Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Wrecks, Lakes, and Limestone of Coron - Day 1

There are a few facts I learned about Palawan when I was in grade school. It was the island where migrants from nearby Asian countries settled. It boasted of caves. And it scared the wits out of my young mind that it was where people suffering from leprosy were exiled to. It was only many years later that I learned the facts of Palawan – it boasted of beautiful beaches, underground rivers, humongous limestone, numerous snorkeling and diving sites, and Edward Hagedorn.

I wanted to get to Palawan after feasting on Flickr photos and on Dante Nico Garcia’s Ploning which was shot entirely in Cuyo, Palawan. So when I got an invite to travel to Coron with my tennis buddies I did not think twice. Actually I did but after declining their two previous invites – Caramoan in 2008 and El Nido in 2009 - I wasn’t going to pass up on the opportunity and regret doing so.

So on the 3rd week of March I and 26 others boarded the Cebu Pacific flight to Busuanga. I wasn’t surprised that the Busuanga Airport was small and rather similar to the airports of Dumaguete and Naga. The 40-minute ride to Coron was like going on a safari sans the giraffes and the zebras and the elephants and the lions and the tigers. The land was huge and parched and barren. Of course there were trees. And mountains. And some cows. And lots of dung.

After checking-in at Princess of Coron where we were going to sleep for the next three nights we headed to our first day of island hopping.

The itinerary was:
1. Twin Lagoon. My first view of the Palawan limestone. It was everywhere. Breathtakingly beautiful.
2. Banol Beach. One of the best beaches I’ve been to.

3. CYC Island. A rather small island similar to Potipot Island in Zambales.
4. Skeleton Wreck. One among many Japanese war boats gunned down by the Americans at the end of World War II. It has since become a snorkeling site in Coron.
5. Maquinit Hot Spring. This should have been renamed Maquinit Very Hot Spring. My balls got cooked. Almost.


*****

Coron Photos - Day 1




















- Busuanga Airport -





















- House on Stilts -





















- Limestone and Clouds -





















- Facing the Twin Lagoon -





















- The Shoreline of Banol Beach -





















- Banol Beach Sparkles -





















- Maquinit Hot Spring -





















- View of Siete Pecados at Maquinit Hot Spring -

15 comments:

gillboard said...

hahaha the leprosy thing was one thing i remember about palawan too..

alala ko takot ako sa uncle ko kapag bumibisita siya samin kasi baka leper din siya... until niregalo niya samin yung parrot namin... hehehe

Raft3r said...

whoa!
you're in coron!
inggit ako!
sobra!

len said...

I have a friend who's from Palawan. Makantiyawan nga. :p

Cedric said...

Wow, nakakamiss Coron. :D Great pictures, man. Enjoy your stay there (granted you're still there. Hehe). :D

atticus said...

pssst. paano pumunta riyan?

Visual Velocity said...

Di ba nila shi-noot yung Survivor?

Uy, alam ko na kung sino mananalo sa Survivor 20 All Stars, hehe.

Snappy said...

Nice blog. You are so cute. I think I love you.

PS: Let's vote for Dick Gordon and Bayani Fernando!

Check this out:
Gordon SLAMS Noynoy, Villar, Erap and Gibo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AimivBp0MU4&feature=player_embedded

The Scud said...

gillboard, buti walang leprosy si parrot. :D

The Scud said...

raft3r, mas maiinggit ako pag ikaw nauna sa batanes. haha.

The Scud said...

len, subukan mo. :p

The Scud said...

cedric, it was an awesome trip. babalikan ko yun kasi dami pa islands na di nasama sa itinerary.

The Scud said...

atticus, there are daily PAL and Cebu Pacific flights to Busuanga. Another 40-minute ride to Coron. Walang bus dun kaya kailangan mag-arkila ng van.

punta na! i think you'd like it there. alang fast food joints. :D

The Scud said...

andy, sa caramoan yun sa camarines norte.

alam ko rin yan. pati kung sinu-sino ang top 3, 4, 5, 6... pati na rin ang hatian ng votes ng jury. :D

The Scud said...

snappy, huwag i think. dapat you believe. nyahaha.

thanks for dropping by my blog. balik ka ulit!

Anonymous said...

i miss palawan! it really is the best place! ganda ng photos mo ah!