Coron

For most of my trips, I’ve just been feeding on tips from friends, travel forums and blogs.
I got a lot of useful tips from faceless entities. I think it’s time to pay it forward. I have been asked several times regarding this beautiful place in northern Palawan, Coron.

Coron is part of the Calamian or Calamianes group of Islands. I first heard of this paradise in 2005 when a friend went there. I had no idea how beautiful this place is until my visit to Calamian, in June 2008.

There are several ways to go to Coron, one is by plane which lands in the Busuanga airport or a cheaper alternative is by Superferry. My officemates and I, took the latter.

There is only one Superferry trip to Coron per week. We left Manila at 5pm Friday and we woke up to a beautiful sunrise in Coron, Saturday morning. I didn’t notice the 12-hour boat ride despite a crowing rooster (in a box) a few meters away from us and despite the strong wind which blew my pillows and slippers away. Our deck’s temperature ranged from uber-hot to uncomfortable cold but I managed to sleep through it.

We stayed in Village Lodge (Contact person: Bec, 09189201517), an ancestral house converted to a guesthouse, it is located near the town center. I’d really recommend this cozy place with its delicious food and clean rooms. (http://www.coronvillagelodge.com/)

Coron has a lot to offer. And we tried to maximize the two full days we had.

Coron Sunrise

Siete Pecados (this is a very nice snorkeling site but the current was strong at the time we went there)

Kayangan Lake (i love the serenity and azureness of this lake)

Twin Lagoons (this is entrance to the twin lagoons with several bancas full of tourists awaiting their turn; going to the inner lagoon is an adventure in itself)

Beach (bluer than blue)

Limestone (amazing formations, you have to see 'em to believe)

Calumbuyan (this island was not impressive but it is photogenic)

I have no pictures of Barracuda Lake, Maquinit Hot Springs, and the Coral Garden. But these places shouldn't be missed when you visit Coron. We were able to go to all these places in two days. However, there were still a lot of sites we missed (Malapascua, Calauit to name a few), this is one place I would love going back to.

Coron is one of the many reasons this country rocks.

Summer '09

A rocket docket refers to a court that has an accelerated timetable and that strictly adheres to deadlines, resulting in speedy disposition of cases (Wikipedia). This summer felt like a rocket docket of sorts.

just another barangay up north

my fave shot was taken by accident

I love the sight of waves crashing on rocks

A movie was shot here, with these rock formations as background

the crater from a distance

crater within a lake within a crater within a lake within a crater

the visible crater

On My Own

One of the things I wanted to do this year is to travel on my own and I was able to do just that. Some things I realized while traveling alone:

1. People gravitate to people who are on their own


2. Not all smiling people deserve your trust


3. There will be always a good soul in any corner of the world


4. There are a lot of Ilonggos scattered all over


5. Traveling alone is exciting and not as dangerous as I initially thought it would be (unless of course I went to “hot zones”)

kids I met in Sabtang Island

simple joys

I found a P20 bill in one of my bag's pockets, oh what joy! So, I decided to enumerate some simple joys in life.

1. Finding money in one of your pockets
2. Using the last P1.00 on your metro card for a bonus ride
3. Seeing a smile on a stranger's face (directed at you)
4. A free dessert
5. A call from an old friend
6. Seeing a children play and laugh like there's no tomorrow
7. Sitting on a park bench eating ice cream

I know there's a lot more but for now, I can only think of these.

Seat 28F

When I went home last January, I took the plane to Bacolod, since air fare to Iloilo was a bit steep because of the Dinagyang festival. Then I just took a ferry from Bacolod to Iloilo and I got a seat right in front of the monitor.

Fast forward holy week…April, I went to Bacolod again. And guess what? I got the same seat! The same seat number 28F! So I computed the probability of this happening. That is .002 or 0.20 %. (Oh yes, I counted the number of seats in the ferry.) Strange.

On my trip back to Iloilo, I tried to get the same seat. Lo and behold. It was a different boat this time. So my seat is not available.

Now, the chance of me getting the same seat was smaller than 0.20% since the company has several boats plying the Iloilo-Bacolod route. Since I don’t know that number, let’s not compute that very small chance.

Moral of the story, let’s just say that however small the chance of anything happening, if there is a chance, we have to cling on to that minutest of probabilities.

Top Mushiest Songs I Love

Back in high school, I'd jump from the upper bunk of my double-decker bed whenever I hear these songs playing on the radio.

1. Got To Believe in Magic
2. King and Queen of Hearts
3. Ocean Deep
4. Farewell
5. Will of the Wind

And now listening to them now makes me smile cause through 'em I remember the world I once knew.

So Close...Yet So Far

I am from Western Visayas but I haven't been to the nearby region, Central Visayas except Cebu. It was about time that I finally visited two beautiful provinces which are so near to home....but seems so far.

nice cloud formations we saw on our way to Apo Island

nakatambay na mga bangka at yate sa Isla Apo

waves that made snorkeling a bit of a a challenge

the shoreline of San Juan, Siquijor

beautiful Apo Island as seen from the View Deck (almost)

beautiful falls with colors that reminded me of the Pinatubo crater

the view from the view deck

the falls with a name that escapes me

the cleanest pier I've seen

Salagdoong Beach

accenting blue in the Marine Sanctuary