Travel flashback: Coron, Palawan (July 2010)

Since Pol and I agreed to have at least one foreign trip per year together, it is all the more a must for us to have at least one domestic trip as well. July 2010 was the month of our fourth year anniversary as a dating couple, and Pol specially wanted to celebrate it in Coron, Palawan.

As usual, Pol was able to take advantage of Cebu Pacific and Air Philippines seat sale promos, and he was able to book me, himself, his niece and his nephew for flights to and from Busuanga. July 20, our anniversary, is also his nephew Mic’s birthday. Our Coron escapade would be a double celebration!

It was also Pol who managed to find an affordable group package. He chose Calamian Islands Travel & Tours for our 3days-2nights package inclusive of airport-hotel transfer, accommodation at Princess of Coron with daily breakfast, Coron town tour, and island-hopping tour with buffet lunch. The price was Php 4,500 per head.

It was a relief for me to have Pol handle everything for our Coron trip after my stressful planning for our Bangkok trip in May (which we still pushed through with despite the strong worldwide travel advisories due to the city’s then socio-political tension, and which still turned out to be a fun trip anyway). All I had to do for my part was to invest in a good snorkel and an underwater camera case.

After thorough research for online reviews, I finally purchased Speedo Glide Snorkel from Toby’s at The Block SM North, and DiCaPac WP-410 underwater camera case from Digital Walker at Cyberzone Mall in Eastwood City. I immediately tested my underwater camera case at home by inserting a piece of paper in it, and then sinking it in a large pail of water for 15 minutes. I was impressed that the paper didn’t get wet or moist at all. The camera case comes with silica gel inside to absorb any moisture produced by trapped air. It was a good price of PhP 1,500 for my Canon IXUS 80 IS, compared to a Canon WP-DC22 underwater case which costs almost as much as the camera itself!

Day 1: Arrival in Busuanga, Coron town tour

I could not imagine having been to Coron without taking underwater shots. But before using my camera with the underwater case, I had to take photos of the beautiful aerial view of Coron first. It was perfect to arrive in Busuanga by plane in the morning.


Aerial view of Coron



Busuanga Airport


From the airport, we were transferred to our lodge, Princess of Coron. I highly recommend this! It was also the place where the cast of the Pinoy fantaserye “Dyesebel” stayed during their taping.



Serene exterior of Princess of Coron



Princess of Coron is owned by Hausmann family, headed by an Austrian man named Mr. Hausmann and his Filipina wife. The lodge is literally within walking distance from everything, like the restaurants, San Agustin Church, and the boat terminal. Within the lodge’s pleasant garden are a huge shelter for pet monkeys, a small swimming pool, a little outdoor restaurant, a few cages of cute pet birds, and some friendly dogs starred by golden retriever Max.



The animals at Princess of Coron, from top: Pet monkeys
reaching out for some grapes, pet dogs starring Max the golden retriever



Our room was called “Opa”, and it was spacious enough for four people. The bathroom was very clean, with a very pretty but weird toilet. The water surface area of the toilet is not found in the middle or a little behind the middle of the bowl, but in front of the middle! It was hard for me to sit.



Our sweet bed



Our pretty but weird toilet (Where's the water surface?)


As recommended by the lodge receptionist, we had lunch at nearby Kawayanan Grill, where I tasted kinunot na pagi (sting ray cooked in coconut milk with malunggay leaves) for the first time. It became an instant favorite! Kinunot is no stranger to Pol, Mic and Che because it is a Bicolano dish. Lucky me, I’d be able to have more in the future!



My new forever favorite, kinunot na pagi



After lunch, we started our half-day Coron town tour with our guide named Jason, also a Bicolano. We first did the Mt. Tapyas trek where we climbed 720 exhausting steps. We had frequent breaks and we were glad to have a water boy climb with us. The number of steps was fine, but it was the steepness that made us tire easily. To boost our willingness to continue the climb, Kuya Jason told us about an 80-year old retired military man who was a client of his and was able to climb Mt. Tapyas effortlessly so we had no excuse. We were glad to have finished the climb when we finally had a nice view of Coron, including a group of limestone hills forming together a "Sleeping Giant". Kuya Jason told us that we would be exploring those surrounding islands the next day!



Our Mt. Tapyas trek, clockwise from top left: A water break by the steps, a view from halfway of our climb, view of the "Sleeping Giant" from the summit, the cross on top of Mt. Tapyas


After some well-deserved rest, we continued our Coron Town running tour. We passed by San Agustin Church, a souvenir shop where we bought plenty of cashew nuts, and the town plaza.


San Agustin Church


Finally, we relaxed at Maquinit Hot Spring, where we enjoyed dipping in naturally hot saltwater. It is connected to the sea!


Maquinit Hot Spring


The very hot water somehow relieved me of my usual back pains. This was also where I first used my underwater case to protect my camera from any water splash, but of course I prevented the camera from touching the hot water.

The end of our first day in Coron got me craving again for kinunot so we had dinner at Kawayanan Grill. Aside from my new favorite kinunot, we had ensaladang lato (grape seaweed salad) and sizzling tangigue steak.



Our dinner at Kawayanan Grill, from top: the four of us in the hut, ensladang lato
and my craving kinunot na pagi for the second time of the day

 

After our very satisfying dinner, we took a short walk back to our hotel, and prepared everything we would need for the next day’s island-hopping tour.

Day 2: Island-hopping tour

Our first early morning in Coron started with a yummy breakfast set. We had chunky danggit and eggs. The danggit, despite being chunky, was still crunchy! Yum!

Yummy unsalted danggit

After our breakfast, Kuya Jason fetched us from our hotel and we took a “taxicle”. It was just a short ride to the boat terminal that we could have just walked. But the taxicle ride was a pleasant experience because it is a spacious vehicle, unlike tricycles in Metro Manila where passengers would feel too cramped.

Our boat started its journey towards the islands we had viewed from our Mt. Tapyas trek. The water was calm and the sceneries were breathtaking.



The start of our island-hopping tour: A taxicle ride to the boat terminal, our boat ride to the islands of Coron


Our first stop was CYC Beach. CYC stands for Coron Youth Club. Kuya Jason said it is the only public beach in Coron. The rest of the islands were already privately owned. I wasn’t expecting anything from this place because I thought it was just a picnic place or a site to see some mangroves.

 

The surface of CYC Beach


It was when Kuya Jason told us to start wearing our snorkel gear that made me want to stay in CYC beach for a very long time. It was my first time ever to snorkel so I was extremely ecstatic about the underwater sights! I was already overwhelmed to see colorful fishes and corals, armies of sea urchins, and a “Nemo” (clownfish) that danced above a likewise dancing sea anemone!


Snorkeling fun at CYC Beach, clockwise from top left: The four of us goofing around underwater, Kuya Jason's hand trying to cup "Nemo", Mic and Che posing underwater, Che feeding the fishes



Underwater paradise at CYC beach: Fishes, corals, sea urchins


I thought CYC Beach was already the highlight of our island-hopping tour because of the satisfaction I had with seeing a beautiful underwater community and with feeding a multitude of fishes. It was until our boat took us to the Skeleton Shipwreck site where we found more and more colorful creatures!


Skeleton shipwreck site: simply breathtaking


Time indeed flies when you’re having fun, that we didn’t notice it was time for lunch. We bid our bittersweet goodbyes to the shipwreck site fishes and got on our boat for Banol Beach. While we enjoyed ourselves with the beach’s fine white sand and crystal clear water, our buffet lunch was being cooked in our boat! I remember we had ensaladang talong (eggplant salad), grilled liempo, grilled fish, chicken barbecue, and even crab or shrimp I think. Everything was just delicious!


Leisure and buffet lunch at Banol Beach


After our hearty lunch, we continued our island-hopping tour and went off to Twin Lagoon where the limestone formations have a narrow opening leading to the inner lagoon. It could have been thrilling to swim through that opening but unfortunately, the opening was underwater when we were there because of the high tide. We had to climb a man-made ladder instead to pass through.


Twin Lagoon


Our boatman showed us some imaginary structures within the surrounding limestone hills like Megatron's head and a figure of Our Lady of EDSA.


Megatron's head, a limestone formation


My camera’s battery was starting to run low already because of the many photos and videos we took underwater at CYC Beach and the Skeleton Shipwreck site. My DiCaPac underwater camera case did a great job in protecting my camera! Although the recommended depth would just be 5 meters, Kuya Jason actually dove deeper beyond 10 meters and was able to shoot the shipwreck closer. My camera stayed dry!

We headed next to Kayangan Lake, dubbed to be the cleanest lake in the Philippines. We climbed a hundred or more steps of a slippery limestone hill for the cave at the peak, and the famous view of the limestone hill by the bay. The view would remind anyone of the Hallelujah Mountains from the blockbuster movie "Avatar".


On top of a limestone hill by Kayangan Lake, from left: The cave at the peak, the famous view of a limestone hill by the bay (Avatar Hallelujah Mountains?)


And then we had to descend with a hundred more steps in another direction, which led us to the lake. Under the lake were beautiful limestone formations.


Kayangan Lake



Our last snorkeling site was Siete Pecados Marine Park, where the fishes were much larger, and the corals were numerous and colorful! Too bad, my camera completely died and I was not able to take photos. We just enjoyed feeding the huge fishes with all the bread we had left.

After our snorkeling, our boat brought us to Maquinit Hot Spring, where we had already been to the previous day. I found refuge here after tiring out my body with a whole day of swimming. Because this hot spring is connected to the sea, I was amazed by the difference in temperature between the spring and the connecting  seawater that was just separated by a cemented border. The spring saltwater was really hot enough like how steam baths should be.

Our island-hopping tour ended on a very late afternoon and we got back to our hotel to rest for a while and then take a shower. After freshening up, we took a short walk to Coron Village Lodge for its resto-bar, a suggested restaurant by Kuya Jason. We had chicken tinola, vegetable curry, pork sisig, a few beers, Bob Marley music and an indescribable ambiance. It was an irie way to end the night, celebrating Mic’s birthday and my anniversary with Pol.



The resto-bar at Coron Village Lodge



Day 3: Departure to Manila

We spent our last day in Coron by savoring our stay at Princess of Coron. We had breakfast, fed again the monkeys with fresh fruits, and played with their golden retriever Max. We were later transferred to the airport, and as we took off, we marveled at the breathtaking aerial views of Coron one last time.


Departure from Busuanga, clockwise from top left: Busuanga Airport,
our plane to Manila, view while on take-off at the runway, view of an island.


Our vacation in Coron was a very short one and there are still more sights to behold like Malcapuya Island, Banana Island, the Calauit Safari adventure, and more advanced diving sites for reefs and shipwrecks. I’m glad to have not been able to explore these places yet because I’ll definitely be going back and bring my trusty DiCaPac underwater camera case again, plus an extra battery for my camera!