CORON 2018: A REAL PARADISE TO KEEP (2nd part)

May 19-23

Wild Monday for us, it was 6:00 in the morning that we make ourselves ready for another tour. Calauit Safari Land tour this time. This will include Calauit safari, Ocam-Ocam Beach, Concepcion Falls and Malbato Church. We scheduled this trip after a beach escapade to get some break from scorching heat of the sun. little did we know, it will be almost same effect. We got this Joined tour thru Laughtrip Travel & Tours, we got their flyers at the airport and try to call every travel agency we had collected which one will be of good offer and who can give discounts. The night before we had this, I usually saw different agencies with same rate which is 2,500 but when we go over Laughtrip Travel they give us the rate of 2,100 per pax since we're a group of 5 inclusive of Breakfast and Lunch. 
6:30am in the morning when we started our journey to Calauit. It was a long ride for about 3-4 hours and we also have to stop somewhere(I don't know the name of eatery) for our Breakfast. What's good about our stop over was that, they served us Coron Lamayo (Danggit) for breakfast, it is a must try in town since it is much smaller than famous danggit of Cebu. As we head back to the road it was a rough journey we endured until we reached the boat terminal going to the main island reserved. about 5 min of boat ride we reached the isolated island and started our tour with the African Savannah inspired Safari. We were amazed by how the Giraffes, Zebras and Philippine Deers  roam around and walk beside us, Guides told us that even though we can walk freely with these animals we still need to keep 3 - 5 meters away from them since they cannot control when they feel threatened and kick those near them. 

It is true that visitors can feed these Giraffe, take pictures near zebras and other wild animals. This Safari used to be a project of the Government that seems to be forgotten as time goes by. I wonder why the local government not asking any help from the National Gov't to support the need of this reserved safari when it has been a widely known by visitors of Palawan. Guides would be a big help for one to enjoy roaming around in this place, they will also let everyone know that this Safari is in great threat because of the People living near it. I feel so sad for animals living in this area 'coz we've clearly understand that they lacked of what they need. from regular vet check up, food, medicines and as well as peaceful living. I hope for a big change in time. Almost 3 hrs of stay we have to go back and travel to our next destination.

Not too far from the Isolated Island is another unpopular destination which they call Ocam-Ocam beach. Upon arriving, this reminds me of Hidden beach in Aloguinsan Cebu, where you have to pass through undevelop path with no idea that there's a beach at the end of the way. What dawned on us was a nice spot for relaxing and escaping from the crowd. with Coconut trees lined up on the shore, Nipa Huts to rest, Hammock to play around, a nice view of the emerald water with you alone on it and a fresh buko juice that refreshes one's soul. If only we have some clothes for swimming then we'll definitely plunge into the water; but since we were expecting a land tour, we just enjoy that very relaxing moment of our lives. a very good time to contemplate while enjoying the sound of gentle waves and sitting under the shades of coconut trees. Just an hour of silence we packed up travel to again and get our lunch along the way.
After getting our lunch done, we got straight to our next stop which is Concepcion falls. we will not stay here for long, we just have to look what's in there not too far from the high way, there you will find the cold ambiance of concepcion falls. It is a small falls with clear and cold water that every visitors enjoy. there were cottages beside the waterways for the use of those who want to stay longer. Not too far from Concepcion falls, we are down to our last destination from the joined tour which is Malbato Church or Chapel on the HIll. It was scorching heat when we arrived on the site when we have to take 100 steps to get to the church. But when we finally get there, it was a big astonishment to realized how beautiful the church was. though we didn't enter the church it was still a good visit.

we were about to get some rest since the tour has ended earlier than it was supposed to be. But our itchy feet wants to make the day productive so our Hike to Mt. Tapyas pushed through immediately. Thank God that clouds take over the sky when we make our way to Mt. Tapyas. several times that we had to pause and rest for the fear of Asthma attack. As we conquer that great 720 steps to the top. Though it was a tiring climb, we were rewarded by a scenic view of the Coron Island Coastline Mountain view side. worth of every sweat and nerve chilling walk. We may not able to witness a majestic sunset view because of small drizzle of rain but still it was such a nice weather to go up, and that's what matter most.
So much for the day, we don't have enough energy to go out for a dinner that's why we just bought something to eat and rest for a next day to come.

CORON 2018: A REAL PARADISE TO KEEP (1st part)

MAY 19-23 

Mixed twist and turns of emotions that's what this Coron travel has brought us. Just like in the movie inside out, I think different emotions has been rumbling during the whole trip. From excitement to fear to hope to disgust to sadness and back to happiness. Only to realize that God's plan is always better than ours. 

It was good morning of May 19 we were all excited as we make way to Clark International Airport everything seems to be smooth flow, not until we boarded the Plane and take off. about 20 min. in the Air, we noticed smoke inside the cabin and it grows that the fastened seatbelt sign make rounds over and over, until the Captain announced that we will be having emergency landing to the nearest airport due to technical problems. We can feel the tension of his voice and the urgency of the situation as we felt the maneuver and raging clouds that we surpassed. Thank God that NAIA terminal 4 was just 10min. away if we'll go back. For every passenger in that plane would say that would be the longest 10 min. of ourlives. We keep on praying and make ourselves calm and composed until we landed. wooh! that was intense right?. After that moment we waited for hours for the turn out of the situation; when the PAL representative told everyone that our flight will be rescheduled the next day as early as possible but we have to go back to clark airport since all their flights going to Busuanga are only accessible in Clark. They will provide everything; the options were to stay in a hotel in Manila or Clark with meals included and shuttle. We opted to be in Clark to be able to get the earliest flight as possible so we won't get a hard time adjusting our tour itinerary. we also rebooked our returned flight to the last flight of the day as possible so we will be able to transfer our supposed to be first activity. We're almost relieved upon approaching Clark, but to our dismay, the shuttle couldn't locate the OASIS hotel. We almost wasted 1.5hrs just making rounds to find the hotel. it was 9:30pm when we arrived and 10:00pm when we had our dinner. It was a good hotel actually and we can access their amenities but we're dead tired of what the day has become so we just take some rest and be able to wake up 3:30am to catch the 5:15am flight of the next day.
May 20: the day has come and we were all praying for one smooth safe flight. It was like an answered prayer while in the middle of our flight, a rainbow shows itself as if waving a big hello for a wonderful day ahead. Upon arriving safely at Busuanga airport, that was also the moment that we got back all our excitement for a great adventure.

we're all asked to vacate the Plane immediately

Trying to calm ourselves

Medic stand by, in case of dizziness and nausea  

Dinner at Oasis Hotel

At the Lobby

Day 1 was running and we don't have any bookings on different tours for the day; luckily almost all of accommodations in Coron were also tied up with different travel agencies for rush bookings. Since we will be staying at Jazmine's Place, we seek for their help and asked if they could find us any available for Joiner tours of Island Escapade. Thank Goodness! even it was 7:00am there's one available and we don't have to change our itinerary. We may not be able to haggle for a discount but still a good deal since we don't have time to look for another agency. Another Thankful moment was when we were allowed to avail our breakfast since we will not refund the supposed to be first night of stay, we arrived exactly on time that we can still eat breakfast and get ourselves ready for our first day adventure.

Island escapade comprises of Malcapuya Island, Banana Island and Bulog Dos Island. Set of Tours are standard and grouped by the Local Office just like in El Nido that's why you only have to choose on what package group of tour you'd like to go. Much better to do some research first and plan what's best for your taste. We plan to put Island Escapade first because this will fall on weekends which we thought would be crowded, we have decided to save the best picturesque spot on weekdays so we will be able to appreciate every karst, walls and lagoons without thinking of the crowd. Another thing is that we long for a beach escapade so there's nothing to doubt but filled our eyes with world class beaches on our first day. So for first destination, it is Malcapuya Island. about 1-1.5 hrs boat ride we're welcomed by a 5 min. walk to the opposite side of docking area and what dawned on us was a dream beach to-go place. Coconut trees lined up in front the shore of fine and white sand beach with a dramatic tree trunk lies on water. Rock formations on the right and left side adds to a picture perfect scene of Turquoise water. Cottages were also available but we opted to just put our belongings under the care of a coconut tree since we'll be staying for only and hour and a half. 

Spotted a rainbow (A promise of a good adventure)

Next destination would be Banana Island. They used to call it Banana Island because the Island's shape was similar to a Banana but the other side of the story was that, long time ago this Island was filled with Banana Trees but as time goes by. it was hit by a heavy storm and destroy everything on it then, later on they just replaced Banana Trees with Coconut Trees. It is just a small island with clear warm water that's good for a relaxed swim. This also serves our lunch area with cottages to accommodate large crowd and beach volleyball set up for some sports enthusiast. This Island has a resort that's under construction.

Last destination for the day was Bulog Dos Island. It is a two island island connected through a sandbar but it was high tide when we get there so we just climb to the view deck to see what's in store in this place; not to mention the two seasons island resort on the other end of the island. It lies in middle of an open sea so the back end of the island has a strong current and sharper stones but the side facing the sand bar was a good spot for swimming.

Going back to Coron town takes us about 2 hours boat ride that make us feel more tired but definitely worth it. Our 1st day has actually ended but we managed to drop by at the Church. Say some piece of Prayer and giving thanks to the Lord for it was a tiring and thrilling experience to get there but still He made us safe all along. And because it was a long day we just eat dinner inside our room. Oh yes! we brought to us rice cooker and some canned goods because of things like this. so let's see what happens the next day on the 2nd part of this Coron 2018 blog series :)