Philippines II - Busuanga Island

Highest peak in Coron Town

Buasuanga Island was our first destination. We arrived on Friday early morning to the Calamian group of Islands situated a 40 min flight from the Capital Manila and the main island. The airport was rather special, since it was a single house and the luggage was delivered to us in person when leaving the aircraft - no need to wait at the rolling baggage carousel. :) After driving 40 minutes from the airport towards Coron Town with its ramshaked houses, busy and dirty roads with full of tricycles and with no beaches in sight, I started to hesitate whether the long journey was worth it.  However, already after spending a few hours in Coron Town I can say that the Island of Busuanga have a lot more to show than it may seem at first appearance.

 Coron Town

 Coron Town

On our way to our first accommodation I did not expect to have this newly built modern building in the city like Coron. Even though, Coron is the biggest city in the Island with population about 10 000 people, it started to develop some years ago when tourists started to find their way to this exotic place. Those who are looking to see something real and not ruined yet by the tourists, it is definitely the right place to go. After arriving to the Pearl Vista Hotel, our first goal was to find an ATM to take out some cash. The ATMs are notoriously unstable in Phillipines, and of the 3 ATMs in town only one worked. It accepted only certain types of Visa cards and Master Card Gold with a limit of 10.000 Philippines pesos (about 170 euros). 

Coron Westown Resort

When planning our trip from home, Coron Town was not the place we imagined to spend our New Year's Eve. It is a small, low-key town with limited amount of restaurants, bars and still very undeveloped for groups of torists. However, celebrating our New Year was very special and perhaps more authentic then we had expected. The day before the last day of 2017, we planned our first boat trip to some secluded beaches. Both Coron and TayTay are known for the stunning nature and seen by many as an underwater paradise.

Near-by Island

Tourist Boats

We waited at least half an hour in the overcrowded boat before the crew announced that the initial trip to some secluded stunning beaches was cancelled due to a hurricane warning. Instead they offered to take us around the nearby sites, where the boat does not have to enter the open water. That trip is usually only half the price of what we already paid, so we got our money back and agreed to rent a private boat, with 6 French exchange students from Shanghai and 3 Russian girls. This option was cheaper and it allowed us to discover the beauty of the Calamian surroundings ourselves. After half an hour sailing we arrived to our first destination- Twin Lagoon. Swimming in the most crystal clear waters with tropical fish and surrounded by limestone rock formations, it is definitely an experience that alone justifies going to Coron in Philippines. This magical peace of nature left us with a feeling of all the best from Maldives, Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam combined in one single place.  The temperature of the lagoon alternates between warm and cold where the cold fresh water meets the hot salt water. Swimming through the lagoon leads you to the small rock cave, which is connected to the second lagoon.

Twin  Lagoon

Twin Lagoon

The private boat did not only allowed flexibility, but also helped us avoid  the crowds as the normal tours go to the same destinations at the same time, which spoils the experience. We continued our journey towards Lake Barracuda - one of the two lakes in the area that is open to the public. In order to get to the lake there are about 30-40 wooden steps to follow before walking down to the lake. We were strictly required to wear life-jackets, which allows you to relax and float around in the lake. Afterwards we spent some time at Bahol Beach, with a monkey on the white sandy beach as the highlight, and our french Algerian friend playing smooth tunes from his stero. 

During the World Word II wrecks of the Japanese supply fleet sunk around the Coron Bay area, which become full of reefs filled up with coral, colorful fishes being over 70 years underwater. Some of the ships are more than 170 m long! Philippines are famous for its lost vessels. Some of the people believe there is second Bermuda Triangle in other words Devil Triangle- called Romblon. The area is blamed more than 40 maritime disaster since 80´s. Philippines Coast Guard believes that such disaster is due to high tides, heavy typhoons and among other natural phenomena. Local legend, however, refers to the golden ghost ship roaming in the Sibyan Sea owned by the Lolo Amang. Overall, 9/10 of the biggest lost ships are gone missing in Philippine waters.

 Lake

Tourist Boats

While sailing our local chef was cooking fish on the open fire in the boat, making zucchini salad with tuna and our favorite fish sauce (chilly, soya, fish sauce, lemon, salt) . At the same time, local sales men were sailing around our boat offering real coconuts with the "popular" option to add some rum or just the local Red Horse Beer, which was the favorite of the Island with 7% alchohol.

As the New Year  approached, we decided to climb up the highest peak of the area, just outside Coron Town. After 25 minutes, 600 steps in 30 degrees heat and insane humidity we found ourselves at the top and were rewarded with a big cold bottle of Red Horse Beer. Admireing the beautiful view of the landscape we reflected on the goals and dreams for the upcoming year. After returning we had a small nap and dressed up for the occation. Our hotel had prepared us a buffet and concert - a local singer, fried chicken sticks and pasta with colorful cocktails. Around 9PM we went to the city centre, which was full of music, fireworks and decorations. We bumbed into our French friends from the previous boat trip, and spent the whole night together dancing in the public local party, which we started. Soon we found ourselves surrounded by local kids who were challenging us with dance moves,  but it also turned into a group "snake dance" around the public park with locals that is usually only seen at a great afterski party! It was a great end to the year and made our New Year’s Eve one of a kind. It is also worth mentioning the beautiful fireworks, which was under control and did not hurt anyone! In the previous days we had witnessed a number of small fireworks explosions, which concerned us about the safety. However, instead the local Philippines made us feel very welcome, safe and in some instances seen like celebrities, as they often wanted to have a picture with us.  

Christmas Decorations

The next day was planned to be our last day in Coron. However, a big hurricane was reaching the Palawan area and all the sea traffic was cancelled. Everyone where stuck on the Island.