Coron, Palawan Escapade - Away from the City

On the 10th of May this year, we went to Coron, Palawan. It was our first family getaway with my brother this year, first to ride on a plane and first beach experience of my daughter. Our flight with PAL Express was booked at 12:10 P.M. We arrived in the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (Clark) at 09:30 A.M. to avoid any delays. First timers always do this or maybe not. We boarded at around 12:20 P.M. The plane was small, they were 2 seats on both sides. You can easily look at the window to see the beautiful scenery at the top view. My daughter was so fascinated and she really enjoyed the ride. I was relieved that she did not feel any discomfort while we were on the plane. We landed onto Busuanga Airport at 01:30 P.M.

We traveled on the shuttle van approximately 30 minutes to get to the Coron Town Proper. While on the road, the place reminded me the way to go to Cayabu, Tanay, Rizal. This is where my parents live now. The provincial look is indeed overwhelming, away from the city. There are mountain ranges on both sides of the window that you can look at and of course, no traffic. Then we just checked into the Averee Hotel and immediately left our things. We are extremely hungry at that time because our last meal was taken on the breakfast time. The snacks provided on the plane was not satisfying to our tummies.

We found the Lolo Nonoy’s Food Station. We ordered sinigang na hipon, 6 rices for 4 people, sisig and 2 mango shakes. We’ve waited for 30 minutes and we have almost emptied the shakes that we have ordered. Finally, the foods were served. We did not take good food pictures because we were all famished.

After eating, we took a rest in the hotel. At around 4:00 P.M., we decided to take a trek going to Mt. Tapyas. This is the second tallest mountain in Busuanga, Coron. To reach the summit, you need to take approximately 721 steps. You have not been in Coron if you will not take the challenge to climb this mountain. The good thing is, it was already developed and the stairs are available. I think, we have reached the top at around 05:00 P.M. There were so many tourists, Filipinos and different nationalities. We, all of us, enjoyed the majestic view of Coron. Our efforts were not wasted when we got to the top. Of course, we took a lot of pictures. Then, after we rested for an hour or so, we have started to go down to the long stairs. It is easier to go down than to go up but you need to control your weight. Or else, you will fell down. It was very tiring but indeed worth it.

 We ate at the nearest carinderia on the base of the mountain because we were badly hungry again. We ordered bulalo, pork barbeque, apple shakes and 6 rices. Then were full again. This is the end of our first day in Coron.

 Our 2nd day is the most awaited day of our stay in Coron. This is the day that we will ride on the boat to do island hopping, snorkelling, beach swimming and other types of water activities. We were very excited however, our muscles were aching. It’s the result of hiking Mt. Tapyas.

We arrived first at the port. Our boat trip is composed of 12 persons so we were still waiting for the remaining 8. Then, 2 foreign nationalities came, next 4 females and lastly another 3 females. I have realized that my daughter was not counted because she is only 4 years old. All of them are foreigners. I believed that they are European because of their languages and their looks. They are all tall and around 5’8’’ is the smallest.

We departed the port at exactly 10:00 A.M. The sun was on its top spot and you can feel the heat of the summer. The good thing was the sea was not stinky compared to others. It is very relaxing, feeling the fresh sea breeze.

Our first destination was the CYC Beach. Life vests were provided to everyone. The boat did not dock to the beach but they just dropped the anchor because the water level is very shallow. However, you can really feel the strength of the waves because it is on the open sea. When we dipped ourselves into the water, at first, we were struggling on breathing. We do not usually swim but we were able to cope up with the others. It was amazing to see the foreigners who were very relaxed and it was like they were just walking in the water. OMG! They are professional swimmers. They do not need life jackets. They are so fast and they even went far from the beach. While us, we immediately went to the island because my daughter wanted to experience the sand. She played the white sand with her uncle. She said that she wanted to build a sand castle but did not happen because we took a lot of pictures and we only stayed for an hour. My husband explored the sea by snorkeling. He also took some videos of what can be seen under the sea. It was indeed an amazing experience.

Our next stop is the Beach 91, Quinn Reef and Coral Garden. It is a one stop but with 3 tourist spots. We docked onto the beach and the tourist guides prepared our lunch. While they were cooking in the boat, it was our time to do snorkeling. Quinn Reef and Coral Garden were opposites to each other. Unfortunately, we are unable to get there because they were a bit far from the beach and we are not good in swimming. It was only my husband that was able to explore the underwater but still not able to reach the said spots. After 30 minutes, we were called to eat our picnic lunch. They have indeed prepared a sumptuous lunch. We ate fried dalagang bukid, pakbet (stirred vegetables - squash, eggplant, string beans), chicken adobo, seaweeds salad, pineapples, watermelon and rice. We ate a lot. The foods were yummy and they were fresh. The foreigners mostly ate the chicken adobo and some pakbet.

Second to the last, we went to Blue/Green Lagoon. There is no place to dock because it is being surrounded by different huge mountain rocks. You will just jump into the water to take a swim. However, it was very deep which is around 20 to 30 feet from the sea level. My daughter insisted to get into the water and the tourist guide accompanied my daughter. Thanks to the life jacket because I can float despite that I do not know how to swim.

Lastly, we went to the Coron’s pride, Kayangan Lake. We hiked 150 steps up the mountain and we got the best view of Kayangan Lake, dubbed as the "cleanest lake" in the Philippines. Indeed a sight to behold, there is no wonder it was tagged as one of the most photographed places in the Philippines. We have stayed here for an hour. We do photo-shoot, swimming and snorkelling. My daughter really had fun on this trip. Though it was very tiring but the chance to experience this place was priceless. The tropical underwater life, karst cliffs, enchanting lagoons, and crystal clear waters make Coron Island the best place for swimming, snorkeling, and kayaking. I wanted to go back to this place and avail the other tour packages. There is a lot to experience and many more beaches to go to. Unfortunately, we have missed to experience the Maquinit Hot Spring because of our limited time.

We got to the hotel at 4:00 P.M. We took a bath and changed ourselves for our last dinner in Coron. We ate at the La Sirenetta Seafood Restaurant & Bar. We would like to eat lobsters however, there is no more available. So we have decided to eat crab and prawns. Unfortunately, our experience here is very bad. We’ve waited for one and a half hour. We were tempted to leave because we were so hungry. When the food arrived, we did not enjoy the foods because of the waiting time. We rushly eat the foods served and pay the bills. I think that this place is highly recommended to people that would like to have a night out but not for a dinner. While we were on the road walking, we saw a man selling street foods. We bought grilled pork barbeque and the likes and ate them while we were on the street. We enjoyed it better. Our last day ended.

On the 12th of May this year, our flight with PAL Express was booked at 10:30 A.M. The shuttle van picked us up at 9:00 A.M. We boarded as scheduled and we reached the Clark Airport on time.

I can’t imagine that our trip was over. If there is only a way to stretch the time and the days I will do that. Please take me back.