On a beautiful summer day last July we left the main coast of Palawan just north of its capital Puerto Princesa on a small banca (wood and bamboo outrigger) to go island hopping in Honda Bay. Within about 20 minutes we saw ominous gray clouds fast rolling in towards us. By then we were in the middle of the water, far from any shore, and not long after the rains bursting out of the clouds ahead of us were plain to see:
Honda Bay, Philippines, 2009
As we glided on, we got closer to the rain...
...and my friends - who are neither as adventurous nor as strong swimmers as my honey and me - were getting visibly unnerved as the water got more turbulent and the banca swayed with the waves.
So we stopped at the first island to wait out any danger in these nipa beach huts. Even with this gray sky and the intermittent downpours, the sun did occasionally peak through and I relished being in this tropical paradise:
Starfish Island, Honda Bay, 2009
Our Pinoy friends were incredulous that we went snorkeling in the rain:
Fortunately, it did not take long before the darkest clouds moved on and before leaving the island I still walked to the end of the beach and the mangrove, with my camera, of course:
Despite a few raindrops, the ride back to the main shore was much calmer, and so were my friends.
This blog joins the meme SkyWatch Friday and by clicking on the link you'll find links to many more amazing skies from all over the planet. Clicking on my photos will give you a larger view of them.