jump into my flipside: Kwentong Kaladkarin #47: Captivating Coron

Da Where: Coron, Palawan, Philippines

Da When: September 9-12, 2012

Da Who: me and Vin to celebrate our golden monthsary. ;D

I opened my eyes and instantly knew something was wrong. I heard patter on the roof above the hum of the electric fan. I turned slowly and peeked at the curtain-draped, jalousied window and saw gray skies and big, fat raindrops falling.

Noooooo! Today is our 'beach' day in the itinerary! :(

Egzoited! :D

At around 0800H, the skies were still overcast but a weak sun was finally peeking through enormous clouds. We met up with Kuya Ruel and Kuya Jonathan for our second day of jetting us from one island to another in the Calamianes archipelago.

After almost falling asleep with the steady rocking of the boat for an hour, we dropped anchor at Bulog Uno Island, our first stop for the day. We hurriedly grabbed our snorkels and vests and jumped ship (or in this case, boat) to start enjoying the warm waters.

Serene as you can be.

Bulog Uno Island welcoming us on a gloomy morning.

There was a cemented walkway up a small hill where you can take pretty bird's eye-view photos of the beach and see the expensive Two Seasons Resort under construction on the neighboring island.

We enjoyed the place for a bit to ourselves before we were joined by another boat filled with three more couples.

Stairway to heaven. :D

View from the top.

Alone but not desolate

Virtually untouched.

Overlooking Two Seasons Resort

Properly sea-salted now, we headed off to our next destination, Banana Island, where we'll have our lunch. As soon as we stepped on the powdery sand, we were met by two friendly dogs owned by the resort caretakers. There are cottages for rent for those wishing to spend a night by the beach but we're just visiting here for the day.

Blackie and Whitey (at least, I think that's what their names are) of Banana Island

A few minutes after docking, blustery winds blew in and rain started pouring out of nowhere. The stakes dug into the sand to which the boats were tied to suddenly broke off as the winds pulled the boats back to the waters. Kuya Ruel, Kuya Jonathan and Vin ended up wading in and pulled ropes to get our boat back in.

After all the hype and panic the rain brought, our lunch was carried up to a table we borrowed from one of the cottages and enjoyed our tempting lunch filled with delectable dishes of grilled squid, pork chops, and fish with ice-cold Coke and capped off with sweet mangoes for dessert. The sea breeze was brisk, courtesy of lashing rain and we almost felt drowsy after stuffing ourselves silly.

Look at that cumulu-nimbus clouds!

Mayday! Mayday! :D

Earlier time, when our lunch was being prepared.

Can you say 'fiesta'? :)

Instead of taking a nap though, we took advantage of our short time left and swam in the western portion of the island. It was still drizzling but the waters were warm enough and the waves mellowed out.

Kuya Jonathan was now calling us to go back to the boat so we can head to our final stop for the day, another popular island-hopping spot in Coron. The waves were starting to get stronger again and it was a lot harder to dock and get on the beach when we arrived at Malcapuya Island.

Same as Banana Island, Malcapuya Island also features a spartan resort with stand-alone cottages dotting the creamy shoreline. I asked the guy manning the sari-sari store and he told me that overnight stays at these cottages go for PhP700/pax. While enjoying our PhP40 buko juice, another local came up holding a pawikan (sea turtle).

We thought it just got caught in the fishermen nets that day or wandered in the beach until I saw the nylon rope tied to its shell. I was a little disappointed to know it was his pet named Quickie and he brought the turtle along for photo ops with the other visitors and receive donations, unsolicited but sort of expected.

I'm not familiar with the conservation laws for sea turtles but I thought they were endangered species and they’re not supposed to be kept as house pets. Oh well, if it still gets to swim in the Palawan seas every day and taken care of, I guess am good with that. I don’t think it can be taken out of the airport anyway; they’re very strict during check-in when you flight out of the island.

One of the highlights of a visit to Malcapuya Island is another chance to do snorkeling and see colorful fishes and corals and living giant clams just a few meters off the beach. Again, let me refresh your memory that I am deathly scared of deep waters and weird-looking corals. I didn't have my Sandugo trek sandals on when we waded into the waters so my bare feet could feel everything it stepped on the seabed. Urgh! :S

Rained in.

Approaching Malcapuya.

We were lucky to see a couple giant clams up close but I was starting to panic when my feet couldn't feel the sand beneath my soles anymore so I stayed in one spot until we decided to get back to the beach. Snorkeling back to the shore was still enjoyable as we swam with colorful fish and dancing sea plants underwater. Dark clouds were already rolling in and were signaling heavy rains again when we got back to the beach.

When we scrambled back up to the boat, raindrops started pelting us. We had about another hour on the boat on our way back to Coron town, enjoying brandy shots and leftover grilled squid for pica-pica while shivering in the cold sea breeze and bumpy boat ride.

The weather was gloomy but it certainly didn't dampen our spirits at all. Not even one bit. I mean, c'mon, we're in Coron! Sunshine or not, we're already in paradise! :)