The Philippines is made up of 7107 islands, it would be a waste to keep going back to the same old places. This time round, I ventured out to Coron, a municipality in the island of Palawan.
3 full days were spent there, doing island-hopping, sailing on the traditional Filipino bangka.
Honestly, sailing on the bangka, looking out to the horizon, is simply therapeutic. My kind of peace. Haha. Except for the wave-splashing moments when navigating across the rough waters.
We had a group of very experienced boatmen and guides with us. Kudos to them. They know all the islands in and out, they prepared our delicious meals, they steered the bangka for hours straight, while most of us ended up dozing off along the journeys. One of the boatmen even got pricked by many sea urchins while trying to steer the bangka out from the shallow waters in dusk darkness. Salute to him.
The entire island-hopping experience was all about the white sand, blue sky and the blue sea. A true summer paradise. :)
We have been to so many islands, which most of the names I couldn't remember. Well, who cares, what's important is to enjoy ourselves in the beauty of Mother Nature, and to have FUN!
I totally love swimming in the open sea, with the life jacket on of course. Haha. The waters in Coron were so clear, making snorkelling a great pleasure. I could see the corals and fishes swimming in schools. Superb.
The sunken Japanese warships off the island are one of the main attractions of Coron. Snorkelling there was another awesome experience. Corals formed on the warships, fishes swimming in and out. Imagine Titanic, or Pirates of the Carribean. Haha. These sunken warships are listed in Forbes Traveler Magazine’s top 10 best scuba-diving sites in the world. What else can I say?
We also went to some of lakes and lagoons, claiming to be one of those with the cleanest waters in the world. Indeed, the Kayangan Lake was very serene, we just floated on the waters and drifted off to our paradise. Haha.
On our last day, we woke up at 3am and set sail to Calauit, 4-hour boat ride away from the Coron main island. Sadly I was disappointed with what I saw. The Calauit Zafari Zoo was supposed to be a sanctuary for Kenyan animals. Despite the large piece of land and resources, the number of species of animals on the island is within the count of my fingers.
Oh well, at least I had my fair share of taking photos of these free-roaming animals.
Up-close. :) I guess it's not quite possible to do that in the Singapore zoo.
And feeding the giraffes. :)
The entire trip was made a total enjoyment, because of the company, and the new-found friends. All of us had a hell lot of fun, and I have once again surprised people with my little command of Tagalog and my superb knowledge of the entertainment industry. Haha.
I miss seeing the beautiful view at dawn, from Mount Tapyas where we stayed.
I definitely miss watching the sunset, my favourite moment in a day.
I had a great time capturing the wonders.
And all beautiful things. :)
I left Coron with many scars on my legs (no thanks to the sharp teethy corals), but I left Coron with lots more splendid memories. :) I wanna explore other islands!
Next up (and a final one), my ultimate haven, Bago City!
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