Coron Palawan (April 17, 2007)

It is very rare for my family to go away, out of town, on a vacation. Lately, we have been checking in a hotel at least once a year just for the sake of being able to do s
o (that's one of the perks for being a member of the hotel...)

I have often ranted (Sorry multiplyers, I have a private blog) about not being able to go away during holidays and celebrating special occasions at home just because our house is the only house that will fit a large clan.
Things have changed though this time. This year is quite a big year for my family. It's my parents' silver anniversary on the 23rd of May, and it's my sister's debut on the 3rd of July. Me...on the other hand will be turning 24 this April...wooohooo (it's a cry, not a cheer)...actually, me and my family are thinking of a good reason why this is a big year for me, but alas, there's none. Maybe the fact that I got through my first year of medical school without having the need to repeat any subjects (I'm tempted to say unscathed...but I think I am). Anyway, Our family decided that we all deserve a break, away from the rest of the relatives. People who celebrate big deal events usually throw off a party, and spend a lot, to get tired and not enjoy the night. I have nothing against those events, it's just that I have prepared so many parties during the holidays that throwing another one to celebrate my family's evidence of longetivity was a definite no no, not only to me but to
my whole family (thank goodness). We then decided t
hat we will go out of town.
But to where? If I just think about the process of criticizing and choosing where to go. It was a pain in the neck. We first decided to go to the US (my parents have accumulated miles in Northwest and KLM so it will be cheaper for us), but the USA is already cliche. Everyone goes there. We've already been there. And besides, it means we are going to stay at our relatives (Rule of the season: NO RELATIVES!!!) homes which will definitely impede our freedom to do the things that we want to do, and go where we want to go.

Our next two choices were Europe (Man! Prague, oh Prague!) and Palau. But Europe is far too expensive, so we decided to save first so when the time comes, the trip will be a blast, maybe when I graduate from med (Hmmm...that will be like when?...Swabe is the answer...hahaha). So Palau it is. A call to SeaAir however quenched our excitement when we found out that we have decided far too late and there were no more flights available in April (it is the only time that we all are available for the year)...

So if you can't get a trip internationally...GO LOCAL! Boracay is out of the question. Too many people, to think that we were avoiding people and just enjoying the quietness. So our next choice was Palawan (after that, I probably think that a party will be the only option left).

But getting a flight to Palawan also proved to be very hard. So my very practica parents decided that we will go to Palawan via boat and just ride a plane going home. It will be a blast.

We did not go to El Nido because it is to expensive. Besides, my family is into backpacking and enjoying a trip does not mean staying at the nicest hotels (thats very true if you do not really have the money to stay at luxurious hotels). Coron is a small province included in the island of Busuanga which was north of the group of Palawan islands. I was informed that we will be staying at this garden resort called KoKosNuss (I think it is coconut in German...I was thinking it means Coco's Nest but a coconut tree in the logo of resort kinda gives it away).

...

Day 1

Good Friday:

12pm, we were all scuttling about getting everything ready for the trip. By 1pm we were at the pier and later on boarded the ship. By 4pm, we left...nothing really happened much here. I was surprised to see so many foreigners aboard. Apparently, there were like us, trying to save on travelling so we could really spend on the trip packages possible, and the good food...we'll survive. A suite accommodation is good enough. We will just be sleeping anyway. I haven't been in a boat ride for quite a while. I think the last time I was on a boat was when I was still 5 years old. I felt so dizzy because the kept moving up and down. But the chicken asado siopao was so good i ate 3 big ones when we just left and later ate another 2. Hahaha, I am bound to get fat on this trip.

...

Day 2

I woke up at 3 am because I cannot fall asleep. It was freezing cold in our room so I decided to go to the deck. I could still remember the time when I looked outside last night and it was total darkness. I had this second-long lurch in my stomach as I wondered what the abyss underneath our feeble vehicle beholds. I dare not imagine anymore.

By 5:30am, the captain gave his annoucement that we have finally reached the port of Coron, and wished us a good day. So as me and my family went on the queue where all the other people were filing up to go down, I cannot help but have this sense of excitement.

"Paano tayo punta dun sa resort? Magtaxi ba tayo?", I asked my dad. He gave me this weird look and said, "Walang taxi dito, magtricycle tayo." I then realized by his statement that it was a province...our location. I thought it will be a sprawling area, since so many tourists visit this place. Maybe the provincial way of living also added to the charm of the place. I have been sheltered too long in Metro Manila.

The people of KokosNuss were waiting for everyone who had a reservation at the place. While waiting for the other people going to the resort, my family met Jean-Luc, Sylvia, Tom, and LiLou Felix, a French family also going to the resort. The parents chatted and eventually we left.

When we arrived at out rooms, we decided on what to do for the day. The other people apparently paid package trips to do some island hopping and do other things. They are only staying in Coron for the weekend and are Manila-bound the next day. They were in such a hurry to do things para sulit.

Our case was different. We have a fairly long stay so instead of being too rushy (is there such a word?), we decided to just lounge around the place, and probably go to town and see the places where we can probably eat for lunch and dinner. Island hopping will be for tomorrow.

There is this mountain called Mt. Tapyas, and for our activity of the day, we decided to climb the mountain at 3pm in the afternoon. It was sooo tiring. The sun was against us, but as we got higher, and more tired, the view became more awesome. At the top, one can see the whole town of Coron, as well as the other nearby islands. It was such a wonderful view. My sister was picking up rocks to take home as part of her swatch collection for future plates (she's taking interior design). One has to breathe deeply for two reasons: (1) The climb up was tiring and the air is thin up here, and (2) it is so fresh you'd want to make bawi before you go back to the pollution of Manila.

One of the keys to having a blast whenever you travel is to sample the restaurants in the locality and one need not be tied down to what the hotels and resorts have to offer. Be adventurous. That is what we do whenever we travel. For dinner, we went to Bistro Coron, which is owned by Bruno (an Italian) and his Filipina wife. The food was soo good. And this place is actually always recommended by the people who go to Coron, both for good food and a few drinks.

...

Day 3

Island Hopping Day

It is a common practice by tourists to rent a boat and go island hoppint the whole day. For lunch, one usually either brings their baon or buys some fish in the nearby market and the boat operatores will cook them for you. Total coolness! Hehe outdoors!

We went to Siete Pecados, Lake Kayangan, and Twin Lagoons. The waters were sooo prestine, and there were not much people in sight. A plus for the tourist-weary. the fishes and the corals are so beautiful. The good thing is that the locals of the area has preserved the place. Siete Pecados is a group of seven islets surrounding a coral reef where one could enjoy snorkeling. It's quite shallow but one must be careful because there are lots of sea urchins.

Lake Kayangan is totally secluded and one needs to go trecking first before reaching the lake. This one is deep and the place is very quiet. The scenery is just wonderful.

We had lunch at the CYC Beach. It is a public beach with white sand and very annoying people. This is the typical place that you see when you go to public beaches in the Philippines. There are lots of locals and they do not care if they throw their trash in the water. Ang ganda pa naman sana ng lugar, panira yung mga tao. We immediately left the place after lunch, repulsed by what people can do...

Our last stop for the day was the Twin Lagoons. I enjoyed it here. To get here, one must weave through a maze of rock islands for the place is totally secluded. We were the only people when we arrived. There is no use anchoring the boat here because the depths are quite...ummm...deep. There are two lagoons (hence the name). The second lagoon (the first one is the lagoon you'll be in when you arrive at the end of the maze) is totally secluded and is only connected to the first one by a small cave. During high tide, one must swim through the cave to get to the other side. During low tide, it is quite accessible by using a kayak.

I never had the courage to swim through the other side because I never knew what to expect on the other side. There were also stories by the boat men that some foreigners have never returned saying that they either drowned or got bewitched by the place, because of its beauty, We just waited for the tide to go down and me and my father swam through it.

My father was very wise, and I was not. He had his life vest on and I chose to be stupid-brave by being all too strong and just treading all the time. when we got to the place...I was shocked. It was sooo beautiful and soooo quiet. It was so quiet I felt goosebumps. It had this eerie feeling. I tried exploring the place, fully aware of the unknown depths. The waters were dark blue meaning the bottom is far down. There was no shore to rest and appreciate the beauty. It was all water and sharp craggy rock, and forest. When your imagination starts going wild, you'll start to get scared. It's not the possibility of a leviathan-like creature that might be lurking underneath and just grab your leg...the the eerieness of the unknown. It was so mysterious. I went back because I was feeling tired. I will never dare to go to that place alone (and to think that it was in broad daylight). So it was the end of the day.

...

Day 4

Totally uninteresting. We checked out of Kokosnuss to go to another resort, the SeaDive resort. It had better accommodations, better sights, and was nearer the town (better food). We were thinking of having two straight days worth of island hopping. We were so tired we just decided to go to this lousy hot springs (I'm not a fan of hot springs) called the Maquinit Hot springs. It was a complete spool-off because the locals in charge of the place were charging P100 per person if you're an outsider and only P50 if you are from Coron. I totally do not recommend this place. Ang pangit pa ng lugar. I did not even care to take pictures. My sister got sick here.

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Day 5

Another island hopping day.

We decided to take it easier this time and not hurry. Instead of lagoons, we went to the various beaches and just made dawdaw there. There were many mini-beaches all of white sand. Compared to the beaches in Boracay, these are a bit untamed but that is the beauty of the beaches I guess. They were managed by the Tagbanuas in the place. Since we had the beaches to our own. We just stayed there for a long time (did some snorkelling at the nearby coral reefs, annoyed Nemo (hehe we saw this clownfish and we were trying to get him out of his sea anemone home but he'd just play there.

Just for the fun of it, we once again returned to Siete Pecados and did some more relaxed snorkeling there. My dad chatted with Mang Pitong, the person in charge of collecting the fee (he actually asked us not to pay because he probably enjoyed talking to us). They were surprised to see Filipinos at this time (most of the Filipinos who were first with us just stayed for the weekend) since most of the people now left were the foreigners. They therefore concluded that we were rich because we can afford to stay here for a quite a while...I had a great laugh at that point. Mang Pitong was telling us that the Siete Pecados was actually the legend of 7 sisters who committed suicide because of severe family problems. If you'll look at the islands, especially at night, you'll see the outline of the women in supine position...it was freaky.

Later on for the last stop, we went to go snorkeling to see a shipwreck (I forgot the name of the boat...basta, it was Japanese). Feeling brave enough, I got the courage to swim underwater and look for the wreck. I was admiring the wonderful scenery of corals and fishes, and at the same time wondering where the ship is...when all of a sudden, it loomed at me. The sight of the mast frighted me that I accidentally drank sea water and had to surface immediately or I'd drown. I had the same feeling when I was in the secluded lagoon. It was the eerieness of the scene. Mysterious.

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Homeward Bound...

We simply went to the airport of Coron on top of a mountain, to fly aboard the 19-seater SeaAir plane. I was chatting with Mattheu, a 6'10" French acquaintance at SeaDive (I felt hobbit-like again) who happened to also be going to Manila at the same flight with us. We were wondering if it can stand the height and the lack of pressure and all of those other things.

Not to worry though because small as it may seem, it was very stable and probably packed a lot of punch.

So we boarded the plane and off it went, back to Metro Manila where sooner or later, I will have to face reality again. There goes our vacation...first installment of the two part bakasyon engrande that happens rarely in my life.