Coron, Palawan 2014 [Coron Island Tour]

Coron's most famous tour destination is the Coron Island Tour or the Tour A. This includes the visit to the cleanest lake in Asia, the Kayangan Lake. Also included are the CYC island, Twin Peaks, Calachuchi Island, and Hidden Lagoon.

First stop: CYC (Coron Youth Club) Island

This is a small island with fairly white sand. It was low tide when we came there so we have to walk a bit far from the water to the island. There is really a nice view of the sea if you're in the island - a perfect view to pose for a photo.

Our bangkero told us that there are beautiful corals in the deeper part of the sea and so we put our snorkels and life vest on and searched for the fishes and corals. Not to far from the island, our eyes was filled with joy upon seeing these:

The island of Coron always has something to offer. Each island has hidden gems that one must discover. 

Second stop: Twin Peaks

If you really love to see bunch of fishes and you have limited time to go to Banana Island, this is the perfect place for you. The perfect clear water allowed us to see the fishes roaming around the moment we reached the place. 

By the way, the name speaks for itself. It was derived because of these two twin-like islands:

If you really want to see more fishes and interact with them nearer, jump off to the water with your snorkel (and lifevest if for safety) and you will sea how lovely it is under.

Third stop: Calachuchi Island

Named after the flower calachuchi which, according to our tour guide, were abundant in the island before, this place is where we had our lunch. The island is also surrounded by big rock formation. Since we thought that we already had a lot of interaction with fishes and corals on the first two destinations that we've been to, we just chose to roam around and took some photos while waiting for our lunch.

Fourth stop: Hidden Lagoon

Another must-see place in this island (or did I say this to all the places I mentioned?) is the Hidden Lagoon. It was named as "hidden lagoon" because it's located and hidden in the middle of high limestones and the boat must go in between those big rock formations for us to enjoy the clean and fresh water of this body of water.

Hidden beach has a brackish water with mangroves surrounding it. The bottom part of the water was warm because of the salty water while the top part of it was so cold because of the fresh water. The feeling of having sauna will make you not want to come out of the water because you will feel cold.

I will recommend that you just enjoy the place and swim around. Anyway, there are no fishes to see under because of the water temperature.

Fifth stop: Kayangan Lake

As the famous line goes, "Save the best for last." I am wanting to see this place the time I booked our flight few months ago. I was really excited to see how beautiful this place was. Imagine, it bested all the lakes in Asia and was hailed as the Cleanest Lake. 

Excitement went higher when I learned that we will be trekking because the lake where we will be swimming was located on the other side of the big limestone.

Around 40 to 50 steps up and we reached the peak which is the best spot to take a picture of the famous lake. Another steps down and we got to rub elbows with the lake. I am beyond words. That day's your was supposed to be our first but I am most thankful that it all turned around. 

My stay was complete that moment I saw the island's hidden treasures. 

Mandatory tourist photo :)

For dinner, we opted to go back to Corto del Mar because we were informed that they have promo every Sundays (Buy one pizza and get a free drink) and because I really missed their deliciously fresh pizza. 

Aside from pizza, we ordered pasta. Knowing me, I have this default order when it comes to pasta. 

Tadan! Carbonara! With lots of parmesan cheese on the side :)

I thought my stay was complete after the island tour but it is true that good things really come in package. Seriously, I almost cried upon tasting this. This. was. the. best, tasting. carbonara. I. have. tasted. so. far! I am very vocal that before I've tasted this, my favorite carbonara was that of Cafe Lidia's in Marikina but know it's Corto del Mar's!

I love the not-too-creamy sauce of the pasta. It was not too salty for me and the cheese! I could also say that the pasta was freshly made and every ingredient complements each other.

Okay, good places plus good food, two hand up for you, Coron! I just have one problem, you are too far for my craving! Haha!

We called it a day and prepared for our quick souvenir shopping and flight the next day. 

A big part of my heart will stay with you, Coron. You got me with your beautiful scenery, clear blue and torquoise water, variety of corals and fishes, cliffs, and of course, carbonara! 

One piece of advice, when travelling to Coron, if possible, book a longer stay. I knew that because we stayed 5 days and 4 nights and was able to see most of its wonders. If you could extend more than this, do it!

xoxo

Coron, Palawan 2014 [Sun, Sea, and Sand Tour]

The world has a lot of natural treasures and Philippines is one blessed country to be given a lot of those gems. Coron is an example and as promised, I will be sharing more of this piece of paradise.

This tour is composed of three islands, namely: Bulog, Banana, and Malcapuya.

These beaches can be reached through a motor boat from the town proper. The travel time from the town proper is 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Let's start with BULOG ISLAND.

Bulog Island was our first stop. It's a small island with almost white sand, big rocks, and two islets. The famous sandbar of the island connects the islets.

We stayed here for 20 to 30 minutes then moved to our next destination where we had our lunch, the BANANA ISLAND.

Banana Island wowed me at first glance. I am a sucker of white, fine sand beaches and look what we saw when we arrived.

This is how clear the water...

and how fine the sand!

Our bangkero told us to enjoy the beach while they were preparing for our lunch. Upon hearing this, we grabbed our snorkels and camera, had a quick photo shoot with the beach, and then run to the beach.

Who can resist taking photos if you have this view in front of you?

Picture perfect :)

At first, I was just enjoying the white, fine sand while looking at the water but this "snorkeling addict" guy convinced me to do snorkeling because according to him, "I will see the world" if I go with him. Being "uto-uto" that I was, I did not think twice and went over with him. Nothing about what he said was wrong. See photos below to know why.

These were the fishes who welcomed us

See the beautiful corals?

Playing with the fishes

Banana island is more than a beautiful island, it is beyond that. One may admire its beauty above but it's more magnificent under. The various types of fishes that will welcome you and the wonderful corals were beyond all expectations. After the meet and greet with the underworld creatures, we had our sumptuous lunch then went back to bid goodbye to all of those sea creatures.

The third island is the MALCAPUYA ISLAND.

This island also has a white sand beach with a typical set-up: tall coconut trees, nipa huts and clear water.

We did a short snorkeling but after finding out that there's only few fishes, we just enjoyed soaking ourselves in the water. Anyway, we've seen a lot in Banana Island. Maybe the island is really intended for swimming and relaxation.

One of the few sword fishes that we saw

These three beaches were all beautiful. They all have individual beauty that you cannot compare one to the other (but I love Banana beach among the three haha!). One thing that they have in common? All are preserved and taken cared of by the people of Coron. I hope we could also learn to take care of the places where we are living. If we do this, I am more than sure that our nature will give everything back to us.  

xoxo

Coron, Palawan 2014 [Town Tour]

My life is an open book to most of the people who knows me in real life so I will be lying if I will say that I am not addicted to traveling (in the Philippines). I started being too addicted to the beauty of God's creations in the country last 2012 when I went to Puerto Princesa, Palawan with my mother, brother, and my forever travel buddy, my boyfriend (I will do a separate post about it). I think, he's really a heaven sent to me since I don't have anyone to drag (and spend some money) to go to places I really want to go before. So yes, I am trying to bring this blog alive by adding some travel blog posts. 

Let me start with this recent place we went to - Coron, Palawan. 

Aerial view of Coron Island

I must admit, above all the places I've been in Palawan, including Puerto Princesa and El Nido, this one truly captured my heart so far. Coron is just a small island where you can just walk around the town (if you're not tired after your tour) to find good places to eat at or just see how people live in this simple paradise. 

If you're not into walking, you can also ride a tricycle which only costs P10 per person if you will be going to places around the town. And yes, tricycle drivers, as to what we've experienced, are fair to everyone and don't take advantage of their place being a tourist spot in the country-- no additional charges or special rides for tourists. Thumbs up for this, Coron! 

Now, let me try to tour you in Coron through this blog post. We came at Busuanga International Airport at around 9 or 10 in the morning. 

 

This will welcome you to Coron as you leave the airport. I really love the green and brown colors of mountains and trees! 

Our first day is also when our Town Tour will take place so as soon as we checked in, we rest for a while and called the foodie in us to come out because it's lunch time.

Being prepared as we are, we usually read articles and blogs about the place where we will be going. I will also advice any traveller to do this if you will visiting any place for the first time. This will equip you with the do's and dont's about the place and of course... the perfect places to eat at. This is definitely tested but you may also ask the locals because they may have better suggestions than that of what is written on the web.

For our lunch, we headed to Lolo Nonoy's Food Station. We both read that this place offers cheap but delicious food. I forgot to take pictures of our food since we are really hungry that time but we ordered lechon kawali which is good for sharing and these thirst quenchers since it was so hot in Coron during that time.

Our thirst quenchers: Sago't gulaman and Black gulaman

So let's start the Coron Town Tour. As I've said, Coron is just a small island that their town can be toured in just half day or even an hour if you ride a tricycle according to our tour guide/driver.

First stop: LUALHATI PARK

This park reminds me of the park we also went in Puerto Princesa. The only difference is that it is smaller and simpler. This is also where people gather in the morning before their tour starts. What I love about this place is its simplicity and calmness. It can be a truly quiet place in the afternoon where you can just sit and stare in the beautiful view.

Second stop: CORON SOUVENIR SHOP

Some ref magnets I bought from the souvenir shop

I am really not used in doing shopping on the first day so what I only bought is our obligatory souvenir shirt and ref magnets. We thought that it is still best to shop for souvenirs on the last day and we can always come back since it is just located in the town. Anyway, in this famous souvenir shop where celebrities usually do their souvenir hunt (photos of celebrities who've been there were posted on their wall and counter), is where you can find all sorts of souvenir. You can find shirts, key chains, ref magnets, coin purses, food (mostly cashew products), swim wears, and a whole to more.

Third stop: CASHEW NUTS PRODUCERS

Unfortunately, it was closed the time we visited it but again, we can always come back and Antipolo, where we live, is also known for cashews :)

Third stop: MT. TAPYAS VIEW DECK

There is no other way to the top but surely, it will all be worth it

This is the highlight and the most challenging part of the town tour. One must climb 723 steps (as I counted it). Some said that it's 742, some 720. Whatever the right number of steps is, I am more than excited to climb this mountain because I've heard that the view above is really breathtaking. By the way, according to what I've read, the mountain was called "Mt. Tapyas" because a part of it which was used by the Japanese forces as their military camp was literally chipped off when American forces came in the Philippines and bombed the mountain. "Chipped" which is "tapyas" in tagalog then became "Mt. Tapyas" as we call it now.

Found this in the entrance. If only our government will stay true to this

At first, it was just like, "okay, let's do this" but it is not as easy as that. I feel like giving up in the middle of the trek. The only thing that's pushing me to finish is the fact that I will see Coron in a different and more beautiful view. 

NOTE: The hardest part of the climb is the last part because it's very steep. 

Hard work truly pays off. Here's what you will see at the view deck:

There is also a cross that will remind us to pray and stay humble after every success that we receive. That time, the successful climb is what we thanked for.

With a breathtaking view, who can resist doing a photo op? Not us!

We waited for almost sunset to see a more beautiful scenery :)

After the tiring but worth it trekking to the summit of Mt. Tapyas, we went to our last stop, the MAQUINIT HOT SPRING. 

A bit of trivia,  Maquinit Hot spring is one of the few saltwater hot springs in the world. It is surrounded by lots of mangrove trees which adds to the relaxing ambiance of the place. Unlike other destinations in the town tour, Maquinit is quite far from the town proper. It is a 30-minute rough road drive to this place. 

As soon as we enter the place, Kuya Anton, our driver/tour guided, handed us our merienda (Pansit + Bread + Soft drinks). The food is usually part of the tour package. Too bad, it's almost dark when we got there so our camera wasn't able to capture good photos.

Maquinit Hot Spring at night

Since our legs and feet are really tired and Kuya Anton told us that he usually bring tourists here after the treck at Mt. Tapyas, we then took a dip to the spring. At first, it was unbearable because it was too hot for me. I think the temperature ranges from 39 to 40 degrees celsius. Still, I tried because I remembered, it will not be called "hot spring" for nothing. The heat turned into warmth and I almost forgot how it felt the first time I dip my feet.

The water started to sweep all the pain in my body, especially those in my legs and feet. It was so relaxing. The water was very therapeutic that all you have to do is find your perfect spot, dip, and listen to the gentle sound of flowing water. Just take note that it is not recommended to stay too long in the spring because of its hot temperature. 30-40 minutes is just right. 

To cap off the day, though we're still full because of the big serving of pansit we had, we just went to another foodie place that is popular in Coron to taste its famous pizza. Why pizza? I know, we always want to try the local food in a place that we are visiting but according to my research, their pizza is a must-try! Anyway, we are looking for something light for dinner so we went to CORTO DEL MAR RESTAURANT.

Corto del Mar is one of the most expensive hotels in Coron. One night costs P5,000 plus for the standard room. The ambiance was so inviting and relaxing. Their restaurant, which is open to the public, is located near the hotel's swimming pool which added to the place's "coziness." Here's what we ordered:

Margarita Pizza (Big) P350

True to its size, it was really big that we weren't able to finish it all. Maybe we're just really full that night because of the big serving of pansit that we had. What I like about this pizza is that you can taste how fresh the tomatoes and basil are and it has a generous amount of mozzarella cheese. Anything with lots of cheese is perfect, isn't it?

It's just our first day in Coron but I was really in love with the place. The honesty of people, the simplicity of living and the great places and food, who will not be? Take note, it's only the town tour. I'm sure, you will also love this place more after seeing the islands and other bodies of water on my next blog posts. 

Cheers to God's creations!

 xoxo