Before It Explodes!

Coron, Palawan is fast becoming a favorite summer destination and I had the privilege to go there before it suffers the same fate as Boracay's.


I was joking when I asked my good friend NiCe to treat me to an out-of-town vacation.  She said yes without batting an eyelash.  And we were on a plane to this then little known town.


You know you're in for a great time just with the aerial view of the area.

Although a great part of the road from the airport to the town proper was yet to be finished at that time, we didn't mind because the scenery was just lovely.  I even remember a part that kind of looked like the African savanna.

The town proper gave me an impression that it is not ready for the boost in tourism.  It is a sleepy town with narrow labyrinthian roads, the kind you see in eerie aswang movies.


As soon as we settled our things in the hotel, we immediately started our three-day sojourn in paradise! 


Twin Lagoons.

Although we found the water a little murky and oily, which was because of the scores of motor boats that brought tourists there according to our boatman,...

and water was high so we had to go through this hole with really sharp cuts...

the view on the other side was well worth it.

Lunch on the beach.

Grilled everything, yum!  Ate three thick fat liempos which made me sick that night, I thought the rest of the trip was doomed!  That's LegendHarry (who arranged the entire trip), his beautiful wife, StartledCat and NiCe.

Kayangan Lake.

The steep climb to see what we were told to be the cleanest lake...

at the top would be this view which is the poster shot of Coron.  And then our camera batteries died.  I almost jumped to certain death myself.  Anyway, the Kayangan Lake didn't turn out to be clear that time because of the sporadic rains.  But this is what it'll look like on an otherwise sunny day...

Malcapuya Island.

This part of the island is surreal, it's like a scene in "What Dreams May Come", at least for me.

Yeah, that's all I wanted to do there...

aside from basking under the cloudy sky.

Malaroyroy Island

with Banana Island in the horizon.

Bulalacao Island.

I am a little torn about this.  I'm not sure if I wanted it untouched...

with the beautiful mangroves around...

or developed into what could be a very beautiful resort.

Mount Tapyas.

If you're up for some serious climb, then by all means go to the top of Mount Tapyas for this breathtaking view of entire Coron.

Macquinit Hot Spring.

After the exhausting but rewarding tour of this gem of a place, soothe your tired body with a dip in one of the only three salt water hot springs in the world...

and cap it off with a bowl of this hot, yummy Nido soup.