On June 2012, I finally got to check one of the must-see places in my bucket list – Palawan! It is one of the most famous tourist destinations in the Philippines known for its wide biodiversity of both flora and fauna. The four days- 3 nights trip to Coron, Palawan was made even more memorable since I went with five of my dearest girl-friends.
Getting yeses from everyone as we planned this trip didn’t take a lot of time. We simply just WANT to go to Palawan right away when we had the chance!
The municipality of Coron covers the eastern part of Busuanga Island and Coron Island, which are both parts of the Calamian Group of Islands, northern part of the province of Palawan.
We booked to stay in Coron Village Lodge which also offered the tour for us – including land and sea transfers, fees, and full-board meals. After landing in Busuanga, we immediately met our driver who drove us to the lodge to settle for a while before we start our first day tour.
Their office and restaurant were separated from the rooms. We went straight to our rooms first to unpack,
(look at this creative chandelier <3)
…then walked to their restaurant (which by the way was really cozy :)) and had some free refreshments. B-)
After a few minutes, we met our guide Kuya Em. He asked us about the rest of my friends (there was just the two of us who arrived on the first day), so we told him that the flight of our friends got cancelled. Actually, there was a typhoon signal in Metro Manila that day. Perhaps my friend and I just got lucky that the airline we took didn’t cancell our flight.
We had no choice but to continue the planned itinerary for us that day without the rest of our group. Our first stop was the Lualhati Park.
Lualhati Park is also known now as Coron Boulevard or Coron Harbour Center. It was actually a part of the reclaimed area built by the local government to serve as the main port for boats that travel in and out of Coron. It also serves as the terminal for many land vehicles such as tricycles, vans, etc.
The park looked similar to Manila’s Baywalk. It was wide and spacious. It gave us a good view of the Coron Island,
…and the other smaller islands which looked just as beautiful.
At the other side of the park, the Mt. Tapyas, another tourist spot in Coron, may also be seen. It was probably one, if not the highest place in Coron.
Mt. Tapyas was where we headed next. That steel cross marks the end of the 727 steps up its peak. How we wished we wore proper shoes that day. Nonetheless, our types wouldn’t say no for such a challenge. B-)
So up we went one step at a time.
Every step was a challenge actually; it was a bit high so it felt like pushing and pulling yourself up every time. Good thing there were landings every now and then.
Oh we thought we were physically fit, but after passing the 200th step…
We couldn’t hide our exhaustion anymore.
We rested for a while and looked back – admired the island of Coron from another perspective…
…and looked down at the Lualhati Park where we first came.
We just knew the further we went up, the better the vantage point we would have. Besides, the sun was already about to set – the best time to be at the peak!
Did we reach it?
Oh yeah! B-)
It seemed like we didn’t mind the sweat all over us and those painful legs – the scenery was just so AMAZING we just forgot everything else.
Then again, I must say, the climb will be perfect for holy week: the perfectpenetensya. Hah!
Besides the panoramic view of the whole Coron, there was still some alternative beautiful landscape one may wish to see just at the back of the big cross and the view deck.
Some walk on this narrow way and we saw these:
Oh! We saw a gazebo!
Picture time! (We call this, the best friend pose… :P)
We went closer to the gazebo. Praise the one who thought of building it there! It was just the perfect place to rest and watch the sunset.
Nature at its finest.
If we had a choice to stay there and camp, we probably would. Obviously, we had to go back down (we left our things in the lodge!). So we thought we could just follow the narrow trail at the back of the cross…
…but then we were told we have to go down through these same steps.
So there we felt that going down was actually more torturous than climbing up. >.<
Good thing our next destination was the Maquinit Hot Springs!
It was about 15 to 20 minutes tricycle ride from the Lualhati Park.
Maquinit Hot Springs was said to be the only saltwater hot spring in the Philippines. Its water could reach up to 41oC, and said to have slight sulfur content – which I think is actually beneficial to remove some unwanted skin problems.
It was just the perfect treat for us that day. B-)
The place was surrounded with mangroves and was overlooking the bay. The place was nicely landscaped which gave a very relaxing feeling.
We even decided to accompany our friends there the next day.
By the way, they were also able to climb Mt. Tapyas on the third day (which was their second day in Coron).
First day in Coron was tiring but very fulfilling. We just couldn’t wait for the next day where we will be able to see the Coron island up close, and explore the treasures within it!
All thanks to my travel buddies Myca, Gia, Chai, Agnes, and Lyn for the wonderful company and for sharing your photos!
Don’t forget to follow the next day of our trip to Coron, Palawan, Philippines:
Coron, Palawan – Philippines (Day 2)
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