After waiting for so long, we finally pushed through with our tropa summer getaway at Coron, Palawan. I've long wanted to visit Palawan, and I was not disappointed. :) Must go back to Palawan someday to check out the famous Underground River and the beaches of El Nido. For now, here's a summary, in photos, of 4 perfect days in paradise :) Photos are from everyone's cameras.
But first, let me introduce everyone:
DAY 1 (April 7, Thursday)
Airport fiasco - We missed our scheduled 12PM flight
because there were no more seats. Apparently, Cebu Pacific (and all the other airlines) are allowed to overbook by 10% and just compensate for those who won't be able to get seats. So, we had to stay for 3 more hours in the airport for the next flight to Busuanga. But in fairness to Cebu Pacific, they gave us free lunch (Jollibee!) and free 2-way tickets each to any domestic destination within 6 months. Not bad.
We had 3 hours to spare. After eating the free Jolly Chickenjoy, it's time to play.
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| Photo by: Yza Urgel |
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| Photo by: Dan Pamparo |
We boarded our tiny airplane...
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| Photo by: Billy Sy |
Looks like we were on the plane headed to "the island" on Lost.
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| Photo by: Yza Urgel |
Sure enough, we saw the Smoke Monster on Day 3 across Calomboyan Island!
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| Photo by: Yza Urgel |
But I'm already getting ahead of myself. Going back to Day 1, we weren't really going to Lost island, we were actually on the way to Coron-wood.lol
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| Photo by: Billy Sy |
Finally arrived at the Busuanga airport!
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| Photo by: Yza Urgel |
Took a 30-minute van ride and checked in at the Coron Village Lodge.
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| Photo by: Kat Sanchez |
Since we had no more time for a city tour, we headed on to the Maquinit Hot Spring to take a dip. We weren't able to take photos 'coz it was really dark and we were too scared to drop our cams in the water.
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| Photo by: Eliel Sarmiento |
After that relaxing swim, we called it a night and went back to our apartment. It was literally a Bob Marley shrine.
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| Photo by: Dan Pamparo |
DAY 2 (April 8, Friday)
Mt. Tapyas - The next morning, we woke up at 4AM, ready to brave the 700+ steps going up Mt. Tapyas. This, right here, is Mt. Tapyas. And we went all the way up to that cross.
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| Photo by: Yza Urgel |
Since we we got there early, this was our reward:
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| Photo by: Yza Urgel |
Our legs were literally shaking right after, and we were super tired but the view was beautiful.
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| Photo by: Billy Sy |
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| Photo from: Billy Sy |
Too bad we had to go back down.
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| Photo by: Billy Sy |
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| Photo by: Yza Urgel |
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| Photo from: Billy Sy |
So after breakfast, we went on a short tricycle ride...
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| Photo by: Yza Urgel |
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| Photo by: Dan Pamparo |
...to the pier...
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| Photo by: Yza Urgel |
...where our tour guide, Kuya Jun, was waiting for us.
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| Photo by: Yza Urgel |
But before anything else, a quick lesson...
The day's itinerary included:
Siete Pecados - It's basically a group of 7 small islands. Legend has it that these are the bodies of 7 daughters who ran away from home, took a boat during a storm, and went missing. A few days after, these islands surfaced (that's how I'd summarize it). But of course, we all know that's not true:) But don't we all love legends?
We weren't able to take photos because we were too busy snorkeling. For the record, we probably spent about half of the whole trip snorkeling.hehe :)
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| Photo from: Yza Urgel |
Atuwayan Beach - Around noontime, we docked at Antuwayan Beach, where Kuya Jun and his gang prepared our lunch as we frolicked on the sand.
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| Photo by: Billy Sy |
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| Photo by: Eliel Sarmiento |
Photos from: Eliel Sarmiento
We also played rounds of card games.
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| Photo by: Eliel Sarmiento |
Twin Lagoon (my personal favorite) - After lunch, we got on the boat towards the Twin Lagoon. The reason why it's called "twin lagoon" is because it's 2 adjoining bodies of water. From the sea, there are 2 ways to get inside the "inner lagoon". If it's low tide, you can easily swim under the rock formation. But if it's high tide (like when we were there), you have to climb up a wooden ladder to get over the said rock formation. It's kinda scary actually. You have to take really careful steps, because if you slip, oh my gosh. Below is a photo of the entrance to the "inner lagoon".
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| Photo by: Yza Urgel |
Sadly, we don't have photos inside. No one was brave enough to bring a camera. We really need an underwater cam. Anyway, once you're inside, it's this lake enclosed by amazing rock formations. It's quiet and serene and honestly, I just wanted to float on my back, look at the sky and maybe fall asleep eventually. It's BEAUTIFUL.
Cayangan Lake - Cayangan Lake is somewhat similar to the Twin Lagoon, but to get there, we had to take a short hike up a hill and down to the lake. It's also pretty, but it was a bit crowded when we got there.
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| Photo by: Billy Sy |
On the way back, we stopped by the "viewing deck." We had no idea what the view was going to be like. But when we saw it, wow. It took our breath away. It doesn't even look real in the photo.haha
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| Photo by: Billy Sy |
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| Photo from: Billy Sy |
There's also a cave. We couldn't resist having our photos taken.
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| Photo from: Billy Sy |
That was our last stop for the day and it was back to the Lodge for us. We were dead tired from the Mt. Tapyas climb and all the swimming and snorkeling. Good thing, we had yummy dinner waiting for us on the table reserved for the "Kat Sanchez Group". (Even their restaurant was a Bob Marley shrine. And the music was, you guessed it, Bob Marley songs, or local songs about Coron. ♪♪♫ tayo na't umakyat sa bundok ng Tapyas ♪♫♪ hehehe)
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| Photo by: Dan Pamparo |
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| Photo by: Kat Sanchez |
We didn't do much that night because we were so tired. The boys played Monopoly Transformers, and I slept early. hihi
DAY 3 (April 9, Saturday)
My body was aching when I woke up but it's another day of adventure and nothing's going to stop us :) Again, we went on board Kuya Jun's boat and went out to sea.
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| Photo by: Dan Pamparo |
Saw pretty sites along the way.
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| Photo by: Yza Urgel |
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| Photo by: Yza Urgel |
WWII Shiprwreck - Our first stop was a World War II shipwreck. I was half expecting to see skeletons and ghosts, but I'm glad we didn't.hehe Still, it was somewhat creepy swimming over a sunken boat. We did see lots of beautiful corals and fish.
Calomboyan Island - Come midday, we landed on Calomboyan Island. I love how the people on the island were all so laid back.
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| Photo by: Eliel Sarmiento |
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| Photo by: Yza Urgel |
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| Photo by: Yza Urgel |
There were hammocks everywhere, nice white sand and a really cute dog who pays you with dried leaves in exchange for food. :))
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| Photo by: Eliel Sarmiento |
After lunch, we snorkeled around the island and soaked in the beauty of the ocean world. I thought this was the Coral Garden already, but apparently, it wasn't.
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| Photo by: Billy Sy |
Eliel only remembered to take videos at this point of the trip. I'm gonna let his video tell the story.
Coral Garden - We had one last stop for the day. On the way to the Coral Garden, Kuya Jun showed us this amazing seed which was some sort of a puzzle. Coolness.
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| Photo by: Dan Pamparo |
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| Photo by: Dan Pamparo |
Before we knew it, we arrived at our destination. The Coral Garden was next to a pearl farm, but we weren't allowed to see any pearls.hehe The corals were, as always, beautiful. And they were moving, just like in the movies.hehehe Saw lotsa Dories and a few Nemos. :) And there's this rainbow-y fish that I really, really want to take home.
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| Photo by: Yza Urgel |
On the way back to the main land, we munched on ham and cheese sandwiches and ice cold drinks.
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| Photo by: Yza Urgel |
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| Photo by: Yza Urgel |
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| Photo by: Yza Urgel |
DAY 4 (April 10, Sunday)
This was the day we said goodbye to Coron. There's still a lot we didn't explore. Hope to visit Palawan again in the future:)
xoxo,
2 comments
wow,coron is so beautiful :O where do you guys plan to go next with the free RT tickets? :D
ReplyDelete@adel
ReplyDeleteit was supposed to be CDO-camiguin, but changed to Cebu for now. Maybe next time na lang ang CDO-camiguin.