08.21.2009
It took us more or less 200 steps to reach the mountaintop to have a glance of the breathtaking scenery of Kayangan Cove, a magnificent panorama that can only be seen in Coron. Kayangan Lake is another “must-see” for visiting tourists.
At the peak of the mountain, a cave is present which is also nice for photo enthusiasts.
After few minutes of stay on the mountaintop, it is time to go and discover more amazement of Kayangan. A clean and clear lake with rocky bottom awaits after another more or less 200 steps of downgoing. It makes me feel proud as a Filipino to see how our country was blessed with wonderful creations of our Almighty. Coron truly has the full potential to be the No. 1 tourist destination few years from now.
A deep blue green water with tiny fishes are there to swim with everyone. Rocks looked so nice but be sure to take extra precautions as these rocks have sharp surfaces.
Our overall experience was extravagant as this place will never be forgotten through the years.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Siete Pecados
Coron, Palawan
08.21.2009
08.21.2009
More than an hour was left for us to explore at least one more island of Coron that afternoon before settling back to Darayonan for the start of our forum on climate change. We hurriedly set our floaters and snorkels up for a terrific snorkeling at Siete Pecados. This is one of the must-visit sites in Coron. When our boat docked, Maanne and I no longer needed warm up for a marvelous experience ahead us. We rushed to the water and saw another magnificent work of God.
One who experienced snorkeling here may say that this might be the best site of our country’s finest coral reefs. Colorful fishes big and small are around you waiting for a piece of bread. Another good thing that happened here for us is that our boatman, Rico, was a very strong swimmer. He only needed a piece of rope-float made of Styrofoam and cloth to roam us around. Troubles in real life were all gone as we saw the enchanting creatures underwater as if you never wanted to take your eyes away of them. The sun was about to set in an hour so after almost an hour of snorkeling, we needed to pack ourselves back for a busy night waiting in Darayonan.
One who experienced snorkeling here may say that this might be the best site of our country’s finest coral reefs. Colorful fishes big and small are around you waiting for a piece of bread. Another good thing that happened here for us is that our boatman, Rico, was a very strong swimmer. He only needed a piece of rope-float made of Styrofoam and cloth to roam us around. Troubles in real life were all gone as we saw the enchanting creatures underwater as if you never wanted to take your eyes away of them. The sun was about to set in an hour so after almost an hour of snorkeling, we needed to pack ourselves back for a busy night waiting in Darayonan.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Malcapuya Island
Coron, Palawan
08.21.2009
08.21.2009
We left the historic town of Culion with smiles as we are about to discover an island where the recent Dyesebel of the Philippines shoot most of their scenes according to locals. It took us almost 40 minutes of sailing until we reached the very exquisite island of Malcapuya. No wonder why the Kapuso Network chose this island for the remake of one of the most loved fictional story of our film history. We arrived few minutes past 12. The sky is as lovely, the sand is as smooth, and the sea is as calm as the face, skin, and character respectively of Dyesebel.
We had our lunch, roamed around, spot attractive sceneries then had some photo shoots. Maanne and I were so amazed of the clarity of the sea, it was crystal clear. The sand is also delightful comparable to a light-cream polvoron where you can walk barefoot under the sun. There are scattered hazy red rock formations in both ends of the beach that looked so well in photos.
We were sanctified of a very sunny afternoon during our stay and though I put some sun block on my face, neck, shoulders, and arms, I was unsuccessful from the effects of the sun. But I have no regrets! Sunburns will only be temporary but the memoirs of Malcapuya will be ceaseless.
After almost 3-hour island exploration, time has come to leave Malcapuya. We get back to our boat and sail to visit Banana island. Few kilometers away from this island, we felt that there are no surprises waiting for us. The water is dark blue conveying a deep sea, the sand is not as light as what we were expecting, and there were many guests occupying the island so we decided to leave the area and get near to Coron town proper. I have posted a glimpse of Banana island on the photo below.
We had our lunch, roamed around, spot attractive sceneries then had some photo shoots. Maanne and I were so amazed of the clarity of the sea, it was crystal clear. The sand is also delightful comparable to a light-cream polvoron where you can walk barefoot under the sun. There are scattered hazy red rock formations in both ends of the beach that looked so well in photos.
We were sanctified of a very sunny afternoon during our stay and though I put some sun block on my face, neck, shoulders, and arms, I was unsuccessful from the effects of the sun. But I have no regrets! Sunburns will only be temporary but the memoirs of Malcapuya will be ceaseless.
After almost 3-hour island exploration, time has come to leave Malcapuya. We get back to our boat and sail to visit Banana island. Few kilometers away from this island, we felt that there are no surprises waiting for us. The water is dark blue conveying a deep sea, the sand is not as light as what we were expecting, and there were many guests occupying the island so we decided to leave the area and get near to Coron town proper. I have posted a glimpse of Banana island on the photo below.
Culion, Palawan
Immaculada Conception Parish
08.21.2009
08.21.2009
After our mini-hike at Mt. Tapyas, we had breakfast and make our way to the seaport near Coron Gateway Hotel for day’s island hopping. It was a sunny morning when we started to sail but weather suddenly became dull and hazy when we were almost near our first island… the town of Culion to visit its church and museum. Just few kilometers away from the island, we envisioned Latin symbols of Alpha and Omega printed boldly at a structure and few meters from it, we saw another symbolic emblem with an eagle on its top. It took us about an hour-and-a-half pump boat ride from Coron to reach the historic town of Culion.
For those who do not know yet, Culion once served as leprosy segregation camp or leprosarium of our country. According to some friends who have visited this place, it is worth to see Immaculada Conception Church built by the Jesuits in 1906 and the leprosarium museum. A tricycle brought us to the church in about 5 minutes. We felt so blessed as we witnessed the beauty of this timeless house of God. I truly adore the combination of its aged outside and innovative interior architectural design. From its vicinity, we saw an old church bell as well as two pieces of old canons facing the sea. It then popped into my mind that maybe Culion served as a military camp during the Spanish era…so I read some articles about this and have confirmed that Culion was once a fort during the 17th century.
We failed to see the artifacts of Culion and the leprosarium documentations as the museum was closed due to national holiday. Frustrated of the scenario, we went back to our boat to sail for a few minutes and have lunch at our next stop…the Malcapuya island. As we sailed away, we again saw the alpha and omega symbols and we realized that those symbols were written at the back of Immaculada Conception Church which might correspond to Revelations 1:8 "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "the one who is and who was and who is to come, the almighty."
For those who do not know yet, Culion once served as leprosy segregation camp or leprosarium of our country. According to some friends who have visited this place, it is worth to see Immaculada Conception Church built by the Jesuits in 1906 and the leprosarium museum. A tricycle brought us to the church in about 5 minutes. We felt so blessed as we witnessed the beauty of this timeless house of God. I truly adore the combination of its aged outside and innovative interior architectural design. From its vicinity, we saw an old church bell as well as two pieces of old canons facing the sea. It then popped into my mind that maybe Culion served as a military camp during the Spanish era…so I read some articles about this and have confirmed that Culion was once a fort during the 17th century.
We failed to see the artifacts of Culion and the leprosarium documentations as the museum was closed due to national holiday. Frustrated of the scenario, we went back to our boat to sail for a few minutes and have lunch at our next stop…the Malcapuya island. As we sailed away, we again saw the alpha and omega symbols and we realized that those symbols were written at the back of Immaculada Conception Church which might correspond to Revelations 1:8 "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "the one who is and who was and who is to come, the almighty."
Coron, Palawan
Nuovo Hotel Michelangelo/Maquinit Hotspring/Mt. Tapyas/Horse Valley
Coron, Palawan
08.20.2009-08.23.2009
Coron, Palawan
08.20.2009-08.23.2009
Maanne and I took advantage of the opportunity when I was about to attend an island congress of PCL-NCR set in Coron, Palawan. Though this would be both our first time to be in Coron, we already knew that the place has so much to offer for everyone…We booked our flight via Zest Air 2 days ahead of my congress schedule for us to explore the wonders of the Calamian Group of islands which comprises Busuanga, Coron, Culion plus 98 other scattered islands in northern Palawan.
After a safe arrival at Francisco Reyes Airport in Busuanga, vans for hire are available to drive everyone to Coron town proper. We first checked-in to Nuovo Hotel Michelangelo located near the sea port and just a tricycle ride away to their public market. Hotel Michelangelo is owned and operated by Italian and Filipino partners as told by its staffs. This hotel is not as attractive as other hotels that we saw with regards to its architectural design but they do offer great comfort with their wide air-conditioned rooms and water supply is never a problem.
After a late lunch, some picture taking, and 1-hour rest at our hotel, we traveled 5-km to Maquinit Hotspring. With an entrance fee of P100 each, this natural brackish hot spring offers therapeutically relaxing water ranging from 38-41 degrees Celsius. We enjoyed dipping our bodies for more than 2 hours and went back to hotel for our late dinner and had a fine rest.
The next day, we woke up early in the morning to climb partly the 700+ steps of Mt. Tapyas where a giant white cross is situated, an iconic monument that can be seen even from neighboring islands. As much as we wanted to reach the top of this mountain, we needed to preserve our legs for long days ahead of us so we decided to stop after climbing almost 200 steps and just took some photos with panoramic view of Coron bay at our back.
I will be making separate blogs about our experiences in Culion, Malcapuya, Siete Pecados, Twin Lagoon, Kayangan Lake, and Banol Beach in its respective albums. I was fortunate to have a glance of the Coron Bay at sunset.
After days of exploring Calamian islands, we were about to flew back to Manila 1:00 pm on August 23 but we did not want to put our time to waste during our remaining hours in Coron. After we had our breakfast, we rushed 4 kilometers from the market to Horse Valley. We experienced horseback riding for an hour but only within the ranch. We failed to bring the horses out to explore some more views of the mountain as we were already running out of time. We immediately get back to town proper where we bought the town’s popular local product, the cashew nuts which come in 3 variants, the plain, fried, and roasted.
We then checked-out to our hotel, said goodbye to Coron, and were picked up by a van that drove us to Busuanga airport. After another hour of safe fly, we were back to our real life.
After a safe arrival at Francisco Reyes Airport in Busuanga, vans for hire are available to drive everyone to Coron town proper. We first checked-in to Nuovo Hotel Michelangelo located near the sea port and just a tricycle ride away to their public market. Hotel Michelangelo is owned and operated by Italian and Filipino partners as told by its staffs. This hotel is not as attractive as other hotels that we saw with regards to its architectural design but they do offer great comfort with their wide air-conditioned rooms and water supply is never a problem.
After a late lunch, some picture taking, and 1-hour rest at our hotel, we traveled 5-km to Maquinit Hotspring. With an entrance fee of P100 each, this natural brackish hot spring offers therapeutically relaxing water ranging from 38-41 degrees Celsius. We enjoyed dipping our bodies for more than 2 hours and went back to hotel for our late dinner and had a fine rest.
The next day, we woke up early in the morning to climb partly the 700+ steps of Mt. Tapyas where a giant white cross is situated, an iconic monument that can be seen even from neighboring islands. As much as we wanted to reach the top of this mountain, we needed to preserve our legs for long days ahead of us so we decided to stop after climbing almost 200 steps and just took some photos with panoramic view of Coron bay at our back.
I will be making separate blogs about our experiences in Culion, Malcapuya, Siete Pecados, Twin Lagoon, Kayangan Lake, and Banol Beach in its respective albums. I was fortunate to have a glance of the Coron Bay at sunset.
After days of exploring Calamian islands, we were about to flew back to Manila 1:00 pm on August 23 but we did not want to put our time to waste during our remaining hours in Coron. After we had our breakfast, we rushed 4 kilometers from the market to Horse Valley. We experienced horseback riding for an hour but only within the ranch. We failed to bring the horses out to explore some more views of the mountain as we were already running out of time. We immediately get back to town proper where we bought the town’s popular local product, the cashew nuts which come in 3 variants, the plain, fried, and roasted.
We then checked-out to our hotel, said goodbye to Coron, and were picked up by a van that drove us to Busuanga airport. After another hour of safe fly, we were back to our real life.
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