Day 1: Depart Manila for Busuanga via Pal Express. The flight was set for 9 a.m. so we were there at the NAIA terminal as early as 6 a.m. We were already inside the lounges by 6:15. To kill time, I went browsing at the shops. Most were selling beach wear. I ate some donuts at Gonuts Donuts. I was getting bored, and was glad that a mini stall of National Bookstore opened. I checked out their titles. In retrospect, I should have brought my own reading material, and eventually bought Inquirer to conquer boredom. We went to the boarding area 8 a.m. As of 8:30, I learned that there would be a 1 hour delay for the Busuanga flight. Again, nothing much I could do but phone a friend to pass the time. We finally boarded around 10 a.m. It was a fairly small aircraft, very little turbulence, and travel time was short. We got to Busuanga at 11 a.m. The van was already waiting for us. Jayjay (the driver) recommended by Owen of DIY Coron had a placard with my name and DIY Coron on it. The cost per person for the van ride to Coron town one way is at P150. It was another 30 minutes to Coron town on dusty and partially completed roads.

We arrived in Coron town a little before 12 noon. We got dropped off right near the Seadive entrance path (Pal Express office was right beside it). It was a short walk to Seadive from there. Booking was made via phone two weeks before. I was only able to book two rooms (March 5 & 6 only). Rates were reasonable at P700 for a fan cooled room on the second floor. It had a queen bed, plus own toilet and bath. Soap and towels were provided. Since the room was facing the water, it was very cool with no need for air-conditioning. Outside the room is a deck facing the water.

Seadive has a restaurant on the first floor where breakfast meals starts at about P100. It has a bar on the building behind it, as well as diving gears for rent. There are carinderias outside of Seadive, notably Trining Bacsa’s. Rates for lunch go for about P50 in carinderias, and that’s a viand + rice.

I had already booked our tour for March 6 through Owen of DIY Coron. Outside of Seadive, there are several tour operator offices that offers tours to Coron and other islands. After going around and checking those out, we met with Eran, a well known tour guide and our contact in Coron to set up our meeting time for the following day.

We then decided to go up to Mt. Tapyas around 430 p.m. We walked all the way to the site coming from Seadive, and bought bottled water along the way. It was quite a climb for someone like me who is used to no physical activity. 700 steps was literally a stretch. I had to stop intermittently to take pictures, and to lie down at several points in the cemented slabs the closer we reached the top. The view from the top is most picturesque and worth it. We were able to capture many shots prior to the sun setting as well as the sunset while we were on our way down.

Mt. Tapyas

Dinner was at Kawayanan Grill. Nice restaurant. They had a bar as well. We had liempo and dilis which was about P100 per meal. Good value for money and it was near Seadive.

Day 2: Eran met us at Seadive around 830 a.m. We walked to the market where he picked up our lunch and took us to our banca. He was going to tour a group in Lusong that day, while our tour was Coron Day Loop 1. Our guide was Richard instead. There were 2 other boat men with him. For the itinerary of this tour, please check out diycoron.wordpress.com We spent about 3,500 for two persons (1600 for the tour and 150 for the snorkels per person).

I didn’t get to do much snorkeling at Siete Picados and CYC island because the waves were strong. I did some attempt at snorkeling at Kalachuchi but was rather careful because of the sea urchins that were in visible sight. We then went to Kayangan Lake where it’s another climb up a mountain. This time, it’s not cemented steps but rocks assembled as steps with wooden railings instead of steel. Again, carrying my water had spared me from dehydration during the ascent. I had to make small stops so I could get up. Our guide was with us while we stopped at an area in the peak where we took the scenic shot of Kayangan Lake that’s usually being used to market Coron. After that, we made our descent to the lake. It was “traffic” due to the number of tourists from the 7107 Cruise that was at the lake during that time. We waited for them to climb up before we descended, having the beautiful place all to ourselves. The water was much more calm so I could float and swim with my life vest. There is not much to see underwater. The serenity of the place is simply awesome. According to our guide, they filmed Dyesebel in Kayangan Lake. It was then time for lunch – we had prawns, grilled pork chop and fish cooked by the fishermen, together with cucumbers, tomatoes, mangoes and banana.

Kayangan Lake

After lunch, we headed to Barracuda Lake. It was climbing these really jagged rocks. I stopped midway. I could see the water from the high point. But to really get to the lake, you’d have to dive underwater. You can just see the top portion of the lake. So by the time I wanted to go down again, we were already on the way out. Good thing I was wearing shoes made of rubber or I may have slipped on those sharp rocks. We were then off to the Twin Lagoon. I couldn’t really dive underneath (you’d have to dive sans life vest to cross over the other lagoon as the water was as high as the rock opening since it was around 1 p.m.) I just swam (warm blue green waters, relatively no current and bright fishes around) before we went off to Skeleton Wreck. I snorkeled there, but really didn’t see much although there’s supposed to be a boat wreck underneath. Water was colder and current was fairly strong. Next stop was 91 Beach. There were fewer people and boats here than Banol. The sand was white and powdery, but not warm despite the time of day. It’s very similar to Boracay. I had a merry time swimming on this beach. Current wasn’t that strong although it’s stronger Station 1, it’s nowhere near a Diniwid Beach type of current.

91 Beach

Last stop before town was CYC island. We didn’t stop on the island, and when I snorkeled, there was not much to see snorkeling underneath but white sand. I was more than too happy to leave given the way the current was going and I was getting mouthfuls of salty water. Once we got back we slept early due to exhaustion.

Day 3: This was a lazy day really. We spent the morning looking for another accommodation by going online. I only booked Seadive two weeks before and Seadive’s fan room for our third day was already booked, which was why we got into that predicament. I tried calling Coron Village Lodge. It was fully booked. We called Princess of Coron, but there was no answer. We decided to take a tricycle at P8 per head to check it out. It had a pool but no water, and a garden. Reminds me of places in Tagaytay with the tall trees. We were taken to a new building where they had one more room available. It had a queen bed, was airconditioned, and the facility was new so we told Mark that we were going to take the room.

After reading at the hammock on the Seadive 2nd floor deck, we then checked out of Seadive and into Princess of Coron. We took a trike to town to get a massage. My limbs felt it had gone through torture. It felt like I got “bugbog “from all the walking/climbing/swimming/snorkeling that I put it through. The massage at P250 was a treat. I couldn’t really walk straight at this point so this was a day of rest and dinner at Sirenetta.

We see the said restaurant every night from the Seadive deck. It’s a floating restaurant at the water, only one story high. When we got there, it had a romantic ambiance to it. The sun was about to set, there was a French couple behind us, and a bar in front of our table. It’s a cozy place with less thatn 15 tables. There’s a pool table to the right side of the bar. We ordered pasta and pizza, and the rates were at P200+ each. Given that most of the eating places in Coron has a price range of P50-150, this was not one of your usual restaurant. The food is made to suit the European palate but we were happy with our Lemon Shrimp Pasta and Anchovy Margarita Pizza (hope I got the names right).

Day 4: It’s our last day. We woke up early to take the tricycle to Maquinit Hot Springs. We arrived at Maquinit a little past 8 a.m. on a Sunday, and we had the place to ourselves! Entrance fee was P100 per head. We promptly settled on taking dips on the spring by positioning ourselves near the shaded area of the “pool”. We spent an hour basking in the warm water. We went back to Coron to buy souvenirs, then off to Princess of Coron to check out. We waited at the Pal Express for our van ride back to the airport.

Maquinit Hot Springs

We were advised the day before that our flight slated for 3 p.m. was delayed again. We were to leave around 4 p.m.We got to Manila around 4:30 p.m. since the plane actually left at 3:30 p.m. All in all it was quite a trip.

Please note Coron town does not have a beach. It is not like Boracay or Galera where you go out and walk a few steps, then you are on the beach. You would have to take the boat tour to Coron Island (where you’d have to pay boat rental fees) in order to enjoy the beach.