Coron Solo Travel Diary: Siete Pecados wannabee Snorkler and a Suprise trek to Kayangan Lake

Woke up very early on a Monday morning, I thought I was still in Las Pinas and I need to get up and be ready for my 6:00AM gym. (yes I work-out every morning during weekday). Gah, I told to myself, sayang ang oras! So instead of going back into slumber I decided to get-up, freshen a bit and go the town pier plaza to see what Coron looks like in the morning. 

Surprisingly, many people are already up at 6 in the morning, Even some western tourist are already making their way to town and do some shopping and hunting stores that offers breakfast. And since we have a complimentary breakfast I decided to buy a pandesal while walking along the Lualhati Park. 

Feeling tourist lang ang peg!

The weather was perfect for a morning stroll. It’s not hot yet and the temperature is still cool. I like! Walang ganito sa amin! Wah!

After a couple of pandesal (which I tried to feed to the fish swimming in the pier dock but it didn’t eat at all) and some photo-ops I decided to go back to the hotel and have my breakfast. I was looking forward for a heavy breakfast since we will be having a v.v. hectic day today but alas this is what I got fro breakfast…… 

A little bit disappointing. Sana pala kumain nalang ako dun sa palengke where they serve a wide variety of breakfast meal. Anyhow its complimentary naman so choosy paba ako (eh libre na nga! LoL).

 

After breakfast and a quick dash to the drug store (to buy sunblock) we’re off to our island hopping trip for the day. Then again panic arises in me as we aboard the motorized bangka. You see I have this slight phobia in riding a bangka (whether big or small) after what happened in Capones island three years ago, but thank god life vest is available! Yay! Now I feel safe.

 

The life vest is my companion during the whole day. I have to admit it helps me swam in deep waters FOR THE FIRST TIME in my 31 years of existence! Pumalya lang si life vest while we we’re in Twin Lagoon, story to be told next post =D.

 

Okay, off we go, fist stop is the Siete Pecados Island. Oh during the whole duration of the trip we have Mila’s nephew who act as our tour guide din pala. He was explaining to us the geography and history and what not about siete pecados but unfortunately for me I  was not listening. I was too busy taking pictures and contemplating whether to swim or not (kasi nga hindi ako marunong lumangoy). 

But after too much prodding by Tita (she’s the gracious matriarch of the family which I was with during the whole trip) and showing me that it’s ok to swim I hesitantly and slowly drop my body to the cold water of Coron.

 

Eeeekkkk!!! I thought I was gonna drowned. (Arte much lang pala!)

In fairness, the life vest did let me float but I’m not letting my guard down with it. I was holding on to my dear life on the bangka’s outrigger the whole time! Wah! Such a loser am I! Lol! 

I have to admit the coral formation in Siete Pecados are awesome. Lot’s of colorful corals underwater and of course lots of fish as well. The most common type of fish the neon blue one which is much like a dalagang bukid to me, in color blue! 

Cute! 

I submerged my whole body and head jus to check the fishes and the corals in Siete pecados. Darn, I should have borrowed Rosa’s snorkeling gear. With only the googles in tow, it’s hard to see what’s happening underneath. =(. 

According to our guide, Siete Pecados is where Manila Ocean Park get their aquarium fish, parang may breeding station or something ata dun. But if im not mistaken, Siete Pecados was a popular TV show (or movie) way back in the 80’s (Age alert!). Also it’s a name of a bar or a band ata during the 90’s and early 2K-ish. Basta the name sounds very familiar.

 

After 20-30 minutes of arm binding (in the rigger) and drinking a couple of sea water (yikes!) and eating my companion’s puto (waaaa! PG! These people are so kind enough to share with me their baon) we’re off to Kayangan Lake.

Was v.v.v. much impressed in the entrance lagoon of Kayangan Lake. Super white beach and green scenery and crystal clear water! It reminds me of Calaguas Island (Read:Must-go-back-there-this-year) of last year. The island is inhabited by the Tagabanua (according to our guide, sha na ang best in information!) therefore we have to follow some rules like no bringing of food in the island and no traversing the caves (which we found out only while we did trekking going to the lake). 

Armed only with my googles and small amount of water, we hike for about 20 minutes going to the lake. But wait there’s more surprise in the island.

 

Lo and behold there’s this majestic view from the cave area wherein we are overlooking the lake. 

Awesome!

 

Here’s the cave that our guide told us not to enter. According to him the famous birds nest (not the one found in Beijing silly!) which in turn used for “nido soup” are abundantly stored here (thanks to the birds who live inside the cave =P). Only the Tagbanua can harvest it and use it. Bawal daw for taga-labas to get those precious nests. =(. 

OK Fine!

 

After a couple of ups and down the trail we finally arrive in Kayangan Lake! 

Ganda noh? 

Green kung green ang scenery!

Funny thing was to enjoy the lake you have to swim on it, kaso I leave my life vest at the bangka. 

So how now brown cow? 

Luckily one of my companions brought his life vest and since he’s a good swimmer I borrowed his. What a nice guy!

 

Then the much awaited first-time-ever-swimming-in-a-very-deep-bodies-of-water starts. At first was a little bit hesitant to jump from the docking board but once I felt na I was floating, then the happiness arrived! 

Yahoo! I can swim na! LoL! 

As the other people has witnessed, I swam back and forth the magkabilang dulo ng lake entrance. Hahaha. Feelign first timer talaga. It was fun pala to swim and I felt secured since 1. it’s a lake and no chance to be caught up by the wave 2. konti lang tao, so if ever na malunod konti lang ang witness (para di nakakahiya) 3. exercise mode sa swimming, i.e. nakakapayat! 

Haist. I think after an hour of swimming and photo-op (shempre sabit lang ako lagi sa mga kasama ko) it was time to go back to the boat. 

Kayangan lake, I owe you one. Dahil napalangoy mo ako for sure babalikan kita… 

Next stop Bandol beach and the scary experience at Twin Lagoon =P

Coron Solo Travel Diary: Maquinit Hot Spring and Dinner at Blue Lagoon

After the tiring mini trek to Mt. Tapyas, next on our itinerary was to visit the Maquinit Hot Spring located outside the Coron Town. But first, before we proceed to the hot spring our tour guide asked us if we want to buy some cashew nuts on the town's cashew making factory (errr...the factory is just a house actually) but we declined the offer since we're all tired and we want to relax on the Hot spring. Little did i know that kasoy pala as the main product of Palawan and it's cheaper compared in, let say Antipolo! Waaaa!!!

Note to self: Do some research on each province that I will visit para makabili ng pasalubong.

After some 20 minutes or so of land travel we finally reached the Maquinit Hot Spring. The place is like on the farthest side of the Coron Island since there's almost no houses nearby and it's near to the beach. I was wondering why there's an hot spring on the island since it requires/ should have an active/inactive volcano hearby to produce this hot spring. Turns out that the mountain besides us was a dormant volcano thus the hot spring.

OK! ako na ang best in Science and Technlogy.

The place is quite big for a resort, i was expecting a small pool like area like in Pansol or Los Banos Laguna, but here it's more nice and relaxing.

Well actually the pool is not with tiles but it's made of cement lang. The problem with that is it accumulate lumot around the pool kaya madulas.I slipped a couple of times actually while swimming in the pool.

Oh, the temperature of the water is so hot!!! Mas mainit pa sa Laguna! But what more exciting is it's natural heated water that's coming out and it is also a flowing water (water from the mountain - pool - ocean) kaya for sure the water is clean and well routed. LoL!

I swam only for a couple of minutes then decided to get out. My other companion stayed a little while though. Was surprised to learn that there is no water in the shower area! Yikes! Good thing our driver and tour guide allows us to ride in their van kahit basa pa ang mga damit namin. LoL! Godbless their kindred soul.

Entrance to the Hot Sprign is Php200.00 pesos (i think) but since we're on a tour package it's already included =D.

See you again Sir!

Funny thing happened that day, I skipped breakfast because i woke up late and skipped lunch beacuase the flight was delayed. Only ate a couple of bread when we reached Coron since most of the carinderia are closed. You can imagine how Gu-Tommy Abuel, Tom Jones, Tom Riddle na ako when dinner come!

We we're billeted to Blue Lagoon restaurant which was owned by my tour operator Mila Gamboa who graciously entertained us when we arrived in the restaurant. In fairness maganda ang resto, the ambiance, the music, the service is top notch! Good Job Mila!

Lovely Interiors

Was having a dilemma on how to eat dinner together with my companions who are one big fmaily. Nakakahiya kasi sumama, most specially when they learn that ang lakas ko kumain kasi super gutom! LoL! But was suprised to learned that Mila arranged a SEPARATE dinner for me! Waaaaaaa!!

AS IN SEPARATE! SOLO, SINGLE, ONE AND ONLY, MAG-ISA!

Note to self: DONT TRAVEL ALONE NEXT TIME!

Though it was a bit hilarious and nakakahiya (to my companions, baka feeling nila i snubbed them) i have to admit I splurge in eating the Lato, Chili Crab and Fish with Sweet and Sour Sauce (trivia: I hate sweet and sour food but i take an exception to this one because it taste so good!). 

Super Gutom + Sumptuous dinner = Busog

Good for one person only!

After dinner I decided to head back home earlier than my companion. I didn't take the service van and instead Milas asked her cousin to bring me back to the hotel. I need to go back early because i need to buy Sunscreen pa! Turns out the drugstore is closed when I arrived. Shucks! Sayang! Was inclined pa naman to drink the night away because the band in the restaurant are so good. May jamming session pa!

Next post will be about the adventures of island hopping, swimming for the first time and life vest malfunction in the deep twin lagoon..Abangan!

Coron Solo Travel Diary: Coron Town Proper and Mt. Tapyas

It was an impromptu trip. Bored and tried and it's already 7:00PM on one weekday evening at the office, i browse cebu pacific and checked if they still have those air fare promo (this was before i had the citibank cebu pac credit card, naks! free plugging!). And there was actually, the problem is where to go and whom to bring. Floro is definitely out because of his seminary duties, while the others are either 1) busy at work 2) don't want to travel with e 3)i don't want to travel with them. So I decided to travel alone and go somewhere i haven't been to. Was torn between Coron and Catanduanes since I want to explore this both province but upon seeing the beautiful pictures of Coron, well let's just say the rest is history.

To cut the long story short I decided to travel to Coron, and with the help of my ex-officemate/ twitter friend/ martha stewart in the making / process engineer extraordinaire Marjorie whom recommend me to get Mila Gamboa's service, the vacation was all set.

Ahhh, Coron, when I first set my eyes on the wide countryside, the lush grass with matching white cows, feeling ko nasa Switzerland ako! Kulang nalang si Heidi! When we arrive at Amphibi-Ko (it was owned by a Japanese, thus the name) I immediately went out and checked their little jetty area, and this what greeted me...

Welcome to Coron!

Well of course, since it's a jetty edi maraming bangka sa tabi....

The room that I got is cozy, good for two persons. The bed is comfy and the pillows are fluffy. Only problem is the television set is a little bit out-of-tune-with-the-color-department. LoL! All in all the place is great!

I travel only with one back pack and one camera bag

After a few minutes of rest, we we're fetched by Dennis, our tour guide, to start the Coron Town proper tour. First stop was the reclaimed area of Coron which now stood the Lualhati park and the town market.

Lualhati is the name of the incumbent Governor of Palawan and Mayor of Coron. Swerte ni Mommy noh?!

Along the bay, you can see bangka and yacht silently parked on the waters. Hay, i wonder when will I ride in of those yatch (insert daydream believer song here). 

Soshal Studies!

Coron Mountains on the other side of the island

Coron Gateway Hotel is located on the same area as well, according to the driver who brought me back to the airport last tuesday afternoon Kris Aquino is going to Coron ad will stay here. Wow!

From yacht which is just a dream, mukhang haggang bangka nalang ata ako makakasakay!

The weather in Coron during my whole duration was amazing! It was all clear blue skies without any hint of rain shower or thunderstorms. In short it was PERFECT!

After spending a few minutes at the park/pier our next activity was trekking to Mt. Tapyas.

Wait, did Dennis just said treking? Im wearing my 2 year old Zara flip-flops and yet we're going to do a trek?

"No problem Sir, sementado po yung hagdan" dennis said.

"OK", ayan, kalmado nako. (affected much pag hindi tama ang trekking attire! LoL!)

According to the other tour guide namin, which is a kid actually, the steps leading to the top consist of 750+ steps daw. Whoah! That's like 750+ steps! (parang market!market  or tokyo tokyo lang)

Thank God for strong legs and healthy body (thanks Gold's Gym Ayala-Alabang!) it was a piece of cake.

While walking up the stairs, I talked to the kid about his dreams, ambitions, and motto in life (joke!). He was a bright kid in fairness, and he wants to be a Police officer when he grow up. He's only 12 years old i think (he's in grade 6) and he also want to pursue or make a career/sideline in tour guides together with his auntie Mila (which is a tour operator in Coron).

After the much effort in climbing up the stairs, this greeted us from the top...

And at the back of the summit it's a totally different view naman...

Mapapakanta ka ng "The hills are alive with the sound of music" (now showing at Resorts world theater)

May secret dating place pala dito sa summit, see the cottage on the picture below, yes it is a god spot for a romatic date kasi malayo sa crowd. I didn't know there was someone out there when me and my tour guide went. Shempre nahuli namin silang nagki-kiss! LoL! Awkward moment!

The path to everlasting love

Most of the mountains in Coron are already bare or full of grass nalang because the town people cut the trees to make lumber. I just hope it won't suffer the fate as Mt Batulao did. Sayang naman. But still the view is breathtaking.

The reason it was called Mt Tapyas is that during the war, the Japanese planted tons of explosives on the mountain and it was their bastion against the Americans, Shelling and Bombardment slice the side of the mountain, hence it was called "tapyas". Pero the bangka driver told me a different story naman, hay nako  didn't know whom to believe!

Trivia: Did you know that during the war, the japanese navy hide their warship on Coron island to avoid detection from American spy plane. Unfortunately they we're detected and fighting erupt on the bay. All of the japanese warship sunk on the bay and now it is a major tourist spot for divers. At least we get something good from the war diba?!

The cross sis illuminated at night and serves as a guide to fishermen during nigh time voyage.

You have to admit, I'm HOT.

(please send me an email if you don't agree, para ipatutumba kita)

What I like about Coron is the STRONG signal of Globe telecom (shameless plug na naman!). I got 3G signal in Coron town proper and GPRS while we're doing island hoping. Ang sushal! LoL! Nakapag tweet and Facebook pa ako while in the middle of the ocean. Ayos! 

Globe and Smart installed their tower on the highest point of the mountain kasi, hence the strong signal.

After photo-ops and taking rest, we decided to go down and proceed to the next destination. Along the way, I've met the SK Chairman who's a very nice guy in fairness! He's doing his daily exercise just like any other town mate, by going up and down the stairs. Whoah! No wonder they are all fit and healthy. Sila na!

Goodbye Mt. Tapyas, See you again soon!

Next stop, Maquinit spring and sumptuous dinner at Mila's restaurant.

Sun, Sea, Sand in Coron island!

Summer is here and lets all welcome it by my series of blogs about the magnificent Coron island!

One of the best beach I've been through, pity that I didn't have much time to explore the whole area. But nevertheless I have some memorable experience with this place.

Watch out for my coron series soon!


Let's go Summer 2012!