Palawan (Coron), PH

Leaving for Palawan was a bit hectic at the NAIA aiport – the system crashed and the airline was delayed, so it took a while to check in.  Since it was a domestic (and short) flight, we got to board via the tarmac onto a propellor engine plane.  Other than the landing, which was a little rough, the flight was smooth and pretty much uneventful.

We are staying at the Coron Hilltop Resort, which is about 5-10 minutes outside of Coron Town. Our first full day in Palawan, we had planned on going island hoppng, howevere there was a bit of a misunderstanding at the front desk. So, they booked it for the following day and instead we decided to take a tricycle into town. Coron Town defintely more authentic than some of the places we’ve been in the past. The streets are small and lined with the kinds of shops and businesses where the owners’ residences are situated either above or behind the frontage. We also took a gander at the public market and Dan had pointed out to me a pig’s head sitting on display with the rest of the meat at one of the butcher stalls. Since we’re not cooking here, we didn’t stay too long in the food market. There were some souvenier shops, but nothing that really caught our eye. We took a break from exploring and fell upon a cozy restaurant that had bahay cubas, so we bought some drinks and one of my favorite desserts, leche flan and we took the opportunity to enjoy the shade and write in our journals.

By 10:30am it was getting too hot for me, so we went back to the resort to take a dip in the pool and then it was siesta time for me. We went back to town to the restaurant where we journalled as it was recommended by the hotel staff as a good dinner venue. So, we ordered beef caldereta and chicken adobo, two really good dishes and we filled our boots!

As the sun was beginning to set, we walked to the Coron Sea Dive resort where they had a spot on the water with a really good view of the neighbouring islands. Dan took a REALLY great sunset shot which may have superceded our sunset experiences in Noosa.

The second full day allowed us to do the island hopping that we were hoping to do the day before. We met our skipper and his two sons aboard their catamaran. Our first stop was at CYC beach, which was small, but we didn’t stay too long on the beach. Rather, we moored nearby for some snorkling. I had opted out of this first activity, but Dan and our captain went for a snorkel around the shallow water decorated by many fish.

Our short second stop took us to Coral Garden not too far from shore, with the steep cliffs of Coron Island as our backdrop. I was enjoying the view from the boat and didn’t think that we could see anything more beautiful. But it was early in the day and we were in for some really great gems – I’m talking secluded paradise scenes out of a hollywood movie kind of gem. Our first beach stop was Atwayan Beach. The only souvenier that I wanted to bring home, was alas, something that I couldn’t bring home. When we jumped off the catamaran, we were greeted by a cute puppy, who was extremely friendly and knew how to play out his floppy ears and big eyes. It was only 10:30am at the time, so we weren’t too eager to eat the picnic lunch that our hotel had packed us. But we did opt to have a drink and apple in one of the grass huts on the beach.

Our next stop had the best entrance. We had to wind through the knife-like rock formations. The calm and turquiose water led us to the Twin Lagoons. At this stopover, I was really interested in joining Dan in the water, and I’m glad I did. To get to the other lagoon, we had to swim under a low-lying bridge of rock and once we had gone through, it was BEAUTIFUL. Aside from another family far off on the other side of the lagoon, Dan and I had the place to ourselves. I regret no having a waterproof camera for moments such as this, but it will have to be embedded in my memory instead of on film. As soon as we were leaving, 3 catamarans started entering the dock, each holding a dozen passengers. I failed to mention that the catamaran we were on was exclusive to just the two of us, so the tour was very personal.

Following the Twin Lagoons, we then stopped just off the coast of Twin Peaks to do some more snorkelling. This was a little more out in the open sea, but it had so many fish of different sizes and colors. Dan had pointed in my direction at one point, and I wasn’t sure if he was indicating something interesting or something dangerous. So, I quickly swam towards him and later found out that he was trying to tell me that a huge school of fish was heading in my direction on what looked like an opportunity to reach out and touch them.

Our last stop was Kayangan Lake, where we hiked a short (but very steep) stair/trail from the beach over a ridge, and down the opposite side. The summit of this trail provided a nice clear view of the bay through which we had entered. At the end of the trail was the freshwater lake, apparently awarded the title of “cleanest lake in the Philippines”. It is a very believable claim, since the calm, crystal water allowed easy viewing right to the bottom. We spent more time at this stop than any of our other destinations, and the isolation, perfect scenary (both above the water and below), and fun we had exploring, made this our favorite stop of the tour. I took many pictures here trying to capture its beauty, but I think this is one of the places where you just have to have been there to appreciate it.

We’ve enjoyed our stay here in Coron.  The people are friendly and love entertaining Dan’s attempts at Tagalog.  We’ve also witnessed beautiful sunsets and fully appreciate how blessed and lucky we are.  We would love to check out El Nido and Puerto Princesa, but that will have to wait for another visit! Tomorrow… Cebu!

P.S. Dinner tonight at La Sirenetta was pretty. 🙂