Coron Day 3 - Kayaking at Kingfisher Park

Continued from Coron Day 2

We woke up late and thus left the lodge at almost the same time that we did the previous day. Although some of our snorkel stuff were left in the boat, we had much luggage to bring as we had checked out of the lodge already. We were going to stay with my dad on another island because he had arranged for our diving lessons.

Like the previous day, Boyet and I had gone to the market to buy our stuff while Ria and Ikee were left at La Sirenneta to order our breakfast. I was so confused as to the fact that even on our 2nd day I couldn't find any other seafood at the market save for fish and squid. I was already craving for some shrimp or crabs but didn't get the opportunity to get any of those. I didn't want to get them from the resto because the prices were expensive. To me, it was silly to buy something priced as high as in Manila when I'm already at the source.

Our boat was still docked there as it really is convenient for us. After breakfast, we headed for our first stop - the Kubo sa Dagat.

Kubo sa Dagat.



I had read about Kubo sa Dagat during my research but had confused it with Kingfisher Park. Apparently, these are two different locations owned and operated by the same people - the Reyes'. Kubo sa Dagat is a lodging place in the waters of Malbato Bay while Kingfisher Park is on the island across it where the mangroves are. Most of the activities being offered at the Kubo sa Dagat are actually done at the King fisher park - kayaking, birdwatching, trekking, firefly tour, etc.

When we got there, I crossed one boat to get to the front desk and asked about the rates. It was 500 pesos per person to kayak to the mangroves where will also do the birdwatching. But Borge and Nikko, the admin officers, gave us one person free and even gave us coffee. So, we took the chance.



To get to the park, we had to bring our boat close to the island. But we were still about 500 meters from the boat to the entrance of the mangrove area and our boat couldn't get any closer because the water level was too shallow for it. Thus, we donned our life vests and paddled our way to the mangroves. The sea had started to get a little rough but we paddled along with the direction of the waves so it was not difficult to cross over to the other side. I and Boyet were together, Ikee was with Mang Godie (our guide) while Rhia chose to go alone. If I hadn't known that she was in the rowing team previously, I wouldn't have agreed for her to go solo. But then that would have entailed a debate. LOL

Inside the mangrove plantation was a stream. We were asked to paddle gently and to stay quiet so that we didn't scare the birds. I brought my camera inside the Lock and Lock container which I bought to keep it waterproof. It is cheap but it served its purpose so well, I tell you. It was a great shock protector too. My "photographers" were to scared to bring their expensive equipment so I was the only one who had pictures. LOL



There were huge trees in the area. Birds seemed to be everywhere but we couldn't see them because they were hiding somewhere. I deduced that we needed more time there so we could see the creatures. I was able to spot one but Boyet had asked me to take some pics and the bird flew. It was kinda big and blue with a long bill. Later on, Borge told me that it was one of the Kingfishers. I regretted not being able to see it for a long time although I was slightly elated having spotted it there. There were 6 other species but of course we told we had to be there as early as 5 am to spot more. I guess this would be one of those things we need to do next time. LOL



After more than an hour, Mang Godie told us that we should leave already because the current was getting stronger. We were on our way out of the path when we saw some women harvesting some shells. Turned out to be capiz shells - the ones that you see in old spanish houses. Rhia took one and ate it when she learned they were edible. You see, adventure IS our middle name. hahaha

From across the entrance I had seen the waves devouring the water underneath them. It got me a little scared because I thought about Ikee and that Rhia was alone. Also, that Boyet and I were no expert "kayakers". Could we make it? I was more sure of Ikee's safety than our own. She was with an expert. Boyet and I had each other but neither of us could be of more help to each other than we are to our own selves. Nonetheless, we had to try... and well, I'm writing this to you now so I guess I could say that we did a pretty good job back there. Thank God.

Another nice thing that the Kubo sa Dagat guys did for us was they allowed us to cook our meal there. We didn't have time to go to a beach to have our meal cooked as originally planned. After we cooked, we paid our fees and were on our way to the Lusong Wreck.

Lusong Ship Wreck.

We spent 1 hour sailing from Kubo to the Lusong wreck. There was no beach there. It was above the wreck that we stopped at. Lunch was at our boat but we hadn't eaten much because everyone was too curious about the ship below. That, according to our boatman and guide, was a ship from the japanese time. It was there perhaps because there was a really strong current that time. We had noticed this and I suggested we do not go into the water anymore. But then curiousity still ruled that a few minutes later we were splashing our way to feed the fish with our bare hands. These little guys were so naive that you can actually kiss and hold them. That's me with a little fishy.



We were going to the Coral garden which was just a few minutes from us but decided not to go. Instead, we headed for Cullion Island.

Cullion Island

The last stop before we went to see dad was at Cullion Island. This was the former Leper Colony. I say former because you can hardly find any leper there now. As my uncle who is also a dermatologist would say, there is about less than 1 percent of the population who can get afflicted. Most likely, we weren't one of those. LOL

First stop there was at the Museum. It was huge as the ones I had seen. But it surely was interesting. There was this video that told about the 100-year plight of the lepers and the colony - how it was a sin to be a leper in the olden days, how the lepers were shot or burned and how they had settled in this once-upon-a-time-God-Forlorned piece of land in the middle of nowhere. Yup, it was interesting and melodramatic at the same time.



From the musueum, we went to take a few shots of the old church and we were off to see dad for our first scuba lesson with Chuck. We stayed with daddy for the remainder of our stay at Coron. For our the first night we went out to sea to fish and stargaze. As in Port Barton, I had seen 4 meteors while waiting for my fish to take the bait. Amazing!

Coron Day 1 - Coron Town Tour

Hey guys! I'm back from Coron. Here's my story:

Our semi-annual family vacation trip this year was in Coron. As always, I am the trip director and organizer thus I made some research. 1 month prior we had decided on going to the town. It had been for several years that Boyet wanted to visit Kayangan Lake and we had chosen between going to Batanes and Busuanga. The Batanes trip had been too expensive for us. So, we opted for Busuanga instead.

After the decision had been made, I did further research and we booked our flight. We flew via Cebu Pacific because at that time they offered the lowest fare. However, 2 weeks after, my cousin Ria decided to join us in that trip and booked with PAL whose price was way lower than ours. It turned out that both airlines would be delayed at some point. Our flight was delayed for 2 hours going to Coron while Ria's flight was delayed for about 3 hours going back to manila.


Day 1.


Our flight left NAIA 3 at almost 12 noon and an hour after we landed on the tiny airstrip of Busuanga. Like all the other times, Cebu Pacific was late for a little over 2 hours. When it finally landed, the plane bounced off the ground once before it did finally touchdown. Scary eh? It wasn't my first time to experience that with them so I wasn't scared anymore. The worst I gave was a shrug and a squirk. I left out on the arrangement for the airport transfers for this trip. Apparently, though, the lodge we were booked with arranged it for us. We had to pay 150 pesos per person. Quite expensive for approximately a 20 kilometer trip from the airport to Coron town but we didn't have a choice. There was no other means of transportation. I was just happy that the van was there.






We got to the Coron Village Lodge at almost 2 pm. Our first lunch was right there at the lodge since it was late and we were all starved from that dreadful trip. Sadly, there's very little vegetable choices at the resto. Lunch consisted of just tuna with lemon butter sauce and sinigang na baboy for soup and veggies. I can't say food was good but it wasn't really bad either.

We decided to stay at the lodge till Ria arrived. Anyway, we wanted to take some nap after lunch. When finally my cousin came at about 4 pm, we took a tricyle to a local resto to reserve for some barbecued pork and rice so they can cook for us while we were at Mt. Tapyas. after that, we grabbed some mineral water and took off the the Mountain.

The fee for going up Mt. Tapyas was 100 pesos per guest. Nearly all places in Coron had fees. Some say it is really to help maintain the place. There were 724 steps going up to the top of Mount Tapyas. At the 500th plus step, I stopped and told my family to go ahead. I didn't want to risk having any pain on my knee because I was afraid that if it ever happens, it might not go away until after our trip. At first, they didn't want to leave me behind probably thinking that I was just too scared or too tired to walk up any further. But then, I was determined not to leave the spot where I was. They said there was a huge cross at the top. This was supposedly the mark of Coron from afar. All that 724 steps were quite steep. Fortunately for the visitors there were landings after every 10 or 15 and there were shades spread out through the stretch. From where I was a panoramic view of the Coron Bay could be seen. I was told it was quite beautiful up there.



It was almost 5:30 when we got down from Mt. Tapyas. From there, we just picked up the food that we had ordered and went our way to Maquinit Hot Spring. The road was half good and half really, really dusty and rough.

There are 4 pools at Maquinit. Despite the 50 pesos entrance fee, there were more visitors than I had expected but there was enough space for everyone. The water was hot at 40 degrees centigrade and stung at first. But as soon as we were immersed in the pool, it became pleasantly cooler and relaxing. The trick is not to get intimated by the warmth at the start because the body does acclimatize.

Although the water was really pleasant, I didn't really like the feel of the slimy moss on the stones and walls. These guys are thermophilic and could withstand the heat. Also, I didn't like how the pool was under illuminated. on the topmost pool, it was a bit eerie because it was underlit and the pool appeared dark in that area probably because of the growth on the walls and ground.


We stayed there for an hour. There were some huts that lined the side of the park all the way to the entrance. The great thing is that there was a sari-sari store inside that sold a lot of things including soft drinks, chips and noodles - enough to feed the hungry guests after a dip at the warm pool. It did make some back and leg aches go away. After all it was like a hot compress.

On the way back to the lodge, we stopped by Manang Lita's Cashew Store. I figured there wouldn't be any time to do that in the next few days so it was an opportunity to do it then. After that we went back to the lodge, and retired early. It was going to be an early start for us the following day.



To be continued...

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