told about was a bit annoying! I did my usual bit and haggled the cost down until we paid only 100 pesos each for the entrance fee but no guide and we said we would just swim out to the area with all the turtles. They tried to tell us the current was too strong to swim it but if a little guy could take the three of us in a paddle boat, I was sure we could swim it!

We kept walking around the island until there were no signs of tourists or shops. We left our bags hidden in a broken boat and wandered out into the open sea. The waves were a little strong to swim against initially but easy enough until we reached the deeper part of the coral. Almost within 30 seconds, Matt was flapping around in front of me, excitedly pointing to something in the distance... and then I saw it! The most graceful and beautiful looking turtle swimming through the water. We both couldn't believe it! From there, we just kept seeing turtles wherever we turned, there were so many! While one turtle only had one fin, another was absolutely massive, almost the length of Matt! They were eating a grass type weed on the bottom of the sea bed. From time to time, they would swim gracefully to the surface for air and then straight back down again. It was just ourselves and the turtles for an hour before we decided to leave them in peace. What an incredible experience!

The next part of the tour was Virgin Island which was a small islet or sand bar with some amazing shallow coral life. There were a few food stalls selling rice and seafood, but not your typical seafood! Sea urchins and seasnales were on the menu which we watched a Japanese couple dive into, it wasn't for us though. We stuck to the deep fried banana instead!

That was the end of our tour, and it had been amazing! Well worth 400 pesos each! On the way back to the shore, it got a tad choppy and the waves were coming up over the boat at some points. It was at that point that everyone else on the boat who were all of Asian ethnicity, informed the captain that none of them could in fact swim... this could get interesting!

Thankfully we arrived safe and sound back onto Alona beach. We went in search of the company I was diving with the next day, Philippine Fun Divers. It seemed a very reputable company so I was pleased. We had a little explore along the beach front and decided to call it a night, I had a big first day of my Open Water PADI tomorrow!