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Tuesday, August 10, 2010

My Coron Palawan Trip

Last weekend, boyfriend and I visited Coron Palawan and HAYLAVET! I haven’t visited Puerto Prinsesa yet so I can’t really compare which of the two is better but boyfriend says Coron is much better MAYBE because it’s still underdeveloped which pretty much preserves everything.

If you’re planning on a trip to Coron, here are some tips that I can give you. Bring light clothing. Bakla, di mo kailangang pumorma doon dahil, unless may fetish ka sa mga hipon, wala kang mata-type doon. You’d end up getting wet everyday because of the snorkeling and the beaching (pausong word, thank you very much) kaya all you need is a pair of board shorts per day and a sando or a shirt. But I suggest a sando para ibandera mo naman yung pinaghirapan mo sa gym at malay mo (malay niya, malaysia!) may isang hotness na turista ang maka-aura sa iyo sa kabilang island o sa kabilang bangka, wagi ka. And no need to worry about changing your clothes during the day because you WON’T be. Don’t forget to bring sun block and a cap lalong-lalo na kung kalbo ka (by chance or by choice) tulad ko. Nakakita na ba kayo ng kalbong binabalakubak dahil sa peeling skin?

* AHEM!

Yun na.

Ang Tricycle ride sa Coron ay 8 pesos lamang per person to get to wherever you need to go na malapitan, just in case biktimahin ka ng kupal na trike driver. Sa kahit na anong lungsod, kahit na sweet pa ang ngiti, may manloloko pa rin. And if you plan to take walks at night, I suggest you bring a flashlight. Madaming aso sa Coron kaya madami ding ebak sa kalye. And Coron is known for angry mosquitos so don’t forget to bring your anti-mosquito lotion as well.


We stayed at the Coron Village Lodge.


Strangely, the cats here are friendly.


May built-in lights and street signs nila. Sushal!


Our first meal. Early lunch. For a long day.


Ang 6-seater na tricycle. Bongga, right?

So heto lang naman ang mga nabisita namin.



SIETE PECADOS is a Marine park that has plenty of sea life on an extensive coral reef in very good condition. It’s an amazing site for snorkeling. A must-visit site when in Coron. My underwater camera doesn’t give justice as to how beautiful it is. O di ba napaka-Rita Gomez ng sinabi ko.

“My anderrrr wuterrr kamerah dazen gib jaztiz az tu haw byutifel idizzzz.”


Ang mga hungry fish sa Siete Pecados.



KAYANGAN LAKE is the cleanest lake that I’ve ever seen. OA ba? Sorry, bakla lang. Tiny snails and baby barracudas inhabit the lake. Don’t worry, they don’t attack people. Sometimes called the Blue Lagoon, it is nestled between limestone cliffs, and is a mix of salt and fresh water. The same rock formations can be seen underwater. You can get to the lake after a 10 minute mountain trail. Dito mo kailangan ng mosquito repellant dahil sneaky talaga sila kung kumagat. Pinapak ako dito ng lamok nang hindi ko naramdaman. Nakita ko na lang mga pantal ko sa pictures. Eeek!


Docking at Kayangan.


Almost there.


Tiny Snails.


Baby Barracudas.


Si Tour Guide looking at the limestone formations underwater.



The TWIN LAGOON is situated in a humongous limestone formation and to get there, you need to either swim (snorkel) under a narrow passage or if the water is too high, you can climb up to this steep bridge (and miss the snorkeling adventure!).


Entrance ng Twin Lagoon.


Naloka ang mga fish nang makita ako. Harassed?


These are the houses of the locals na nakatira sa Lagoon.


This fish tried to attack me. Imbyerna!


Mamili ka, umakyat ka sa hagdanan (left) or sumisid para makapunta sa Twin Lagoon.



MAQUINIT Hot Spring is a saltwater hot spring situated between a mountain and the sea with a line of mangrove trees at one side na may mascot na mukhang giant daga sa entrance. Hindi echoz yun. Talagang may pet sila na mukhang giant daga. It is about 10 minutes away from our lodge via trike.



There are different pools with varying degrees of hotness. The higher pools are hotter compared to the pool at the bottom level. Maganda na sana yung place kaso merong talunang Makati politician na bondat na may kasamang mga batang chicks. Di naman sila nangugulo pero kadiri lang sila tignan. LOL.


While waiting for the boat at the dock.


Coron Gateway Hotel. Balita ko 5k a night.


Heading to the next destination.


Hello retired Bel-Ami boys. RAWR!


Harvesting oysters/pearls.


Guard house. Seriously. LOL.

CALUMBUYAN Island is I think one of the best islands in Coron. It’s a great place to relax with the rich flora. It also has a beautiful field of corals nearby which is worth seeing. Pero wala akong dalang underwater camera case when we visited this island kaya I don’t have underwater pics.


Islaaaaaa!


And this island has a friendly doggie!



MT. TAPYAS is the second highest place in Coron town. To get to the peak, you need to go through the 786-step trail which is safe because it’s paved and has handrails.



You know you’re already at the top when you see the giant steel cross. And at the top, you get to see the panoramic view of the whole town and the other nearby islands. There are different shaded spots also to go to just to relax and enjoy the view.


Hindi pa sunny nung umakyat kami. :(


I think this is a PAGASA weather station.


One of the view decks.



MALCAPUYA ISLAND is about an hour and a half away from the Coron port. But the long boat trip is worth it because when you get there you’ll see white sand beach and the colors blue, green, torquise and aqua all lined together. The island has remained undeveloped and as a result is still well-preserved. If you’re curious about how Boracay used to look like before the hotels and garbage, this is the place you should visit when in Coron.


Ganito dapat ang ISLA! Magandaaaaaaa!






Noong third day, pauwi na kami nang bigla kamig abutan ng bagyo sa gitna ng dagat. Award lang naman, di ba? Di kinaya ng powers ko ang ginaw kaya heto ako ngayon, may ubo at sipon.

We were able to visit only one shipwreck and that was on the 2nd day. There are others more pero hindi na kami interested doon. And due to lack of time and/or bad weather, we didn’t get to visit Banol/Atuwayan Beach and the Coral Garden which were part of our tour package but that’s alright. I think we visited the best parts of the tour.

At para sagutin ang katanungan ng isa diyan, ang gear na dala ko sa trip na ito ay Canon 400D (Sige, laitin mo ako, entry level camera lang. Hmph!), Canon 18-200mm lens, Canon 10-22mm, Canon Ixus 80 IS and Canon Waterproof casing.

22 comments:

  1. wow ganda.. next time pwede sumama? kahit taga bitbit ng maleta nyo..hehehe

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  2. i love the way you documented your travel. pak na pak!

    super heart your photos. the composition is super duper nice. idol talaga kita :)

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  3. sheeeeeeet! Ang ganda! Parang gusto kong pumunta dyan - NOW NA!

    Ang sweet siguro ng mga eksena niyo ni hubby mo. I can just imagine.

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  4. great pics!went there last year at sa coron village din kami napapadpad. di nga lang nasama sa package yung malcapuya. oh well, next time. =)

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  5. okay! fine naiinggit ako! gusto ko din pumunta diyan!

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  6. oh my god, you take such fantastic photos.

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  7. astig ang photos, sa lagay pla nyan e entry level pa yang ginamit sa kodakan ahaha :P

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  8. HANGGANDA. hahahaha :)

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  9. all i can say is WOW! philippines. ganda ng pictures. thank you for sharing your adventure with us. damang-dama ko kahit sa kuwento lang.

    natawa ako sa retired bel-ami boys. hahaha! :)

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  10. hahaha!

    at sinagot din ang kweris ko. thanks!

    ang ganda ng pictures mo. sing ganda natin.

    now, i have a newfound respect with canon 400d.

    i want.

    parang gusto ko ng mag shift from nikon.

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  11. Maginoo - sure sama ka sa mga photoshoots. kahit day trip lang. :)

    Nimmy - Thanks Nimmy. Always bring your camera. :)

    uirico - yep. you should visit Coron. Sabi nga ng friend ko, the last frontier daw.

    Karla - next time sa Malcapuya ka na lang magbabad. You'd wish you own the island. It's so nice. Dito ako nakapag siesta sa hammock. :)

    Caloy - makakapunta ka din if you can make time. :)

    Justin - thanks Justin.

    Soltero - Sabi ko nga, wala sa camera yan. Nasa gumagamit. Ehehehe. Ang yabang. LOL.

    Narnian - Salamat. :)

    Aris - Have you seen my batanes pictures? Nasa Multiply site ko. :)

    Ms. Chiniverse - Siyempre, para sa iyo yun. Hehe. Pero balak kong mag-upgrade to Canon 60D pag lumabas na dito sa Pilipinas. :)

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  12. OMG!!! Crush ko yung naka red short, brown shirt at white cap.

    Ang CUTE NYA!!! at ang smile nakakatunaw!!!

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  13. Ganda ng lugar. Bumoborta ka! Haha!

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  14. What type of camera you use?? it takes beautiful pictures. are they edited?

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  15. "Canon 400D , Canon 18-200mm lens, Canon 10-22mm, Canon Ixus 80 IS and Canon Waterproof casing."

    I edit most of my pictures using Adobe Lightroom.

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  16. palong-palo! aylavet!
    taray ng ultrawide lente mo, how much is that?
    pashare naman ng llightroom =)

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  17. Canon 10mm-22mm. 2nd hand na 'to nung binili ko at 9k. Yung lightroom, hanap ka lang ng free download (wink, wink). :D

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  18. i nearly died laughing at your amusing travel stories! haylabet talaga!

    i just wonder how much did it cost you for your trip? and you said you took a package, pa-share naman ng travel agent where you availed it..

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  19. Hi nomad. we stayed at Coron Village Lodge and their website is at http://www.coronvillagelodge.com/packages.php.

    We spent less than 10k for 4 days stay with tour and daily meals.

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  20. ahahaha! i love the way you kwento. I've been to coron recently at may on going delubyo din kaming encounter. kaloka! so baby barracuda pala yun.. now I know. kala ko kung anong isdang matulis ang nguso lang. Love your pix!

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  21. May I just share na rin yung contact number ng bangkero namin, if you will allow me... I did not avail any package kaya nakatipid kami ng bongga. I just read some of the blogs to look for the best spots. It's kuya Jason 09085053687. Para ka na ring nag-avail ng package kasi alam na nya lahat. =) hmmm. wala akong commission hehehe! I just want to help him.

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  22. Baby barracuda pala yung mga fishes na yun. I was in Corron last year. We stayed at Coron Gateway hotel. Hindi siya 5k per night. I forgot kung magkano binayaran namin pero hindi siya 5k. Hindi sila puwedeng sumingil ng 5k kasi ang katabi nila Palengke so amoy palengke siya pag bukas ang bintana mo.

    I love Corron. We also took a road trip to Calauit. Did you go to Calauit? I fell in love with the Giraffe. I don't know why I felt an affinity to them - maybe I was a Giraffe in a past life.

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