Coron, Palawan

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Below is a journal of my travel experience during a recent trip we made to Coron, Palawan. It contains a few snapshots of the places I went to in the said trip. However, if you wish to view all of the pictures that I took during this trip, please click here.
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Superhurry Superferry

Chinky’s Ate Marns said that we should be at the pier by 3PM. We were scheduled to leave Pasig at 1:30PM. But of course, Chinky is Chinky. So with all the excuses and various reasons for why she couldn’t leave as planned, we were able to leave Pasig at around 2PM, 30 minutes behind schedule. Thankfully, traffic flow along Ortigas, C-5 and EDSA was pretty light for a Friday afternoon. And as we turned right at Roxas Boulevard, I thought that we would be arriving at the port area with still a few minutes to spare.

But as we reached the flyover intersection of Roxas and Buendia, traffic came to a snail’s pace. I thought it was just the normal Friday afternoon volume of vehicles which caused it. But when the snail’s pace came to a standstill, I knew something was wrong. Cellphones became busy. Chinky was trying to call up our other travelmates who were also on their way to the pier to have an idea what was causing the traffic jam, and find alternative routes.

Apparently, there was a rally being staged at the Rajah Sulaiman Park along Roxas Ave. and it was causing this monstrous traffic mess. We had to find alternate routes if we hoped to catch our ship’s departure. Snaking our way along the sidestreets of Malate proved to be a wise decision. As soon as we passed by the Malate Church area, we could see that traffic along Roxas Boulevard was Lenten-season-clear. So, zoom I went with my driving as soon as we hit the clear part of Roxas.

We reached the pier at around 4:45. As instructed by Ate Marns, who is an official at Superferry, people would be waiting for our vehicle. And as soon as we stopped by the port’s entrance, even before I could get out of my car, the Superferry staff was already assisting us by grabbing our baggages. I’m not really a fan of valet services, but this was one time when I truly appreciated the special service extended to us.

We breezed through the series of inspections and entry process of boarding the ship. And as we were running towards the ship to finally board it, I took a glance at the people waiting by the ship’s viewdeck looking at us. These people probably boarded on time and were probably wondering for the past 30 minutes-or-so what was causing the delay. And now, they saw the reason for the delay. Damn! I felt so embarrassed in front of those people. We actually caused the almost-45-minute delay of the ship’s departure.

Ate Marns was already waiting by the ship’s entrance. It was my first time to meet her. But there was no time for social formalities at this point. I knew the ordeal of having to delay a ship’s departure was stressful. We were ushered into our room to settle down and fix our things. My wife and I shared the room with Evan and Chinky. And as soon as I sat down by the bedside, it was then that the reality of what we went through finally sank in on me. Talk about a cardiac finish, this was as close as we could get.

Chinky was again talking on her cellphone. She was talking to her sister, Aivie, who was already by the port’s entrance. Unfortunately, the ship’s plank had already been lifted and no one would already be allowed to board the ship or disembark from it except for emergency situations (like, say, a heart attack, which we were actually already close to having given the pressure and stress we went through).

And so Aivie was left behind, along with some forty passengers who, we could assume, were mostly caught in the traffic trap caused by that rally along Roxas Boulevard. We really felt bad for Aivie, but the trip must go on. If it was any consolation, Aivie has already been to Coron a year ago. So it’s not like she missed an opportunity of a lifetime.


First Trip

This was my first time to travel aboard a ship. And the trip to Coron would take approximately 13 hours. So I was quite concerned with motion sickness. I didn’t want to spoil this much-awaited trip by me throwing up every now and then. So my wife, Mae, and I came prepared with motion-sickness medicine. (It was only then that I also knew that Bonamine, the popular motion-sickness medicine due to the high-recall of their TV ad campaign, has already been phased out by its manufacturer.)

At around 6PM, we went out of our cabin and proceeded to the ship’s café. I had to eat merienda before my sugar level drops uncomfortably low. It was at the café where we formally met Ate Marns, Chinky’s sister who arranged for us to be able to join this trip. She was with her two sons - Marty, a gangly teen-ager who was quiet and reserved for the totality of this trip, and Chico, a handsome young boy who would always ask “saan” whenever Evan would ask if he could kiss him, then proceed to reject the kiss whenever Evan says “sa lips”.

We also got to meet a few of the officemates of Ate Marns from Superferry. There was Rex, who, according to Chico, is his best friend. And there was Kate, a bubbly character in the group who is also into photography.

We also met Janice, the girlfriend of Chinky’s brother. Mario, the husband of Mary who also works with Superferry. And Tekla, the stand up comedian hired by Superferry for a show to kick off Coron’s fiesta activities on Saturday night.

As I was eating the cheeseburger I ordered, I began feeling the effects of motion sickness. The feeling was kinda reminiscent of being tipsy from drinking a bit too much alcohol. You start to feel light-headed. You begin losing your balance especially whenever you stand. And you can’t seem to follow a straight path whenever you try to walk. It was weird that I somehow enjoyed the feeling. Imagine getting tipsy without actually getting drunk.

My wife and I excused ourselves after eating merienda. It was only around 7PM but I was already getting a bit sleepy. Maybe it was from the dizziness I was feeling. As soon as we reached our room, I decided to hit the sack. Lying down for me got things worse. I felt like I was in a hammock being swayed slowly to sleep. And in no time, I was already dozing off. I could hear the faint sound of the TV from time to time, and catch a glimpse of my roommates entering and leaving our room, but I knew I was already out of it. Couldn’t even wake up for dinner.


Sunrise By The Ship

It was 5:30AM when I woke up. It was a deeply refreshing sleep. But one thing immediately entered my mind.

Sunrise.

It was my first time aboard a ship. And it was going to be the first time I would view the sunrise from the horizon aboard a moving ship. I was excited.

I hadn’t toured the ship since we went on board from the day before. So I didn’t really know where the viewing deck was. So, with my camera in hand, I just starting roaming around, peeping by the windows of the ship. I couldn’t see the sunrise, but the skies were already beginning to lighten up. So I went upstairs, passing by the rows of double-deck beds at the other sections of the ship.

As I got into the economy section of the ship (I just assumed this since there was no airconditioning on these parts of the ship), I saw the lightest sections of the skies when I faced the rear of the ship. I immediately positioned myself to view the sunrise. I got there just in time when the sun was slowly rising by the horizon.

The sun rises each and every day. But sometimes, the magic lies on where you get to see the sunrise. The changing of the colors of the skies is always an awesome spectacle to see. And don’t let me get started on sunsets.

First mission accomplished for my very first day: sunrise pictures captured.


Welcome To Coron

As we arrived at the port of Coron, I immediately noticed how the seawater there in Coron was miles ahead in terms of cleanliness when compared to the waters of Manila Bay where we came from. This was supposedly the dirty parts of the waters of Coron since this is the pier where all the ships dock. But when you inspect the waters below, you can clearly see the bottom of the sea. Schools of fish can be seen swimming just by the side of the port.

I also immediately saw the cross atop Mt. Tapyas. If time would permit, climbing it would be part of the things to do in Coron. Since I already had my sunrise pics at the ship, it would be perfect if I could pair them with sunset pics taken from the top of Mt. Tapyas where one could get a bird’s eye view of the surrounding islands of Coron, Palawan. Of course, in hindsight, this was all wishful thinking as I wouldn’t get the chance to climb up that mountain due to time constraints.

It was a short tricycle ride from the pier to our hotel - Darayonan Hotel. The hotel was nothing fancy. But the necessities were there. A clean room, a functioning toilet and bath, a water heater, a refrigerator, and an aircon. The beds, according to my wife, can be improved on as she compared that the beds we slept on at the Superferry were even more comfortable than those at the hotel. But all in all, it was quite satisfactory.

Again, after settling down and unpacking our things, we went down to their breakfast nook and ate danggit and egg with rice. After breakfast, Ate Marns already made arrangements for our boat trip that day. The lunch that we would be bringing with us at the boat was already being prepared by the hotel. And she was already intstructing Kate to accompany us since she has already been to Coron before. The Superferry group headed by Ate Marns would not be able to join us in this first day since they would be quite busy preparing for the show later that night at the Coron Coliseum.

And so, we freshened up and prepared for our first day in this paradise called Coron. By this time, the other stand up comedian, Sam, who got left out by the ship the day before was already able to join us since he took the faster option – an airplane ride to Busuanga that early Saturday morning. It was already around 11AM by the time our boat set sail from the port near the market. Aside from Kate who served as our tour guide, we were all first-timers. And as we had the two gay stand-up comedians in our company, can you just imagine the riot we had whenever these two would crack their jokes? The whole trip was like being in a comedy bar inside the boat. Great sights, fun company, what more could I ask for?


Day 1

Siete Picados

First stop was Siete Picados. It is a group of small islands where you can snorkel at the waters in between them. And as soon as I dove into the waters and train my goggled sights into the bottom of the sea, I knew I was in another world. The water was crystal clear. The marine life of corals and fish was flourishing underneath. Except for the occasional sea urchins that I could see hiding between the corals, I realized what divers experience when they say that the underwaters bring an amazing sense of tranquility. The richness of sea life, which is literally within your arms’ reach, is simply indescribable.

Have you seen a salt water aquarium with all the corals stacked side by side to form a wall of busy marine life where fish, both big and small, go in and out of the seeming caves of corals? Multiply that aquarium a thousand times. That’s how the bottom of Siete Picados looked like. This is where I saw a fish bigger than the palm of my hand playfully swimming right below me. And as it made a quick figure-8 turn right in front of me, I saw it slightly angling in such a way that it seemed to be eyeing me from its left eye before zooming out of my sight. Then there was the clown fish where the story of Nemo and his father came to life as I saw one small and one big clown fish going in and out of their anemone. My nephew Aaron would have been totally thrilled to see that. Too bad I didn’t have an underwater cam to take pictures.


Banol Beach

Then off we went to our next destination – Banol Beach. By this time, the sun was already at its brightest. So we could clearly see the colors of the mountains and the ocean at their most vivid. The emerald waters near the shores blend into the differing shades of blue of the deeper sea. And the whole area of Coron, being surrounded by many islands to block off the waves coming from the Pacific, has unbelievably peaceful waters which make swimming and snorkeling relaxingly enjoyable.

The limestone rocks which formed the mountains of most of the islands are a spectacular sight to behold for a first-timer like me. And how all of those trees and plant life are able to grow and flourish by growing just in between the cracks of those rocks is simply incredible.

We docked by the shores of Banol Beach and rented a small cottage where we ate our lunch. Right after I ate, I left them to explore the other side of the beach which was blocked from our view by a rock formation. Shooting away with my camera, I began to truly appreciate the beauty of this place. The sand was comparable, if not finer than Boracay’s. One has to walk barefoot by the shores to actually appreciate the polboron-like quality of the white sand beneath one’s feet. And the waters, I can definitely and categorically say that it is way ahead in cleanliness and clarity than that of Bora or other beaches I’ve been to. It’s like swimming in the newly-changed-water of a swimming pool, minus the chlorine, of course. Even if you are already neck-deep into the water, you can still clearly see your feet underneath. Added bonus is when you see a school of fish come very near your legs, unmindful of the people visiting their territories.

Lots of picture-taking ensued. We were obviously captivated with the beauty of the place. One wouldn’t dare going home without the souvenir photos in this very picturesque and pristine beach.

Under the scorching sun, dipped in the perfect waters we have ever seen, what else would be better to do than play a game of charades? Yes, my dear people, we played charades in the middle of Banol Beach. Of course, it helped that we were the only people on that stretch of the beach. In a manner of speaking, that part of paradise was solely ours for our enjoyment. So we laughed and shouted our hearts out while we crazily played the most enjoyable game of charades we ever played.


Barracuda Lake

The next destination was a lake trapped inside the rocky mountain formations of Coron Island. To be able to enter the lake, one has to cross a steep and rocky path that leads to the main entrance of the lake. Imagine a 10-foot high rock formation blocking the entrance of the lake. You have to go over it to be able to enter the lake. There are no ladder steps, no wooden planks, just a few makeshift railings to hold on to, and not even a muddy bottom to soften the impact should you fall down. The rocks that you would step on and hold on to are quite sharp and edgy. It was actually a challenge for ordinary, non-mountain climbers like us.

But upon reaching the entrance to the lake, all of the fear that you experienced in the climb would suddenly dissipate. You would be overcome with an immense feeling of awe. The whole lake is enclosed by the enormous limestone walls of the mountains of Coron. These walls are a mixture of dark gray interspersed with lively green colors brought about by the trees growing in between the cracks in the rocks. And when you look up, it is as if the whole enormous hall you are inside of is covered with the blanket of the light blue sky serving as its ceiling. Too bad I couldn’t get atop one of the rocks near the entrance to be able to take pictures to illustrate the grandeur of this place. So I had to content myself with some pictures of them swimming and floating by the lake.

The water was very clear, and tastes brackish as all lakes do. As I went in for a swim, I wore my goggles to look at the bottom of the lake. A bit of fear prevailed on me as I saw the darkness of the lake below. I suddenly remembered the poster for the film “Lady In The Water” where a face of a young lady appears to emerge from the darkness of the waters. I didn’t take a second look underneath with my goggles after that. We were floating on quite a deep lake. And its name “barracuda” wasn’t really an assuring name for a lake that deep, for you never know what can be hiding in the darkness of that depth.

They say that the Barracuda Lake used to be open for scuba divers only as they are actually the ones who can truly enjoy the beauty of the marine life deep into the bottom of the lake. But in recent years, they have already opened it up to ordinary tourists like us who can just prefer to float around while admiring the splendor of Mother Nature’s creation.


Maquinit Hot Springs

Before heading back to the main island of Coron, our last stop was at the Maquinit Hot Springs. Apparently, there is a hot spring source in this place. And the water in that place goes out into the sea. But before it hits the sea, they create some sort of a hot spring pool bath where one can enjoy the therapeutic effects of hot water coming from the spring. Just dip yourself into the hot waters of the pool and enjoy its effect on the circulation of blood in your veins.

I find it weird that I was the only one who enjoyed this stop. The others complained of a heavy feeling after coming out of the pool. They said that they felt their chest becoming pressured and heavy from all of the hot water seeming to envelope your whole dipped body. Mario even confessed later on that he felt real bad that he was on the brink of asking us to bring him to the doctor to have his condition checked up on.

Well, apparently, I was not the only one who enjoyed our visit to Maquinit Hot Springs. Chinky was visually very happy with this place. But it was for a totally different reason. She didn’t enjoy the hot spring just as the others didn’t. But I could unmistakably see her face light up when she saw the mangroves surrounding the pool by the hot springs. Apparently, she is blissfully fascinated with mangroves that she even asked me to take quite a few pictures of her beside the mangrove trees. Yeah, I know, I have very weird friends.


Day 2

Banana Island

The rains from the night before was already a bad omen of the uncooperative weather we would be facing on our second day. We were up pretty early, unmindful of the relatively short rest we had, considering that the night before was the night of the Superferry show at the Coron Coliseum (which, by the way, was a successful one).

We had to hire two boats this time around as the Superferry people were already joining us for this second day. All in all, we were around 25 people. It wasn’t raining by the time we left the port aboard two boats. But the sun was consistently hiding behind the clouds.

Our first stop was Banana Island. It was relatively farther from the destinations we went to the day before. Our travel time to reach the island took approximately one hour. And just when we could already see our island destination, the motor of the boat we were riding in experienced some mechanical problems. The other boat had to go back and tow ours to be able to reach our destination which was only about 10 minutes away at that point.

I didn’t see anything spectacular about the island as we disembarked. Yes, there was fine white sand by the shore. But in the spot where our boats docked, I could see that the water deepens abruptly with just a few steps from the shore. Much like how the slope of sand is in Puerto Galera.

But upon a more thorough inspection of the island, there are sections where the water is shallow even if you go quite a distance from the shoreline. And as we would find out later on, the other side of the island is where the marine life, for both corals and fishes, is thriving. This is where you can actually go near various kinds of fishes with sizes as big as the palm of your hand, and feed them with bread. They’re not exactly afraid of humans. They swim all around you and gobble up on the pieces of bread that you feed them.

And for the more adventurous part, snorkeling in the farther and deeper parts of the sea near Banana Island is the ultimate activity to satisfy non-scuba divers like me. Mario, who is the more experienced person in underwater activities being an underwater hockey player, served as the designated guide for those who wanted to venture farther out into the sea. It was too bad that when it was our batch’s turn to explore, the tides suddenly became a bit more violent that we had to cut short our snorkeling. The rains were starting to fall, and the wind was gaining momentum.

We ate lunch just as the rain started to pour down heavily. The more interesting part was that I observed that even thought it was raining heavily, the waves of the seas continued to appear calm in its surface. If there was any difference, I guess we would have only felt it if we were under the sea itself, just like when we got scared of the waves while snorkeling a bit earlier.


Twin Lagoons

And so we had to let the rains subside a bit before we boarded our boats to continue on to our next destination – the Twin Lagoons. It was quite a long boat ride once again, as the Twin Lagoons can be found nearer the main island. With the rains drizzling on and off, and the cool winds breezing by our wet bodies, we were forced to take shield with whatever we could find – life vest, towels, sarongs - from the almost freezing effects of the winds as our boat roared off.

The sun showed no signs of glaring its bright rays anytime again that day. And with the delay we experienced because of the rain, we had to content ourselves with whatever daylight was left on that Sunday afternoon. It was already around 4PM when we got to the Twin Lagoons.

The entrance to Twin Lagoons is hidden in a series of rock islands. By now, our eyes have already been accustomed to the lime rock formations in each of the islands we passed by. And so, as we took a turn to enter the pathway towards the lagoons, we were completely dumbfounded with what we saw.

“Welcome to Jurassic Park”, Ate Marns announced as we entered the inner waters surrounding the islands. And admittedly, it was the fitting statement to reinforce the visual treat only an imposing place like this could deliver.

Going very near the mountains of lime rock formations, with all the greeneries growing all over them, and the emerald waters just by the foot of these mountains was an awesome experience. Small island after small island, wall after wall of rock formations, the clarity of the water, and the peaceful tranquility of the grandiose surroundings was extremely spectacular, even bordering on mystical. If you remember the scene in the movie King Kong just as they were approaching the island, this was it. You can almost expect to hear the roar of the giant gorilla breaking the serene silence enveloping the whole place.

In my opinion, no amount of pictures, and no amount of descriptive writing can ever do justice to such a breathtaking place. You really have to see it and experience it to believe it.

And so we reached the entrance to the lagoon. Boats cannot enter the lagoon itself as it is blocked by a rock formation with only a very low, but comfortably wide, opening at its base. So we had to get off the boats and swim thru the cave-like entrance to the lagoon. Now, swimming in the lagoon would have been very similar to our Barracuda Lake swimming experience as the sight inside the lagoon had some similarities to the inside rock formations surrounding Barracuda Lake. But there was one detail which anyone who dips into the waters of the lagoon would find interestingly peculiar. The water in the lagoon is a mixture of alternating warm and cold water. I have no idea how this came to be. But one would expect that if you mix cold water with warm water, you’ll end up with lukewarm water, right? But not in the case of this lagoon’s water. You can actually feel and distinguish the alternating patches of cold and warm water flowing by your body. This is another mysterious experience adding to the already magical fondness of this place.


Kayangan Lake

As we left the Twin Lagoons, we enjoyed the sceneries once again on our way out. Next stop would be Kayangan Lake – the cleanest lake in the whole of the Philippines.

We have been told to prepare for quite a hike to be able to reach the lake itself. And so when we reached the foot of the hiking path, we evaluated the place. The path wasn’t as dangerous and undeveloped as that of the Barracuda Lake entrance. But this was certainly longer. A fair estimate, I would say, would be around 5-7 minutes on the hike up. And another 5-7 minutes on the hike down to reach the lake. The steps were clearer and more defined this time around. There were even wooden railings that you can hold on to. The danger would just be some slippery portions due to the mud formed because of the rains. And aside from that, anyone who isn’t physically fit in terms of his cardio endurance might find the place a bit more of a challenge.

Halfway through the hike, just at the top of the path, there exists a spot perfect for taking pictures. They say that this is one of the most photographed places in the whole of Coron. The beauty of the view from the top is simply amazing. Too bad that there was not much sunlight by the time we got there. Our pictures would have been doubly spectacular.

And as we got to the lake itself, our final destination in this vacation, we simply enjoyed swimming and floating mindlessly on the cleanest waters of this lake called Kayangan. Again, too bad that the sun was ready to set by this time. We would have preferred to be here when the sun shone brightest because they say that the cleanliness of the water in the lake can be readily proven as anyone can see its bottom on a bright, sunny day. But that may have to wait until our next visit to Coron.

Yes, I will be back to this enchanted place.

Click here to view the album containing all of our pictures from Coron, Palawan.