Exploring Coron: The Beach Escape

After a day of adventure we decided to spend our last day in Coron relaxing -- time to make the switch from adventurer to beach bum. 


As I was keen on taking photos and just shedding the stress away, I'll leave it up to the pictures to express what I can't in words...







Malcapuya Island
The Boracay of Coron.
Fishes + Huge Clams + White Sand + Rocks + a Marvelous Beach Hut

Banana Island

Chill.
Hammocks + Giant Clams + Sandbar + Coconuts

Bulog Island
Lounge. 
(After a planking shot, we all found ourselves completely satisfied just lying on the sand.)
Isolation + Sandbar + Planking

To cap-off it all off, a trip can never be complete without the usual night shots.  Here are a couple of shots taken at the docking port, by the Baywalk.

Exploring Coron: Coron Loop Tour - the Details.

Siete Pecados | Kayangan Lake | Skeleton Wreck | Atuwayan Beach | Twin Lagoon 

Siete Pecados
7 islets.The place to be for snorkeling - known to have clear water and an amazing array of corals and variety of fishes.
 


Having rained earlier in the morning, it was not the best day for snorkeling.  Water was calm but quite unclear so I could not see the colors of the fishes -- they all looked the same to me.  Feeding the fishes was still fun though.  Just make sure to let go of the bread as you feed them, else they might think your fingers are food!  :P (Funny, but true... one of my friends got bitten.)


After feeding, we spent a little more time playing around in the water and then we were off to Kayangan Lake.


I definitely want to go back there when the weather (and budget) allows it. :)

Kayangan Lake
Claimed to be the cleanest, greenest lake in the Philippines, probably even Asia. One of the few lakes the Tagbanuas has opened to the public.  

As the boat made it's way to the lake, even before reaching the docking area we knew we were in for a treat.  Surrounded by gigantic limestones, everything was simply beautiful.


Getting to the lake can be quite a challenge, having to climb about 300 steps of slippery, steep stone path.  They already have wooden handrails built along the trail, and I suggest hanging on to it at all times.  




With extra care, everyone can handle this climb, it was wonderful seeing a woman in her 70's slowly but steadily making her way across the trail.  (I wish I have her strength when I reach that age.)

Before you reach the final peak of the climb, you can stopover for a quick photo by a cave and the ever-famous-Coron-postcard shot.


As we descended that same peak, I will never forget my first glimpse of the lake -- the wooden plank amid the green water, bounded by the magnificent limestone walls -- I was at a loss of words.

Make sure to take time to float around the lake, tracing the path of the limestones rising towards the sky... amazing.

 

Atuwayan Beach

One of the secluded beach paradises in Coron.

A small beach with huge huts.  Exploring the island, we found a spot where fresh water was flowing from the mountain down to the sand, unto the sea - a glimpse of how nature takes its course in the water cycle.  Having the beach almost to ourselves, it was a good place to have our lunch and rest on land before we explore more of Coron's waters and take a couple more shots.     

Skeleton Wreck

The Skeleton Wreck is a tiny little wreck with the top in about 6m of water and it sits on a reef. The wreck's name comes from the fact the ribs of the wreck are almost all that are left, thus a skeletal appearance.

No photos, but here's my story.

I got in the water, snorkeling gear in place.  As I got closer to the marker of the wreck I felt a sudden chill, at first it was a blur, and then I saw it, the wreck was right underneath me.  

I was in awe – I could stare at it for hours.  I could not quite understand why a simple structure of fishing boat enveloped with corals struck me that way, but it was AMAZING.  Wanting to see the whole boat, I swam towards the other end, only to realize I was on my own and the water was visually getting deeper.  Aware of what’s underneath, not knowing what to expect, I stopped and called for a friend to accompany me.  I couldn't handle this myself.  I never got to see the other end though because the water got blurry and my friends called to me as another boat arrived and it was getting close to where I was swimming.  

I will never forget that moment of chill and excitement, how I wish I knew how to dive.  

Exploring those boats should be exciting!  Yet another thing to add to my bucket list. (I hope I have the courage to do this.)

Twin Lagoon

Two lagoons separated by a gigantic limestone wall. When low tide, a tunnel shows up allowing passage through it to get from one lagoon to the other.  When high tide, a ladder has been built to allow tourists to easily get across to the other lagoon.

My favorite place in Coron. It was an odd and at the same time extremely peaceful experience.  A life vest must be worn since the water is really deep and there really isn't anything to hang to on aside from a small bamboo raft in case you get cramps or tired of threading.  

We got there during low tide, making the tunnel available for us to cross to the other lagoon. Our guide kept telling us to be extremely careful since the tunnel surface was rather sharp.  She even mentioned there was an instance of a tourist who hurt himself while swimming underwater across the tunnel during high tide.  Losing air, he found himself swimming to the tunnel's top surface, scraping himself.  But that's an extreme case.

Going back to what's in store for you at the lagoon, the odd thing about this place is that the temperature of the water varied from one area to another.  Some areas were cold, others hot -- they say this change in temperature is a result of fresh water and salt water mixing.

The best part of the lagoon was the peace you feel while swimming along in it.  When we were across the tunnel, everything was just serene.  It was like being transported into a world with no stress or chaos.  there was a point in the lagoon where I had the perspective where it was just you, fully surrounded by limestone walls (360 degrees) listening to the sound of the birds.  It's a feeling difficult to describe, but which I could say is something everyone should experience at least once. (But I'm pretty sure you'd want to come back for more).

Mt. Tapyas


We still had time that afternoon to go up the 700 steps of Mt. Tapyas.  We were voluntarily accompanied by Rhea, a 9-yr old girl who sold mineral water and Gatorade to tourists.  Seems it's a normal trend to have kids accompany tourists to the top and back down.  


Rhea had her share of ghost stories about the place and even gave us a bit of history -- a professional tourist guide in the making.  She showed us the section of the mountain that was bombed, thus the name Mt. Tapyas.  What delighted us even more was she knew the best spots for capturing photos and can take quite good photos as well.  After minutes of sitting and lying on pavement to get that perfect shot of the cross, Rhea showed us the spot at the summit where you don't have to break your back to get it.


From the summit, you get to see Coron island and other surrounding islands of Busuanga.  I've read blogs raving about the sunset from this spot.  Unfortunately it was too cloudy to see the sun as it set.  As we made our way down, it started getting creepy since it was dark and we were aware of the ghost stories.

Finally, we made it safe, sound and without any unusual encounters.  The only downside was, I felt my knees shaking uncontrollably...it was pretty weird but funny.  What a day! :)

There is no way to summarize the beauty that beholds you when you visit these places, overall what you get out of this is the opportunity to witness and experience of the beauty of nature, as it takes its natural course.  Nothing man-made (even the shipwreck has been overcome by nature), just nature at its finest.
...truly The hand of God at work.

Conquering Mt. Maculot Rockies

October 2011.
Mt. Maculot Rockies
Cuenca, Batangas

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Rockies... that alone says a lot.  Being a first timer, I knew from the get go that this was going to be quite a challenge.  Tagged as a mountain for beginners I figured it's probably not that hard.  I figured it would be just hours of walking along a trail - lined with huge trees.  Camera on hand and with so much to see, you would not feel tired at all as you click away along with your friends.  Turns out, I couldn't be more wrong. We tagged along with another group, forming a team of ten.  Meet-up was at the Jam Bus Terminal along Kamuning to get on board the bus to Lemery, Batangas.  Call time was 5:30am.  We reached the kick-off point at 8:00am, then began the climb around 9:00am. As we began the climb our feet were met by pavement and a stone-filled path.  We were kidding around that this was how it was going to be to the top.  Before we knew it, we were faced with the real thing.

'This climb was a moment in my life where I chose to hang on for life rather than the shutter.  All photos in this post from this point were taken by a friend, who was fit and found the trail far easier than I did -- a whole lot easier.' 

It was such a thrill climbing up, knowing you've overcome challenge after challenge - figuring out how to get up the rocks (which rocks are safe, which path is best to take) and actually being able to do it.  There are resting points for when you want to take a breath and have a bite of chocolate or Jellyace (flavored gelatin), much needed energy boosters.

Mt. Maculot is a popular mountaineering spot, especially for beginners.  As you climb, time and again you come across other mountaineers going down who greet you 'Good Morning'.  Somehow, this helps boost your spirit and push you to go forward.

As exhaustion overcame us, we began to feel anxious to get to the top and asked people who were coming  down how long before we reach the summit.  "15 minutes", they answered.  Excited that we were getting closer we had smiles on our faces and pushed forward, counting on getting to the summit soon.  Funny thing though, after an hour of walking we got more "15-minutes" responses.  We finally realized we should really just stop asking.  It's undeniable though that those '15-minute' responses though helped me make it to the top.

Along the way to the top, a friend told me to look at the view behind me (I was so focused on moving forward and getting the climb done with that this thought had not crossed my mind).  As I turned back, I was in awe. 'I've always wanted to be able to look down on clouds while not on-board an aircraft... and I finally did it!  And it felt fantastic! ' Before I knew it, I was at the campsite thinking to myself,  'We made it! ...I made it!'.  It was here that we settled for lunch -- canned Tuna Paella. It was starting to look like it was about to rain, dark clouds were building up and we could hardly see the view from the top.  As we were packing up, a fog swept by where we were standing.  Standing still, I felt the cold mist flow against my skin.  A thought then came to mind... Yes, all the effort was worth it. Now, off to the Rockies...where the trail turned out to be a whole lot harder and more dangerous.  We were literally climbing rocks, where one wrong step meant hurt, or worse death.  It was a long way down.  This was the best part of the climb for me. I felt like I was Lara Croft (Tomb Raider) going from one rock to another with no problem at all. And once you reach the top, you forget all the trouble you had to go through.  You get a view of Taal volcano from a different perspective, as well as other surrounding islands. While at the Rockies, rain began to pour. We had to stay for a while,  waiting for the rain to pass since it would be too dangerous to go down while it poured.  It was so peaceful sitting on a rock, under the rain in a raincoat atop a mountain with clouds around you. Then came the greatest challenge I've had to date.. we had to start going down.  Climbing up was a whole lot easier than literally sliding down the mountain.  The rain definitely made things tough for me.  Factor in the Lack of Balance, Load from the Bag, Slippery Mud, Sharp Rocks, and Steep Trail: I knew I was in trouble. There was one moment that I slipped and fell.  Sitting on the ground, as I looked to the left and then to the right, it was a long way down.  I was frozen for a minute, held by thoughts of thanking God I was still safe, and asking that he keep me safe the whole way down.

'As I continued down, the trail seemed longer than ever... it came to a point that I was at the brink of breaking down. Having the worst headache from the changing weather (rain-shine-rain-shine-rain) while overwhelmed by the fear of slipping and hurting myself...It was very much with the trust and support towards my friends that I made it all the way down, safe and sound.' It was one tough day, but definitely worth experiencing.  About 6-7 Hours going up and back down Mt Maculot Rockies... not bad for a first timer I think. :) Will I do it again? Once I've worked on my balance and strength.... MT. PULAG, here I come!! Hopefully I'd be able to get pictures myself next time. :)