Coron, Palawan: Enchanting Paradise Pt. 1
Among the 7,107 islands composing the Philippines, I am proud to say that I was able to visit some of them - tourists attractions and not-so-famous. Coron, part of Palawan province, is just one of those highly visited islands in the country. A lot of people, both local and foreign, are lured to check out the place and explore its exotic beauty. Out of nowhere, I got curious to see Palawan in person (maybe because it gained much attention nowadays haha). Luckily I found out that my teammate was also interested in going to Palawan. And so we decided to go to Puerto Princesa - dubbed as one of the new seven wonders of natures in the world. However, when we tried to book a flight, the schedule that we wanted to avail was fully booked. And so we ended up booking a flight to Coron - the northern part of Palawan.
What it’s like to be in Coron?
I was warned that if I am fond of nightlife, Coron is not the place to be. I wondered why. When our plane was about to land at Busuanga airport, I was stunned, awed. The scenery from above just caught me in a trance. Everything I saw were green - fields, mountains, hills, trees, etc.Our van transported us to the main town of Coron. Silence filled the van on the way to our accommodation. We were amazed.
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| lush green surrounding to/from Busuanga airport |
After an hour, we arrived at our apartelle. Again I was surprised. I didn't expect the town to look like that - not a bad thing though. The town was just at the foot of a mountain err.. near to the foot...I am not sure how to describe it. Some parts of our apartelle were built at a higher level. The back part of the apartelle was a bit elevated.
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| our apartelle.. and my office mate |
We went to our room, then settled down and looked for a place to have late lunch.
The primary mode of transportation in the town is through motorized tricycle. There were several cafeterias, but our host told us to go to Lolo Nonoy's - a famous eating place in the town. The place wasn't hard to find since the tricycle drivers know the place.
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| one of the oldest and highly recommended eating places in town |
Note: There are no fast food chains and malls in the town.
What to See
After lunch, we started our tour. Our Coron tour package was already included in our accommodation.
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| Hollywood? nope.. Coron Sign .. |
The tour guide told us that it was just a reclaimed area. From there, we were able to see our next destination - Mt. Tapyas. My jaw dropped when I saw the tip of the mountain where a huge cross stood - my subconscious told me “it would be a very long walk”. Also from the park, we saw the Coron Sign - just like the famous Hollywood Sign in California.
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| as stated.... |
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| clean and peaceful park |
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| See that cross on top of the mountain? that's the next destination -_- |
After a few minutes, we decided to go to our next destination. But first, we bought water in the town proper to keep us hydrated while trekking the top of the mountain.
We dropped by the town hall and the church, then headed to the foot of Mt. Tapyas. We climbed 700 steps! Sounds tiring? Yes but it was worth it. From the peak of Mt. Tapyas, we caught a glimpse of what surrounded Coron. The view was indeed captivating. We clearly saw the “sleeping giant” island and other nearby islands/islets.
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| my friend Pat.. half way of the 700 steps.. almost there.. |
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| at last we reached the peak! |
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| sunset view from the peak |
I really thought we could see a factory, but it was actually a cashew store where we bought cashew products. On the walls of the store, we saw pictures of famous celebrities who visited the place.
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| we bought some cashew packs |
We stayed for a while, then took some pictures. What made the night special was the full moon and it was such a sight to behold while soaking the body in the spring.
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| back part of the hot springs... |
We tried to explore the area but it was already dark when we get there.. and the place was dim, less lighting. Then we called it a day...