When Froi and I got our visa
grant to permanently reside in Australia, the first thing we did was to cook up
our travel escapes for 2013. The initial plan was to do a Visayan trip, dive
Balicasag in Bohol, and see the Thresher sharks in Malapascua. But during the
planning stage, we decided we would rather spend our remaining months in the
Philippines with the people we love, instead of diving to these destinations by
ourselves. We also realized that we prefer traveling with other people, because
when we travel as a couple, my “lola” mode switch turns on and Froi has to
contend with swimming in the beach alone (kawawa.. nagso-solo trip.. hehe). And so I present to you the 3rd
leg of our pre-departure trip: Coron with the “lunchmates”.
The lunchmates (Oliver, Loki,
and Jo) are Froi’s officemates of 10 years and Froi’s closest friends. We are
truly blessed to have been surrounded by amazing people. Conversations were
centered on whether the T-Rex can do push-ups or not, the existence of Undin
(yung sa Shake, Rattle, and Roll), at pa-originalan ng knock knock jokes
(ganyan kami ka-deep). I know now where Froi gets his kakornihan.. these
guys can really crack you up. Da best yung knock-knock jokes lalo na yung “Pizza,
puto, pandesa..aa..aal”. I swear it’s really funny, once you hear that song. Froi’s
panlaban:
Froi: Knock knock. Mga talunan.
Lunchmates: Mga talunan who?
Froi: "Olats ones", I’m drifting
on a lonely sea, wishing you’d come back to me, and that’s all that matters
now, "Olats ones".
Coron was truly a memorable
experience. It was breathtakingly beautiful and despite this being our 2nd
time, we were still left in awe with just how mystical this place is. Big
credits to The Big Guy up above for creating something so spectacular and
magical.
I now give you the highlights of our trip:
1. Calauit Safari Park
Calauit Island is a 3,700
hectare game preserve and wildlife sanctuary home to both endemic animals and
African wildlife such as giraffes, zebras, elands, and bushbucks, among the
few. We left Coron town at 4am so we could reach the park in time for the
feeding. Make sure to bring jackets and sweaters since it was quite cold during
the boat ride.
It’s nothing like an African
safari, but the experience of seeing giraffes, zebras, and deers roaming around
freely was definitely one for the books.
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| Photo by Oliver/Joannalyn |
2. Snorkeling more fun in Coron
Coron has an abundance of
snorkeling sites and while planning for our group’s itinerary, my dilemma was
picking out the best snorkeling sites to include in our tour. Froi and I are
not experts, but based on what we have researched and experienced, our top
picks in Coron, in order of preference, are as follows:
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| Photo by Loki |
a. Lusong Coral Gardens
This marine sanctuary has
limited reef fish but prepare to be awed by soft and hard corals of every hue,
from green, navy blue and lavender. The huge table coral formations can be
found within a few feet of the surface and offers great visibility. 75% of the
reefs in this sanctuary are intact and healthy.
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| Photo by Loki |
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| Photo by Loki |
b. Lusong Gunboat
The Lusong gunboat is a
shallow sunken Japanese wreck and is the only shipwreck in Coron accessible to
snorkelers. It’s not often you get to snorkel in a shipwreck, much less a
remnant of WWII, hence should be included in your itinerary for Coron. Plus
you’re hitting two birds in one stone, the Lusong Coral Gardens is just a few
meters away from here.
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| Photo by Oliver |
c. Twin Peaks Reef
There has been a lot of damage
in this reef but nonetheless we were greeted with stunning marine life. Parrot
fish and bright yellow butterfly fish greeted our sight. We had sightings of
puffer fish as well as a half-foot sized and scary looking clown fish.. hinde pala cute si
Lolo Nemo.. hehe.
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| Photo by Loki |
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| Photo by Oliver |
d. Malcapuya Island
This could have fought its way
to the top spot had I seen the reef sharks. Do not be alarmed, these are small
and harmless. We snorkeled vast areas of this place but only Oliver was lucky enough
to have seen this. My awe for this majestic creature had sprouted ever since
our dive instructor showed us the resident sharks in Diver’s Sanctuary. After
that, I was hooked and had wanted to dive with the Great White Sharks as well
as to see hundreds of Hammerheads in Galapagos. Despite not seeing the sharks,
we were greeted with a large puffer fish swimming lazily in the corals, as well
as clams, and other schools of reef fish.
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| 15-inch Pufferfish (Photo by Oliver) |
