The waters of El Nido in The Philippines’ is wriggling with life thanks to its some 360 square kilometres of protected marine reserve since 1984 as a turtle sanctuary. In fact the El Nido-Taytay Managed Resource Protected Area is the largest protected marine area in the Philippines, and not only has it become a major eco-tourism destination, but the surrounding fishermen have also benefited from the new diversity and health of its waters. Its like an underwater garden of Eden, and locals are prospering from its spillovers. The area is living proof that marine life has the ability bounce back in diversity and beauty from nothing thanks to blast fishing that wipes out entire coral reefs and all of its inhabitants. So our travel guru Anne Berry takes us with her on a kayak journey through the set of pristine islands.

Shot by Anne Berry [ @annecberry ].