Arrival day...
...we fly from Leyte to Manila, overnight there and fly out the next morning to Coron town, located on Busuanga Island in the northern islands of Palawan...we are about a 6-8 hr ferry ride from the tip of Palawan and El Nido town....
...we've come to the conclusion that the arrival time for Filipino air flights is actually our real departure time, as planes are routinely an hour to 90 minutes late leaving.... Oh well!..
...we booked a room through Expedia for our 1st night....take a 45 min van ride from the airport to Coron town.... Beautiful ride in with rolling hills, cattle ranches and fewer palm trees. Dry in places that reminded us of the Okanagan in our province in Canada.
...get dropped off at our hotel with 2 others staying there...the 2 Spanish flight attendants get checked in....but somehow our pre-booked hotel has no rooms for us....so, they tell us we get an 'upgrade' to a nearby hotel....Spanish ladies not happy....seems they'd like the upgrade, too...
....our new room is crap....seems like an old bait 'n switch scam...we stay and look for a better room....after some beers and food..... Expedia will definitely hear from us! Our bay view is great though!
The next morning we look at a number of rooms....some nice, some not so.....finally, one hotel manager who had no vacancies takes us personally to another hotel....the TreeTop Hotel is perfect and will be our home for our stay here.....
Day 1....
....we've signed up for a day tour of beaches and sights of Coron Island......
.....it is the perfect King Kong island setting....towering limestone karst cliffs, moody, forbidden interior, rugged, jagged rocks.....
...we spend the day hiking, snorkeling, swimming...
...gorgeous scenery is everywhere we turn...both above and below the water...
The water is so clear!
...there are over 600 islands in this area of Palawan alone...
....wow factor most definitely is here.....it easily rivals the Croatian, Greek islands in beauty, isolation and most are undeveloped....
...you can go on organized day trips, organize your own, camp or stay alone on stunning beaches....
....at day's end we return to our new hotel, look forward to a hot/warm shower, drinks and food...
....as we get out of our trike we meet our Spanish friends, seems they have rooms at our hotel, as we had told them where we found some great digs earlier...
....already plans are forming....seems some of the Filipino's we are sitting with are planning a private day trip to a very quiet island.... Hhhmmm?
Day 2/3
....after last night's group session at the Cafe Real, we scrapped our plans to do the usual tourist tours offered, in favour of a private boat with several of our new Filipino and Spanish friends for a day trip to a private island......
... The island owner's son also mentions that we can stay on this tiny remote island overnight if we wish...why not? So, we pack a bag too...
...we all head to the market to shop for food and drink.....such interesting sights...
...load everything up and motor off in a bangka for Pass Island...
....again, who would pass up the opportunity to go exploring with locals and other great people.... We laugh, we ask questions, we share stories as we ride through gorgeous islands... and, massive amounts of pearl gardens suspended from ropes 20 metres below the surface of the water...
...Pass Island is a tiny bit of land (5 hectares only), about 90 min from Coron Town... As we approach we realize how lucky we are to be with these wonderful people in such an amazing setting...
...it's a day trip destination for some tours and a place to relax for others...for us, we first get settled with our new friends and the boat captain prepares the food we purchased at the market...
....we swim, eat and drink....by 3 pm, our ride leaves, we wave good-bye for the night and soon we are on our own....the island's caretaker and family live on the island......along with the usual dogs, cats, roosters and pet pig...
....our room is a bamboo cottage.... mere steps from the deck to the water....washrooms located in a building a short walk away.....
Our deck
Our room, without the mattress and bedding
.....the Nipa Hut is perfect.....we watch the sunset from the hill on the island....look for the big dipper/north Star....we think we found it..
....feel almost like Castaway or Robinson Crusoe...
....spend the whole day barefoot and in our swimsuits - the only people on the beach. Shall we sit here or over here??? This island life is easy to take...
.....as night darkens, we drift off to sleep listening to the quiet chatter of the family floating through the stillness that comes when the generator is turned off.....
....next morning, we awake to the roosters, rays of sunshine peeking through our bamboo walls....
.....we are in the water snorkeling before breakfast, before the bangka boats return, before the morning winds ruffle the calm, inviting waters of our barefoot paradise.....
A stunning garden af giant clams 30-70 cm across can be found here.
...even the island dog swims along with us....
....we eat breakfast...left over from the afternoon feast of the day before.....chicken, rice, calamari.....on our deck, watching the day's activities unfold for the caretakers.... fishers on their boats....family sweeping debris off the beach.....dogs digging for crabs....
.....the one problem we must solve is getting a ride back to Coron Town....a private bangka pick up would cost $4000 pesos (abt $120 Can)...don't think so....we figure we can ask one of the several tour boats that come daily to Pass Island to take us back.....
....but, before they arrive....we do a 45 min snorkel around the island.... Yep...that's how small (or big?) this place is...
.....the hunt for a boat ride back is solved....seems our Filipino friends asked around about getting us back to town...turns out the island owner (Eddie) is coming.... he's doing some business, has a big private bangka, plenty of room...
....the boat Captain says..."Welcome aboard"...and so we are! Eddie is a most gracious host, speaks at length with us and makes us feel welcomed!
.....in town, we shower, how sweet is that - hot water after 2 days of ocean, sun and sweat...
...then some food, drinks with our friends at the Cafe Real.
Day 4
.....we do another amazing tour...meet some great people....
....we go to new locations...
.....get to Barracuda Lake and swim/snorkel through ascending bubbles of divers below us.....like being in a giant bottle of Sprite.....
.... bubbles swirl, pop around us, some the size of dinner plates...
We don't see the elusive giant barracuda who apparently lives in this lake, but we see amazing limestone formations above and below the water...
...and, as it was a windy day, our boat Captain switches the stops around.....we manage to hit a rock, damage our prop and limp to the next site....there we meet bangka chaos... seems all boat Captains think a like.....and seek shelter from the strong, morning winds...
...we arrive in the sheltered cove to bedlam...bangka boats are everywhere, scattered this way and that...
.....some try to leave and the dance begins of moving these gangly bangka boats around, out of the way....all the while swimmers, tours float by, around or under outriggers.....
....we've also managed to take on another bangka....seems the motor has quit completely... so, we tow it.. with our own wonky prop and all - to the lunch stop..there a new boat awaits the other group and our prop can be banged and straightened...
... food is served.. the bangka boat crew do an amazing job of cooking on a barbeque the size of an apple crate....on the high seas, charcoal grills fish, pork, calamari... rice is prepared and salads made.....and the food .....delicious!
A most unusual textured seaweed salad...
....our day ends with a working prop and us towing an empty boat back to port.....
....we say goodbye to our Spanish friends. they leave by ferry to El Nido...
...and we go off to book some dives on some Japanese wrecks destroyed in WW2.....
Day 5
.....off to dive on 2 wrecks of the 9 Japanese freighters/cargo ships sunk in WW2....
....while the visibility is not so good, we dive in, through and around the sunken ships...evidence of their destruction is everywhere... gaping holes, twisted metal....plant and sea life has moved in.... Too bad we don't have a camera that can go 30 metres deep...surface shots are all we get...
...even get to wear our favorite 'onesie' wet suit.....
....decided to leave the northern Palawan islands and Coron Town the next day....time to move on...have enjoyed this area very much.... people fantastic... locals we have met are warm, generous, and so helpful....
The Palawan air is clear and fresh...there's really no industry for days nearby....water is inviting.... scenery spectacular.... can it get any better than this? Find out next time in the next installment of Backpacks and Flipflops!! Ha-ha! 😁
Shayne & Yvonne
Additional photos...
